Ramadhan Walk

Since I was off for the first day of Ramadhan, I decided to take a ride into time en route to pick Anita up from Gombak. It allowed me to stop at the bank to settle some bills and took my camera with me.

That famous monorel bridge at NU SentralWaiting for my ride ...Decorations at NU SentralPacking them in ..I just got myself a new lens and was eager to give that a go. Ramadhan and the hot sunshine did not stop me.

One of the many arches near Central MarketMedan PasarStill too early for Aidil FitriWalking around Medan Pasar and Central Market at that hour was not really my idea of a photowalk, but there were quite a few subjects to aim at.

The ever-familar KL TowerThe number to call ...Masjid JamekMaking my way backThe new setup I tried - the Leica CL with Summicron-TL 23 - was a dream to use, especially as I usually use a manual setup. Focussing on this combo was fast and usually accurate despite the lens wide open. Contrast may not be as great as the Summilux-M 35 which I normally use, but the convenience of autofocus made up for it. Time to get more mileage on the lens and get use to the renderings ...

CNY at NU Sentral

NU Sentral didn’t want to be left behind for this year’s Chinese New Year decorations. But this year was not a vintage. They had one huge rooster right in the middle of the foyer!

And when I said huge, I meant three-stories tall, and its tail formed a series of lantern.

I managed to catch it on the way Masjid India - NU Sentral happened to be a convenient place to park your car if you plan to take the LRT or the Monorel.

Apart from the huge rooster, there were nothing much to see really. I remembered their classy effort from a couple of years back, and that particular theme which involved village scenes complete with life-sized dolls were being copied at other venues - this year being Berjaya Times Square.

P Ramlee at Nu Sentral

I first learned about this exhibit from my Instagram feed. Plenty of my friends learned about the National Archive doing an exhibition at Nu Sentral about the work of the late Tan Sri P Ramlee. At the back of the success of Ola Bola, it was certainly great timing, tapping into the public interest.

The very one used in Penarik Becha!I turned up on a Sunday afternoon, alone as Anita was with the kids at home, and judging from the number of people who stopped by, was a great success. It was certainly helped by the effort being put in. The exhibits were very clearly labelled and certainly looked professional. The fact that it was free also helped, and with the number of people walking past as they go about near KL Sentral, the exhibit was bound to be a winner.

Those were the actual clothes used in his movieMore personal histories and memorabilia I was not sure how long it was going to run, but it was certainly worth my afternoon. Hopefully, the exhibit would be a continuing effort, being rotated around different venues.

He certainly likes his scooters ....Nice layout of the exhibition as seen from the upper floor of the mall

It featured succinct informations, anecdotes as well as exclusive items from the era. It was quiet a surprise what the great man achieved in his 44 years on this earth. And I would be turning 44 in July. It was beyond compare!

A Reunion of Sorts

WhatsApp and Telegram had opened the way for old friends to hook up more so than Facebook. Accessibility being the key, as well as the reduced risk of distraction when one looked at their Facebook page. WhatsApp also allowed for real time notification especially in the current climate of fast is best.

In the last few months, my olds friends from school had created a WhatsApp group which should I say, very active. I got most of the updates from my wife - she is also in the group - as I had shut down the notification since it was too distracting.

One thing let to another and last weekend, my wife had a mini-reunion from other girls from our year. None of the boys were invited but I had the trump card. I was the designated driver for Anita.

The meet-up took place last Saturday at Nu Sentral. I had a long day including ward round, a lecture to deliver at UMMC as well as referral across town at Park City. By the time I was free, it was already time for them to go. I finally hooked up with Anita and the rest at around 5, enough time for a quick group selfie.

As you could see, I was the thorn among the roses! With my white hair sticking out.

Time certainly flew, with some of them I only last met 26 years back. There were murmuring of a bigger reunion towards the end of the year, but I could see that it would be hard work to get everybody together under one roof. It would definitely be in KL since most of them were based there now.

So, would wait for the next meet-up and hopefully the boys were invited as well ....

NU Sentral CNY Shophouses

Hands down, the best CNY shopping mall decorations this season must have been the one at Nu Sentral. This new place has certainly been garnering attention and with its strategic location and easy access, the mall management certainly didn't just sit back. They actually put in great effort which certainly put other malls to shame when it came to attracting punters.

Their theme was old Malaysian shophouses depicting the various races with their different wares, which you could imagine could happen in small towns in the 60s. Yes, they were stereotypical, but I couldn't help but have a wry smile looking at them. it certainly brought out the diversity of the different races which made up Malaysia, and what harmony meant.

I kept looking round the corner if some NGO might turn up to complaint ..... but I digress.

I really enjoyed the decoration here. It was Chinese New Year's Day and the place was quite crowded, making taking snaps a struggle at times. I got the feeling however that the word had not gone out about the place as I was sure more people would go to places like Mid Valley Megamall and 1Utama despite poorer access to public transport.

The foyer was transformed into an old town centre which in the old days was the nerve centre of the community. There were mock-up of restaurants, grocery shops, gold merchant and the likes with cute figures all dressed up as the vendors. Rather cute.

When I reached there - just after lunch - the dragon dance troupe were just packing up, with the crowd about to disperse. I just snapped away before rushing back to the hospital to see a referral.

Highly recommended before the decorations were put down maybe in a bother week.