Morning Walk

Yes! Right after breakfast, waiting for the children to get ready and packing done, I had some time to walk into town, with the camera on tow. The sun came out to play, although it was a bit high on the horizon, it was better than nothing.

It turned out that the whole town woke up late. The place started to buzz only after 10am, with the shops opened and the locals venturing out. It was still quiet enough for me to walk around without being bothered although I wished that the market was opened.

I started off in the middle of town, snapping away at the old shop lots and then the river front.

Then, I drove up Bukit Chandan, stopping at Masjid Ubudiyah before making one round at the Istana. I didn't stop this time as it was already late.

It was a nice walk, but I would've enjoyed it more if I was in a crowd, or better still, somebody who knew the history of the place. Kuala Kangsar was one of the oldest Malay settlement and is steep with history. In the future, I would definitely take my boys along and tell them a bit more about the place ...

Windows of Jonker

I have to admit that there was a certain charm about Jonker Street, at least to photographers. The place is photogenic to the hilt, at so many levels.

I went to photograph it early in the morning to enjoy the golden light against the colourful windows and building facade. You can go in the afternoon to join the crowd and do a bit of street photography. Then there is always the night photography ton different kind of crowd.

Then there is the food - a whole variety of it - and the many watering hole if you're that way inclined. The shopping experience was a revelation as well. Many of the antique and collectable items would've cost a lot more in KL.

But for the walk I had last weekend, I was fascinated by the colours of the rows of shophouses there. Nice contrast, bright and festive. And it went on all year long, not around the Chinese New Year.

Certainly Jonker Street is a photographer's delight. I wished that I had a few friends with me who were familiar with the area as a guide.

More about this trip here.

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.

KL City Gallery

This was something new that I discovered. Not exactly a museum, but a showroom for the local handicraft company ARCH - famous for wooden gifts - to promote their products. But it was done tastefully in the form of man exhibition centre.

Located right opposite Dataran Merdeka famous flagpole, this converted colonial building host a gallery about KL in the past as well as a unique model of the town the size of a room.

They served plenty of information - could be more - as well as promote local events such as walks and bus rides. The great location could certainly be a hub for tourist activities but the promotions was pretty basic. I stumbled into it after seeing the bright red 'I live KL' sign sitting at its door. Cool stuff indeed.

A room-sized model of Kuala LumpurModel of Bangunan Sultan Abdul SamadA great idea but something which should have been done by the local tourism board rather than a private company due to a clear conflict of interest. The collection of old artifact was pretty basic. I felt that more effort should have been made for it to carry the title of a city gallery. This was more of a showroom. Can't blame ARCH though. It was a genuine effort on their part to start all this.

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.