The Fruit Market

The first port of call would be the fruit market. It was newly renovated and the whole place appeared new compared to the last time we came to visit.

According to the vendors, the new market had only been opened last July. They were nearly arranged in rows and very spacious. One thing that was very obvious was how clean the place was.

A bit of TLCColourful

The vendors were friendly and were smiling away. Some asked about what we were up to and we told them that it was a yearly thing that the get together for this sort of a hunt. Some of them were reluctant to have their photos taken, and we completely understood.

Glorious petai

He was muttering away ....

Of course we didn't take pictures at the area which did some copied products. There were also a thriving business of gold-plating jewelleries around the place.

The fruits there were nice and fresh, much better compared to the local supermarkets. No durians though. Those were sold outside the market...

Nangka ....The lights in there was fantastic. The new building allowed for natural lights to enter from high above, all at an angle giving nice, soft light. It was still early afternoon and it didn't feel warm. A perfect place to do photography. Shame that I didn't have a telephoto lens with me at the time.

The Route

The route this time around was straight forward although the catch was the point and the end were different. They were about a couple of kilometers apart.

We met at Shazz Restaurant, a Mamak outlet behind the old Batu Road. The scheduled meet up was 8.30 for breakfast before setting off at 9. Luckily I made it just in time.

After the briefing and if course the group photo, we went through Chow Kit market. We first entered the dry part which was recently opened after renovation. Excellent lights in there and that formed the bulk of the walk.

We then exited the market via the older wet part where things could get messy. We then walked towards Safuan Plaza on the other end, before joining Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman proper towards Maju Junction, passing by a few restaurants.

My group stopped for some food at Capital Café, opposite Sogo before turning left towards the end point at Semua House. Again some of us had biryani but I gave that a miss after having a drink at the last stop.

After lunch, I walked through Masjid India to take the LRT at the Masjid Jamek stop to get to my car parked at Nu Sentral.

That Famous Cube

That famous cube in front of Lot 10 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

The weather was hot and I would have usually had some ice cream at the nearby vendor. Surprisingly not that many people about this afternoon despite it being a Sunday. Time to head towards Pavilion. I parked there.

Into Town

As I mentioned, the shopping malls were near. Apple Store was only a 10 minutes walk and the mall nearby had a floor full of tech shops. Shame that they were not cheap! The recent currency downturn certainly taking a toll on the wallet.

I got straps for my Apple Watch and of course something for Anita on the Saturday evening when I had time to have a walk. After breakfast on Sunday, I had another chance for a stroll, but this early in Sunday morning, it wasn't much to see compared to Bangkok. The place appeared quite sterile and the locals were not as approachable as the Thai were.

The Langham was located 5 minutes away from Harbour City, a huge mall located next to a pier. This was where cruise ships came to dock, making the place popular to tourist. And the prices of items there were certainly not for bargain-hunters. Some of the top brands retailed more expensive than in KL, and in the end, I only shopped for the novelty factor.

I had a quick stop at the Leica store. Yes, they had the Leica Q there, but it would've cost me RM4000 more than in KL, although the waiting list is around 4 months back home. There was always the threat of price hack at home to with the currency and all.

After Harbour City, before I split with the main group to go to Apple Store, we went to a more downmarket part of town. And the reason for going there was to food. It was off-limits for me anyhow since it was not going to be Halal, but I got to see the real locals. They have high purchasing powers despite the high price of goods. And I would imagine that housing was expensive as well. They have quite a big crowd of migrant workers judging from the number of foreign restaurants there. The only Halal one was a Turkish kebab joint, but I didn't want to risk my tummy.

The Apple Store was as you'd expect, but I would put that in a separate entry later, plus my gadget-hunting exploits.

More write-up on the trip here.

Pasar Karat KL

Karat literally translates to "rust" in English. We were not talking about diamonds here, but sure enough Pasar Karat is a flea market near Petaling Street in KL, and one could unearth some gems from time to time!

Some dubbed it "Market of Thieves" and certainly one can't help but wonder why such term was coined when you walk around the market. They were filled with antiques and certainly some stolen goods as well.

How to get there? It ran parallel to Petaling Street (KL Chinatown) in the middle of town, within walking distance from Central Market, and it formed part of the route for our #WWPW2015 - Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk - the other day. It opened every Saturday and Sunday as early as 6 am, and one had to get there early to get the best bargain.

We entered the market from the Jalan Sultan entrance, making our way into Petaling Street proper. When we arrived there at almost 9, the place was already packed. They were all makeshift stalls and tables, the wares being left displayed in the open for us to bargain on the price. The main stalls by the entrance were selling proper antiques. The deeper you go, the dodgier the business were until right at the back where you suspect that those were all stolen items.

But it was all in good spirit. The sellers were pretty approachable, but be sure to ask their permission before you take their photos. They can be a bit touchy. After all, it was their turf.

After walking for around 20 minutes, talking to some of the sellers, we sat by a coffee stall to have a drink. According to the owner, Pasar Karat had been around since the early 80s. It used to be exclusively Chinese but in the last 10 years, foreigners came into the picture, and with that some rougher characters. There were always some plain clothed policeman around patrolling the area and see if there are any disturbances. One had also had to be wary about your pockets, and make sure you keep your personal belongings to yourself. But generally speaking the place were quiet peaceful.

I didn't buy anything since I couldn't bother to carry them on the rest of my walk. Certainly not a place I would come alone. Safety in numbers, that was the key. The vendors could tell if it was your first time there, and how good could you bargain.

The items sold there were also rather dodgy especially the electronics. One could get an 32Gb SD card for around RM30, but one couldn't guarantee if you can safe more than 4Gb of data on the card if you know what I mean! Watch out for bargains that were too good to be true! And everything has a price!

As for photo-ops, certainly there were plenty to snaps. There were some nice looking murals on the walls and the patron there tended to be characters as well. But be sure to ask permission before you snap. More likely than not, they would say yes. And if they say no, move along. Just google "Pasar Karat KL" and you would sure to get the directions to the place. Happy hunting!