Bazaar Masjid India

Anita was really excited when we arrived at the bazaar after the LRT trip. So much things to see and being early on Friday afternoon, the place was still relatively quiet. Try going there during weekends ...

Power long? Power short?The huge Jakel Mall close byRM10 for those are not cheap in my book ...

It's coming into Syaban soon, which meant that Ramadhan would be next before Syawal. So, the selection for Eid was already available at the bazaar as well as Wisma Yakin next door. Anita had yet to select the colour for this year's theme, so we decided to just have a browse around. Convincing our boys to come along to check for sizes would be a challenge.

After Anita bought a few items, we then walked along further towards Jalan Bunus and Semua House.

There are all manner of footwear here. And this one was certainly the biggest!For the ladies ...If it doesn't fit, this guy would fix it ...Just in case you're hungry ...Don't think this comes under "happy toys"That's colourful ...I will write more about Semua House later, but it seemed that the business had been usurped by the gigantic Jakel Mall only 100m away.

We turned back and stopped at the stalls for some snack before heading back towards the Masjid Jamek LRT station to return home. It was a couple of hours well spent.

More photos from the bazaar trip here.

The LRT

The last I used the LRT was some time last year. I really didn't mind it. But for Anita, last Friday was the first time that she actually used the service in town. She rode once from Gombak to KLCC with the boys during quiet hours when the coaches were empty. This time around, we decided to take a ride on a Friday afternoon.

Getting onto the top of the platformI finished work early, and with the weather being gorgeous, we decided to head into town while trying to avoid the mad Friday afternoon traffic. The solution, we parked at Nu Sentral and hopped next door at KL Sentral to take the LRT. Two stops later, we were already at Masjid Jamek, taking the exit and walking towards the bazaar at Masjid India.

Coming back was rather more challenging as the brunt of the rush hour crowd had ascended towards KL Sentral. Again, we took the LRT train from Masjid Jamek for a couple of stops back to our car.

At Masjid Jamek stop where the ceiling was flooding during one of those heavy KL rainfallUnfortunately when I arrived at Nu Sentral, I received a call from the hospital. I had to sort out a couple of patients there, one at the Casualty. My plan to join the Nurse's Night Dinner were blown again this year ...

Part 9 Last Stop

It had been a nice sunny day, and I was happy that snapped more than 300 frames. It would be a long day of editing right after but as usual, we met up one last time to say our goodbyes and of course, had something to eat.

This year, it was a cafe right next to Masjid Jamek. It was called CoffeeBox. Not great but it had wifi and air-conditioning. That should do the trick nicely.

Busy crossing

Networking..... and post-mortemThis was when we exchanged cards and found out a bit more about what the other participants did for a living. We had a Government Servant, a senior Bank Officer, a retired pilot, and full-time photographer i the mix.

I enjoyed the walk this year, and it was a lot to do with the fact that I was not involved in organising it. Being a walk leader was not really hard work, but on the day, you worry about what the participants would take back from the walk. You ended up trying to keep things on track rather than you yourself walk around enjoying the day. I also managed to get the day off, meaning that I only had minimal interruptions from the hospital.

Time to say goodbyeBack to the LRTIn the end, a afternoon off for me, and I managed to learn a few things about Chow Kit and central KL. When I was talking to the fellow walker at Capital Cafe, we felt that there were plenty of KL which was left undocumented. These celebrated past may be left untold to the future generations. Plenty of anecdotes about the shops and cafe would be lost forever if we do not start jotting them down. Something to take for the future I think ……. Something well worth pursuing …..

More about the walk here.

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.

More scouting

The unmistakeable Kompleks Dayabumi - Petronas used to operate from here prior to the Twin TowersNow that we sort of like had the general idea of where to head for on the upcoming Kelby’s Photowalk, it was my turn to do another scout, to avoid any surprises so to speak. All in all, it was a very promising route, but it will need some refinements, and luck for good weather.

The starting pointAs proposed, we will be setting off from Central Market. I imagine on a Saturday morning, at 10, CM will still be quiet. I will later scout for a restaurant for us to congregate. Maybe some of us will be having breakfast there. There was a small market there today on the main walkway. Apparently according to one of the vendors, it happens there every weekend morning. From my observation, there was not very much to see there. Maybe we will walk around the area for a start before setting off to the train station.

The weekend market next to the CM.... selling all sortsFor there, we will cross a small bridge towards Kompleks Dayabumi where we will pass throguh the car park. I suggest we park there. It was indoors and costs RM2.50 per entry. The entrance is rather tricky since you have to be driving from Dataran Merdeka to get to the entrance. Through the car park, into the small shopping area at the Kompleks, we will emerge on the other side. A right turn from here will take us to Dataran Merdeka. We will instead take a left towards the old Train Station. It has now been converted into Komuter station, and part of the terminal building has been renovated int a hotel, Heritage Hotel. I will need to talk to the hotel management to see if there is any worthwhile access through the hotel, in case it leads into anywhere near the old platform. If so, that will be ace!

There is a beaten path from CM to Dayabumi, along an underpass, then across a pedestrian bridgeThis will take us straight into the carpark - I propose we park here, but public transport is of course would be betterAn exit from the carpark will lead us here. Straight down would be Dataran Merdeka but first we will head in the oposite direction.We will then reach the old train stationAn underground pass will then take us towards the KTM office right opposite. We will then move towards Dataran Merdeka, passing by Masjid Negara. Maybe more photo op there. Past Bukit Aman, we will soon reach Dataran Merdeka, Bangunan Sultan Sallehuddin - the old High Court - and the famous flagpole. Maybe we will spend a few moments here.

Fancy a quick drink?Brought back childhood memories this. Used to take the train from Penang to reach KL, and this was were we alight.Under another pedestrian underpass to reach the KTM Office buildingPassing by Masjid Negara, we will then head towards Dataran MerdekaA short walk round the corner will take us towards Lebuh Ampang. This is where the old KL meets new, with plenty of restored shop front. There will be a few Mamak restaurants, McDonald’s, Burger King and 7-Eleven to stock up or stop for lunch. We will also be passing by Masjid Jamek - the real centre of Kuala Lumpur for more photo op! Central Market - where we set off was also just round the corner.

Dataran Merdeka and the famous clubhouseThe pole needed no introductionThe Masjid Jamek forming the real center of Kuala Lumpur - where Sg Kelang and Sg Gombak met. There are plenty of restaurants near here for lunch.From here we might linger around a bit longer around Lebuh Ampang or head towards Chinatown, depending on our mood. We might already be tired by then, or filled up our memory cards …..

There will be a lot of things to photograph. A renovated shop front.Colourful and contrasting buildings - disclaimer, taken with a 7DFreedom of expressionCongregation of foreign workersKuala Lumpur welcomes youAll this scouting was done in under an hour believe it or not!I will need to scout this area more specifically to finalise the route to take to Chinatown, or even if it will be worth the trip considering the time we will be arriving there which will be right after lunch. Will update more as the time nears. Everyone are welcomed to join in on the photowalk scheduled for Saturday 24th July. For further information about the walk and how to join, please visit here. A more thorough walkthrough can be seen on my flickr set. Slideshow for this scouting mission can also be seen here. Again, all the photos here were taken using a mobile phone unless otherwise indicated.