2011 Scott Kelby Photowalk, Part I

I was so disappointed that I could not join the walk on time due to work commitment. I arrived at Central Market at around 10.30, and the rest of the group had already moved on by ten. They were not too far away however. I managed to catch up with them just as they were leaving the Sri Mahanaraman Temple.

The usual suspects were there, and I hung around with the more 'senior' crowd. The first port of call was the Guan Di Temple, just up the road from the meeting point. After 20 minutes or so, the main group entered Petaling Street while the rest of us went towards Bukit Nanas. The idea was to catch the crowd leaving the morning mass at St John's Cathedral. Got there in time, but not much to see there really. By the time, the main group had already arrived. We pushed on towards Jalan Bonus and Masjid India.

This would be my submission for the photowalk photo.Guan Di Temple in the morningPak Rahmat studying all the angles

Here, we had a decision to make. I was starving as I only had an early breakfast. According to one of the participants, Zul, the place around the corner served a mean biryani. I tried it - at Restoran Noor - and I was not disappointed. It was the best biryani I had in years! A simple place, ran by a couple from Penang.

They had regular customers coming during weekends. One of them, an middle-aged Chinese gentleman, had been frequenting the area for a good 25 years, and he actually lived out of town. He was there with the rest of his family.

Our walk leader is a Manager at Maybank. I am pretty sure he is a member.It would be cheating if we took the bus and participated in the photowalkPressing on towards Masjid IndiaAlong Jalan HS Lee, we passed by this rather traditional looking bike shop...... and everything in there was .... old

We then ventured forth towards the new covered bazaar of Masjid India. A comfortable area, which I never knew existed. The last time I was here must have been more than 15 years ago. A lot had changed since. The vendors lined up the street of Jalan Melayu, selling clothes and food. It was like a night market. ANd before long, we had arrived at the end point of the walk, Masjid Jamek.

It was only 200m away from Masjid India. We met up with Adi, my cousin near the LRT station there. And within 10 minutes, we had a group of Myanmar quarreling and a bizarre road accident in front of our eyes. I was not sure if it was Adi's influence or not!

Now, the zooms were out Crossing the bridge to Masjid IndiaAll in all, it was more leisurely than the last year's walk, mainly because the route was a lot simpler and the weather was overcast, threatening to rain. The fact that I did not have to be one of the organisers helped. I also decided to take my X100 rather than lugging around my dSLR. In the end, I had more than 200 snaps. Definitely looking forward for these walks every year …..

Snap of yours truly taken by Fariz. He was trying out the X100.

I will put up more snaps on my later entry. Watch this space ....

The slideshow for all the photos I took on the walk can be seen here.

Where are the Traffic?

I was really surprised with the traffic this morning. Especially after being stuck along NKVE last night on the way home. I was lucky that Anita and the children were at the Curve with one of her friends, so I joined them for dinner there half way home.

This morning, the road were almost deserted. I arrived at work just after 30 minutes. At the mess, everybody was talking about it and the clinics were empty. We suspected that it had something to do with the start of PMR today. Parents nowadays were concerned enough that most of then took leave to make sire their children were ready for the big exam. I suspect Anita would do the same when the time comes .....

The Positives of The New Central Market

There had been plenty of changes at Central Market over the last few years. I have mentioned the negatives in my previous posts, mainly on how the place had become commercialised. But, on the other side of the coin, the commercialisation also contributed to a more organized and more presentable venue.

I noticed a couple of things this time around, from spending around half an hour there. The tiles and the restaurants.

Some creative gift shops around here. This one sells novelty postcards.The sidewalks were themed. This one was self-explanatory.Nice outdoor motifs, indoors.Trying them for sizeStill in Hari Raya mode

I didn't know why, but I found the tiles on the floors there fascinating. Maybe I should Google a bit more details about that. The restaurants were rather more obvious. Actually, I wouldn't mind bringing over a few friends from abroad hanging around there for a couple of hours or so, enjoying the ambiance, do a bit of shopping and then have something to eat.

Apparently, you can get free wifi from the shops there as well, making it quite interesting to spend some time looking at people. Might try that in the future.

The main food court on the upper floorNice neat rows of seatingHow it looked from the lower floors.The main entrance on the daySince I was alone, and I had to rush to Kajang for lunch, I left early. Would love to come back soon and have another feel of the place.

For more stories about this photowalk around Central Market, please click here.

The Third Installment of the CM Walk

Just to finish things off, in the middle of the walk, I ventured into Jalan Tun HS Lee, where it was dubbed Little India in the middle of town.

Colours everywhere. There were plenty of shops selling flowers. Nice friendly people all around.It was Malaysia Day a couple of days back. The Jalur Gemilang was still on display.Now, this was confusing. Does it mean the beauties were on display 24 hours in a day?That chap thought I was a foreigner from snapping his photos ....There were plenty of Indian shops here, as well as restaurants. Stopped here a few times before, the last time being right at the end of the Kam Raslan Walk a few months back.

Where to go next?Saw this charming hotel across the street from Little IndiaThe colour was really striking. Not sure how good the hotel was though.Well, everything was for sale I nowadays.More charming little shops could be found around here.Nice name for a building, "Raggae House". I wondered what went on behinds those walls.A colourful place, with flowers and sarees. A real treat for the camera. It was still early, so the sun was still low. Not really that hot as yet .....

More entries about this photowalk available here.

A Sunday Morning Around Central Market

After planning for so many days, everything finally fell into place on Sunday morning. The weather was gorgeous, there were hardly any traffic in town, and more importantly, I managed to wake up early that morning.

It was Sunday and it was early. The vendors were still setting up their stalls.Most of the work were just out in the open over night. I was sure there was security.And the artwork were pretty amazing.The mix of the rustic and new .....I set off from Central Market at around 9.30am and was already back home by 11. So where did I go?

I mingled around the street next to Central Market, called Kasturi walk. The vendors for the weekend market were just opening their stalls then. I then walked towards Lebuh Ampang, snapped more photos there, passing by Jalan HS Lee, before doubling back. Walked inside Central Market as the shops were being opened, before heading back home. Using the X100, people were less suspicious when I was snapping away. Handy.

Setting off by Lebuh Pudu, running parallel to Central Market.The eye-catching roof of Kasturi Walk. Nice and interesting.The stalls were just being opened. But sadly, the majority of the workers here were foreigners, kinda sucked as this was one of the hot tourist spots in town.This used to be a McDonald's outlet. I guessed the influx of foreign workers had something to do with this ....More stories as I ventured out a bit further.

The area around the market was still empty as on Sunday, it was normally filled by foreign workers meeting their friends and visiting shops around there. At 10am, it was still way to early. I only saw pockets of people ascending down. I was sure it would be packed by noon. The portal for this photowalk entry is here.