Cycle Away

This is something new for KL. oBike is a bike sharing system where you use a smartphone app to book a bicycle point one point to another in town. That saved you from hailing a cab or Uber while helping to reduce pollution as well as keeping you healthy.

I downloaded the early this week, topped up some credit but has yet to use the service. The bikes in town were parked strategically making picking and dropping off the bike convenient. Anita was keen to try as well and we might just try that in the coming few weekends.

Hopefully the service could be maintained as the idea was certainly a good one. My fear was our culture of maintenance and responsibility were still generally lacking. The service owner must keep their bicycles in good nick, otherwise the public would stop using them once the initial novelty wore off.

As it stood, it was certainly a welcome sight when you see a row of bicycles parked neatly as you leave the MRT.

New Look Bukit Bintang

It must have taken at least four years to get the MRT done around the centre of town. That was how long that famous intersection at Bukit Bintang was thrown into chaos, followed by the closure of Bukit Bintang Plaza - which is still being rebuilt.

Still some landscaping needed doing ...Another entrance round the cornerThose iconic landmarks ...It had finally be opened and the place had been cleaned up quite well. The traffic were starting to build but the flow was a lot smoother than it used to be. It looked less chaotic but I was sure once the new Bukit Bintang Plaza was built, the chaos would return.

Let's go across ...Passed the old Bukit Bintang towards Capitol Hotel and Low YatThe old car park being torn down ....The new MRT station there was still spankingly clean, transforming this area.

Back to Bukit BintangThere used to be a nice cafe there, which had been closed earlier this yearI am sure this crossing would be iconic in the futureI was at the intersection a few Sundays ago to have a feel of how the place had become. More cosmopolitan but on the whole rather too sterile for my liking. Maybe in the months to come, the place would acquire a character of its own, if not back to the old charm.

The Third Floor Cafe

Big books. And good coffee. On a Sunday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect way to end the week.

That was what I had earlier today when I ventured to Isetan at Lot 10 as I got a spare couple of hours. The initial plan was to see a 3D printing demonstration but I realised that the timing was not right. I had to be back home before the program started. So, the hour sipping coffee and browsing books at the third floor at the Isetan store sounded fine to me.

Just in case you were so enamoured and wanted to go to Japan straight away, there was also a travel agent on the same floorIt was rather difficult to term the place. Was it a cafe with books, or a cafe at a bookstore. Seemed like most people were doing a bit of both. The coffee was OK, not the best in town, but the books there were something else especially when you venture towards the travel books section. Great material, in heavy minded volumes. The books on urban landscapes and street photography definitely tickled my fancy as lately I found those to be the kind of photography I like - or more like the only photography my schedule allowed me to do plenty of.

I decided against buying the books as I had to trek back to another store where I parked my car and I had a couple of stops in between. Maybe I would come back to buy some books. It would complement the volume I had in my living room nicely.

The cafe counter

Apart from the cafe and books, the third floor were also dedicated to workshops for origami as well as all things Japanese. Take that day for instance, there was a Japanese artist who came to do a demo on 3D glass printing. There were more activities laid out for the rest of the year - which you had to enrol and pay for of course. I might just bring Idlan there one of these days if the event was right ... he loved origami.

Lot 10 hosted - and still hosts - the first Isetan Store in Malaysia. There were a few others now but the one in Lot 10 had been renovated into what was termed a “Japanese Concept Store”. It had ample space with plenty of room to browse around. There were no items cluttering the walkways and it did not have the typical “pushy” salesperson common in KL. You can just walk around without being bothered. Definitely a place worth visiting ....

Isetan Lot 10

This place is neat. A piece of Japan in the middle of KL. Bukit Bintang to be specific.

I managed to get home earlier than usual last Tuesday and I decided to ask Anita for an afternoon out. This time it was slightly different. I took her on the new MRT, after sampling it myself for the first time earlier last weekend.

We parked at NU Sentral as I usually do, took the MRT and came out of the station right in front of Lot 10. I told Anita that there had been some major renovations going on there and the new Isetan at Lot 10 had been completely transformed.

Some nice lighting on the top floorThose were killer macarons Time to explore Anita was skeptical at first. But it didn't take long for the place to win her over. The Lower Ground floor where all the food were left the biggest impression on her. I was more into the the "workspace cubicles" on the third floor. They had a nice little care with some really cracking books around there.

Let's start with the food as I felt that the cubicles deserved a separate entry. Most of the items were rules in especially. The cakes were luxurious and really tummy, although very costly. Anita bought to slices and even before we left the store, those had gone through her mouth. They were that good.

There were a number of sushi bars there as well. We didn't try them as we were not sure if they were halal. Plus it was still too early for dinner. We had a good look around. The Waugh beef specially imported in .... those scrumptious cookies and short cakes! Too many temptations.

Really wished that I could spend more time there. Maybe sample a cuisine or two. But not today ... Many more floors to explore ...

It Has Been a While

It had been a while since I had the chance to have a nice walk in town, just with my camera. Ramadhan, then Raya made for busy weekends. Last Sunday morning, I had a couple of free hours and I did just that.

I kinda got a good feel taking wide-angle street photos lately. I had the choice of either the Alpha 7 with the Batis or as I did this time around, the X-Pro2 with the 10-24 mm wide angle zoom. I got off the rounds early, got to the bank and sorted out my credit card payments plus a quick stop at Low Yat checking out the new gadgets.

What did I check out this time? The new 10.5 inch iPad Pro. Definitely nippy but my old iPad was still working fine.

I spent some time around Pavilion looking for a new pair of shoes, but nothing caught my fancy. Going out this early on a Sunday meant that there were hardly any traffic to content with. Everything was smooth and I get to see and do what I planned smoothly. I was back at the apartment well before lunchtime ...