A Walk with Kam Raslan

It was only a short walk, but was a fascinating one. More of a history lesson, but it was not the political-laced, race-biased kind that was thought in schools nowadays. It was about our heritage. The legacy which made Kuala Lumpur what it is today. And it was all thanks to our guide for the morning, Kam Raslan.

Right, I wouldn't want to say much about the gentleman. The last time I made praises for a certain somebody, I ended up with a surat layang - at least I knew then that I had hit the big time when you receive an anonymous letter about somebody you mentioned in your blog. But I digressed. Just check his website here or google him to find more about him.

The walk started behind Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad opposite Dataran Merdeka, which was teaming with people this morning. No, they were not there to join the walk, but it was the crowd from the KL Marathon that morning. Kam started talking about Masjid Jamek, the Dataran and Bukit Aman, and we later moved on towards Lebuh Ampang.

We then doubled back towards Central Market, stopping at a Chinese temple along the way, to meet one of the main character who built Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loi. Kam did not do this walk regularly, but it was very clear that he enjoyed doing it, and certainly he had the passion for it. His knowledge of KL certainly would put the locals to shame.

For those interested, he would be doing another session next Sunday. Please take a look here for more details. The best way to find out about KLickr's activities or to join us, please visit our Facebook page here.

Covent Garden

For the first couple of days in London, I had been trying to convince the others in my group to give Covent Garden a visit. Yes, some of them did ask if there was a garden there. Resisting to laugh, I explained to them that it was an old market, smack in the middle of town, right next to Chinatown. But on the first day, we were too tired to venture out, and on the third day, we went towards Bayswater instead. Finally, on the sunny Saturday afternoon, I got my wish.

I set out from Oxford Circus, taking on the crowd, walked through Carnaby Street and Soho towards Chinatown. I then took one of the back alley to the Cath Kidston Store - more on that later. Another turn, and I was right into the market. The bright sunny afternoon really lifted my mood - unfortunately the mood included shopping, after which I was broke. I spend a good couple of hours sat at the cafe, enjoying the scene as well as mingling with the crowd. There were many open cafes and beer gardens round there, and also street performers aplenty. On one side of the market, they had rows of stalls selling high quality artwork, which unfortunately did not come cheap. But if you actually have some extra cash, it was definitely worth spending there. I bought a few shirts for my boys at David and Goliath.

I topped off the afternoon by having some halal ramen at Chinatown. At the time, the West End crowd were building up for the evening show at the theaters. It was getting dark when I finally left. A nice day out indeed.

KB Photo Walk

The famous Pasar Siti KhadijahOne peculiar thing about KB during my stay there was the gorgeous weather during the day, but it will start to rain late afternoon, making evening stroll during the golden hour a bit of a challenge. I decided to take my camera out during the late morning instead but unfortunately time was tight and I only had a couple of hours on my hands on the Monday morning for a walk.

There were quite a few places to visit reading through the various blogs. The ones I wanted to visit was definitely the famous Pasar Siti Khadijah - not for the shopping I must add - the War Memorial, the State Museum and Islamic Museum. Unfortunately time was tight, I plotted a round route taking me to the Memorial, Pasar then the State Museum.

Can't remember what this was called, but it was partially run down alreadyThe War Museum basically chronicled the struggle during the Japanese occupation. The materials were decent, plenty to read and ponder, even though there was not much in terms of exhibits. The ground floor was mainly on the World War while on the first floor, there were rooms housing royal mementos and the such. Took me close to 45 minutes to read through. Realising I was running out of time, I headed straight for Pasar Siti Khadijah.

Remember staying at this hotel during my first trip to KB back in 1988The Pasar - or market - was unique in the sense that it was under a big dome, and the majority of the sellers were Malay ladies. It has a central wet market, while the two upper floors mainly do packed food and clothes. If you were into clothes, you should check out Pasar Buloh Kubu next door instead. But be prepared to haggle. Make sure you have a local with you since the moment you open your mouth, people can tell if you’re from Kelantan or not - 50% discount if you were local trust me!

If you read websites or brochures about Kota Bharu, Pasar Siti Khadijah would definitely be a feature. From a vantage point on the second floor, you can see all the business taking place, a neat place to snap photos. It was too conspicuous of me to carry my dSLR walking around the market snapping picture on my own, so I stayed at the vantage point instead.

