Ending Raya Break Part II

From Part I ...

Lunch was nice. The sun was high at the time and heat was searing. I then walked by Dataran Merdeka - which was calm that day - angling towards the River of Life before stopping at one of the shops for more drinks.

The birds at Lebuh AmpangBy Masjid Jamek and the newly-built shadesThe corridor of the old Court House next to Masjid JamekThe old COurt had been converted into a modern theatreWaiting under the shadesPart of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Hopefully it will long be preserved ...Next was Medan Pasar with a stop at Ruang to catch a small exhibition - The Towns of Malaya - enjoying the air conditioning and some real nice history. Next was Central Market. I debated for another stop or just to take the MRT to Bukit Bintang. Bukit Bintang won.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building from the rear. The tall pole at Dataran Merdeka can be seen as well.You've been warned .... no hanky-panky around here ...The colourful building by the River of Life. The colour of the buildings reminds me of Amsterdam.The flagpole by Dataran Merdeka. Used to be the tallest in the World.Across to the National Textile Museum The newly refurbished Kafe Old Market Square by Medan Pasar.Heading North ...At Bukit Bintang, I stopped for another coffee before making my way on foot past Pavilion back to KLCC using the elevated walkway. I was back at Suria where I started just before 4 pm taking the time to browse at Kinokuniya before returning home ...

A quick stop at RuangTaking the MRT from Central Market, heading to Bukit BintangBack to Pavilion and the famous fountainThe World Cup FeverMaking my way back to KLCC using the walkwayMore World Cup shenanigans Now that was a full day. Plenty to snap but it would have been better with an early start where the sun was lower and the heat was not as bad ...

Ending Raya Break Part I

I took a whole week off for the recent Hari Raya and getting back to work was a pain especially with the backlog of patients waiting for me at the clinic. Luckily, I had a couple of days to get my feet back on the ground before starting my calls.

Deciding where to head to ...Looking up ...Making my way across to Avenue KOne of the newer shops in town - RobinsonsA quick stop at the Leica StoreYes, it is big!For the last day of the break, I decided to take my camera out for a spin. Just me and the camera with my Touch and Go card to take me across town using the MRT/LRT.

Alighting at Masjid JamekMasjid IndiaPlease pay hereHello Kitty!Looking good ...Some of the roads undergoing upgradesLuckily the weather turned out to be superb, and it turned out to be an enjoyable day. When I was finally done, I clocked around 300 snaps.

I parked my car to start the journey at Suria KLCC. From there, I walked across to Avenue K, having a few snaps at the Twin Tower as I was passing along. I was tempted to stop at Robinson’s - the new shopping mall at Four Seasons just across Suria but decided against it.

Red shop ...Pertama Complex - one of the oldest mall in KLLooking out from Medan MARAThe SOGO entrance was rather flowery ...Back to Masjid IndiaTime to settle down for lunchI stopped at the Leica Store while at Avenue K before taking the LRT to Masjid Jamek. I walked along Masjid India, then towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, before doubling back to Lebuh Ampang for lunch at one fo the banana leaf restaurant there.

Continued here in Part II ...

Aidilfitri 2018

It was a quiet one this time around as we were just staying at home during the break. The initial plan to travel to Penang was shelved as the travel would be too much as the boys would be back to school on Monday - Raya was on Friday.

My father-in-law was also in not the best of health and my Sister was in Melaka with her husband’s family this time around. Just a few trips here and there but most of the time, my Mother had visitors coming. The house was never empty.

And then there was the small matter of the World Cup kicking off the night before Raya which meant sleepless nights and naps in front of the TV after plenty of food ....

My Father-in-law was a bit worse for wear when on one of the evening he was dehydrated and nearly fainted. A slight change of medications saw to that. Food was plenty though and I was sure I must have put on at least a couple of kilos, despite losing some during the fasting month.

I had a few days off after the festivities just to chill out - and do plenty of photography. For those travelling, drive safe and enjoy the time on the road ...

Season's Trend

Earlier this month, for a kenduri at a friend’s place, I donned a batik given to me by one of my Indonesian patients. It fitted me well and the stripes were more traditional than the local ones. It looked smart but during this Raya shopping I noticed that this more traditional Batik patterns are becoming a trend.

And it was not just for mens, even the ladies this season seemed to wear these more traditional stripes with a more loosen cutting, back to the 70s fashion sense. I guess trends come in cycles.

Anita got me another pair of Batik shirt for Raya to match hers. This one also looked traditional with simple cutting. The colours also tended to be subdued, usually keeping to a single shade. For the ladies, the motif tended to be flowers.

This became really obvious when we were at #RiuhRaya recently as most of the stalls carry these themes. Anita happened to wear something similar when we was at Riuh - a loose flowery Kebaya top - not at all looking out of place. And she had a few on booking, guessing that she was ahead of the trend ...

I now realised why at the said wedding, I was invited to sit at the VIP table. I certainly dressed the part that day ....

Pasar Seloka Raya

Anita read somewhere that there was a bazaar going on at Publika. She wanted to buy some items there and asked if I can drive her there.

Being a public holiday, getting a parking spot could be tricky. But it turned out that there were plenty of pace at the lower levels. Once there, you just needed to climb on the escalator to get to the shopping floors. Quite convenient.

And the bazaar was great. After half an hour, Anita could not make up her mind about what to buy. There were too many optins and since the place was packed, it was difficilt to get any service. Maybe she should come back during work days when there were not too many people.

The bazaar mainly sell clothes. It was a great place to get Raya clothes for children, The dresses were damn cute, so were the baju melayu. There were also ornaments and cosmetics. The one stall which attracted my attention actually belonged to the singer, Amy Search.

I ended up buying some lights for the balcony for Raya decorations. All battery operated and portable. Definitely a great place to spend an afternoon shopping with plenty of cafe and restaurants - alas, it was Ramadhan. Great place to hang around ...