A Hazy #WWPW2015

It was finally done and I stayed indoors most of the time. The API doubled between the time we gathered until we split for lunch. And the KL Marathon scheduled the next morning was cancelled soon after due to the haze.

But that did not deter our determination to shoot. In the end, only 40 shooters turned up, which was a decline from last year. On paper it should have been at least 70.

We congregated as planned at Restoran Yusoof dan Zakhir right opposite the Central Market main entrace. Since I arrived late from the hospital, I parked straight there. Luckily it wasn't affected by the KL Free Car Day that morning. Had a quick breakfast before we congregate at the front of CM main entrance for a quick briefing as well as the obligatory group photo.

Soon after we that, we set off. We walked past the old “Bus Stand Kelang” - now transformed of course, passing by the far entrance of Petaling Street towards Pasar Karat, which was our first shooting area. We spent around half an hour there, shooting and mingling around with the crowd, having some coffee in the end as well.

I then walked past Petaling Street proper - which was still closed as it only operates from 11 am - through the remnant of Hotel Malaya towards the Guan Di Temple. Here, the group started to thin out with half of the group moving on towards the Sri Maha Maniaman Temple while others decided to hang around at Pasar Karat.

Me? I went to a completely different direction. I turned back towards Petaling Street, all the way towards Stadium Negara and join some friends at Merchant's Lane Cafe. This was a real discovery for me, a quaint, rustic cafe bar, renovated from the old pre-World War shophouses along Petaling Street with a hipster twist. Something that Puan Anita would appreciate! More on that later.

I had a slightly bigger breakfast, took some photos there while catching up. Half an hour later, it was time to walk towards the end meeting point while taking snaps along the way of course. But by this time, the haze was really picking up. The sky was even greyer than when we started, the air quality deteriorated, not a conducive time for a photowalk all around.

I skipped the planned stop at the Indian Shops along Leboh Ampang, and went straight to Burger King where we end our walk. We reached there quite early and got the best seats in the house. Again, we caught up with friends, said our goodbyes, quenched our thirst before finally setting off towards Central Market again, via Dataran Merdeka.

At this point in time, the KL Marathon had yet to be cancelled and preparations were in full swing. A long of runners were there to pick up their gears for the next day's race and judging from the air quality, I wasn't surprised that the announcement for cancellation finally came. We walked past the Masjid Jamek bridge and walked towards the CM Annex for our final stop - lunch.

Bob Magnus suggested that we have lunch at his old stomping ground on the top floor of Central Market. It must have been around 20 years since I last been at the stalls there, and not much had changed. More food and finally time to pack up and go.

A subdued walk due to the haze unfortunately, but the flame was still there. Definitely would be going again next year. And now time for post-production …. and uploads of course!

A Nice Walk

With the weather being nice and all, plus Anita and the boys went to the cinema with some of his classmates, I was left alone after the morning ward round. I decided to take my camera out for a spin. Thus time, it was the E-M1. Just to see what it could offer.

The route? I parked at KLCC and took the LRT to Masjid Jamek and walked towards Central Market. Bring Sunday, the place was crawling with foreign worker enjoying their day off. Plenty of shops there catering for these lot, and I just !indeed my own business.

Had an early lunch at CM, before walking across towards Dataran Merdeka, then off to Masjid India.

Spent dome time walking around Masjid India. A huge Sunday crowd had started building. Shops there were already gearing towards Aidil Fitri wears. Ramadhan was only 3 weeks away.

I then returned to KLCC via LRT and lingered around Avenue K before returning to apartment. It was still early then and Anita was still out.

A nice day outing, with sunny but breezy weather. Would've been better if in was with a crowd. Going around alone these days with a camera can be an intimidating proposition. People would state at you, and it took a while to blend in.

Still there were plenty of photos to be had. Straight to apartment to get them into post and upload them onto the net. My computer and internet connection there was much better than in Gombak.

New Medan Pasar

The clock tower to the north of Central Market used to mark the bus stop in the middle of town. It was a hub, signalling destination was reached and time to alight and sample the city centre.

The clock tower was now bare, meaning no more hustling busses stopping nearby. The whole area was transformed into a pedestrian walkway to good effect.

Nice art deco pattern at the base of the clock towerNow, the central area could use some original attraction or two. It was just too bare. The surrounding area also could use some redevelopment. Some nice old building were out there, and the walkways were being upgraded as well.

I see potential in this place. But first, we must figure out what to do with the Bangladeshi and Nepalese crowd around there. It was starting to feel like a foreign country.

Central Market Today

It had been a while since in last visited the Market. And it was even longer for Anita. She wanted to buy some gifts and after looking at some items at Jonker Street, she wondered how much was the difference in price between Melaka and KL. Suffice to say that it was a lot.

The place was pretty quite which was expected this being a Tuesday. A few tourists about but January was hardly a peak time for visitors in KL. Still, things remained very expensive.

The huge way motif overlying Kasturi Walk Do come inAlways had this thing about the tiles at Central MarketThe Kasturi Walk was now fully ready. It was still being erected when I last ventured here. But one thing certain about the place was the impression that the visitors would get. They would think that Malaysia and Indonesia shared the same dialect. Most of the vendors here employed Indonesian to man their shops. Something that the authority should into very seriously.

The restaurant at the second floor still served a mean tom yam. But again, only a couple of the staffs there were local.

Some of my previous entries on Central Market can be read here and here.

Walk in Town

I ended up in town accompanying Puan Anita earlier this afternoon. Luckily I got my camera along, giving me time to snap away while waiting. And the weather was gorgeous.

I ended up doing a long circuit, ending up going to Dataran Merdeka and back.

Will be posting the photos later as some of them were still being cooked and some were already on Flickr. Plenty to go through.