Puan Anita's favourite makan place in KB - Sun Two and Hoover

The Kelantan State MuseumNext was a quick stride across town to the State Museum, passing rows of old storefront, and Hotel Temenggung. I think I must have stayed there in 1988 on my first trip with my Mum to Kota Bharu. The hotel still looked the same. In front of the museum was a round-about with a newly built clock tower right in the middle. The museum was showing an exhibit on snakes - which was a hit amongst the local. I could see schoolbus-load of students coming through the entrance as I was making my way in. The locals - at least their children were pretty mesmerised by snakes. The exhibit was rather corny when I learned that part of the draw was a lady sitting in a glass room full of poisonous snakes - “Gadis dengan Ular Berbisa”. I switched off after that. I was hoping more on historical account of the state, wau bulan, gasing, wayang kulit and the likes.

My two hours was up. I had to go to Pengkalan Chepa for lunch right after, followed by a drive to Rantau Panjang for more shopping.

Scouting report

Since I spelt halfway during the Eng-guur-land game last night, I woke up extra early today. Got my gear ready and went about scouting for the route for the upcoming Scott Kelby Photowalk coming up next month. I ended up with blisters on my foot, but one had to suffer for art I suppose. I snapped the photos using the phone with the GPS on to track my position and will be discussing the route with my co-organising colleague later on this afternoon.

The route I scouted this morning was from the car park at Jalan Alor, walking towards Bukit Bintang. I then walked towards Pavilion. We will probably spend some time around here doing cityscape photography and candid snaps. The next stop will be KLCC via the Convention Centre which should be within 15 minutes on from Pavilion. This was when things get a bit complicated. Maybe w will spend more time by the park, taking more snaps.

The next challenge will be the route back. I walked through Jalan P Ramlee past the then deserted sports bar. My idea would be to start the walk possibly late afternoon and by the time we arrive at KLCC, it should be just before sunset. Therefore, it will be early evening when we pass by the sports bar again. My only worry would be afternoon rain if we start late. Alternatively, we can start late morning, maybe around 10, spend the afternoon at KLCC, before doubling back towards the PapaRich at Bukit Bintang near where we park for a spot of tea and maybe a slideshow as suggested with one of the organiser colleague. We will thrash the plan out later in the afternoon and possibly get somewhere!

For a more complete look at the route, please visit my flickr link here, where the photographs will be geotagged. The slideshow for the walk can be seen here. All the photos from this page and the slideshow wee taken using a mobile phone! You can sign up for the walk on this link.

Walkabout with my 400D

Idlan unfortunately developed temperature this morning. The initial plan was to go up the hill to Colmar Tropicale for a spot of sightseeing. We therefore spend the morning at home. I had the chance to watch the Grammies. Quite a glittering affair. Black Eyed Peas really rocked the house with 'I got a feeling'. The flop was definitely Taylor Swift. If she were to sing like that in front of Simon Cowell, she would've been booted out. Where was Kanye when you really needed him. I couldn't believe she won 'Album of the Year'!

The now legendary fake blossomI also woke up with a spot of glee. United comprehensively schooled the Arsenal at their backyard last night. An important win. We were now only a point behind Chelsea who will be traveling to Hull midweek to play their game in hand. I started Idlan on antibiotics and by late morning he was much better. But not after puking his breakfast out. After lunch, I decided to take my 400D out and head out to Bukit Bintang area to take pics. I also had to settle the credit card bill at a branch of UOB there - unfortunately the teller machine broke down, so I can't pay. I fully expect to hear from one of their telephone operator tomorrow to remind me to pay, during which I will remind them to fix their machine.

Heading towards Starbucks for some mochaThe main foyerI started off at the main entrance of Pavilion and around the fountain. The weather was very sunny and the lighting was rather tricky. The photos looked washed out and flat. I decided to head indoors. I soon got bored since I took some photograph of the interior already last week. I then made my way to Low Yat. It was pretty deserted for a weekday. The main foyer which used to be buzzing with vendors and stalls was empty. It was empty space. Something I was not used to. I walked around to look for photo printer since the current one I have was five years-old and the refills were hard to come by nowadays. The current prize for dedicated photo printers were already very cheap. Compared to the RM2500 I spend for my last printer, I can get an A4 printer for less than RM250 complete with ink-tank modification. That's important to cut maintenance down. The printers were to heavy to carry though as I park at Pavilion. Maybe next time.

By the time I came back to Pavilion, the lighting was better, and I started snapping away. I put up the slideshow here.