Kuala Lumpur (the Rooftop Pool, the Villa and The Batu Caves)

As I travelled around South East Asia I kept coming back to KL, seeing it differently - after all, each time I arrived I was a different person.

I started out desperately grateful to have arrived in a safe pocket of Western culture (with a rooftop pool).

As I recovered I felt brave enough to explore KL, and to eventually discover a traditional villa, a pocket of an ancient city that had somehow survived "development." That little sojourn gave me the strength and the heart to continue on to my final destination in Malaysia.

When I returned, for the last time, I was able to try just one more type of KL hotel; the antique colonial.

Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories...

...for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life.

They're not small, they're travel size.