A Sunday Stroll at Pavilion

Right after my stop at UM, I decided to take my X100 for a quick spin. Destination, Pavilion and its 300 foot dragon at the main foyer.

Even at 11 am, the place was already crowded and a lot of pushing and shoving was going on. Not my cup of tea. So I did just that. I sat down for a quick drink.

The dragon was a bit of an anticlimax as you were not able to get close. The thing was hanging 50 feet off the ground. Not really close enough for a good snap. The crowd was not helpful either. So, after the obligatory snaps, I went outside Pavilion entrance and I was glad I did that.

The overcast weather allowed for great close-up shots of the details on the Buddy Bear. Spent more than half an hour looking around and got plenty of photos. There were great patterns and colours to be snapped. And the area outside was a lot more open and the crowd were a lot more sensible.

Funnybthat there were plenty to be seen if you look closely enough. The artists clearly put plenty of effort into their work in designing the bear. Taking stock of them really put you back a bit. It soon became clear how lame the USA and the British designs were. But there you go.

Rather than heading out to Bukit Bintang, I decided to hold back and make my way back home. I have a birthday party to attend letter in the afternoon. One of Idlan's classmate's party. Otherwise, I would have gone on. I was on a roll. More on the Buddy Bear snaps later.

2011 Scott Kelby Photowalk, Part III

To finish things off, I thought I just publish the rest of the photos I took during the photowalk ..... There were tons of them.

Looked surprisingly similar to one Mona Fandey I thought ....The walk towards Bukit Nanas, passing a row of old shops. SOme of them were still opened, looking unchanged since the 60sThe Jalan Ampang end of Jalan HS Lee, where the Indian restaurants and shops were located. Some mean nasi daun pisang to be had here.A quite literal company logo ......Stop-over for lunch. Giving us ample opportunity to look at the shots so far.Shazni waiting for his order. How can one miss that bright orang shirt.Arrived at the end meeting point, where the camera deserved some well-deserved respite.Ripi, this year's walk organiser did a great job with the route.Fariz brought along his medium format camera. That managed a roll of eight shots.Fariz trying out the X100. On the pic was cousin Adi and Zol.

2011 Scott Kelby Photowalk, Part II

To continue from the photos uploaded yesterday, I thought I shall kick off from when I reached Masjid India area. As I mentioned, it had been a while since I last ventured around this area of Kuala Lumpur.

Since it was Sunday, the place was buzzing. My initial impression was that the place would be full of Indonesian vendors, but it turned out that they were mainly local. I did not have time to enter Wisma Yakin next door, but I did have biryani for lunch at one of the restaurant nearby.

This used to be a landmark building in KL. If I was not istaken, it used to be the headquarters of Bank Bumiputra.But unfortunately, this end of Jalan Ampang had lost its charm. Many of the once-proud buildings were now .... history.Crossing over towards Masjid India from Jalan Ampang.They served a mean biryani around here.

The place had a facelift in recent years. The street was turned into covered bazaar, almost similar to Petaling Street and Kasturi Walk. Very comfortable to walk around since you were shaded from the elements.

After a short stroll, I was already around the corner from the end point of the walk, Masjid Jamek.

The colour of Masjid IndiaLooking at you, looking at them.The welcoming facade of Masjid India Bazaar.And the insideTime for some drinks. At the vendors along Jalan Melayu, Masjid India. You would pass through this street walking towards Masjid Jamek.Reaching the end point with Kak Fauziah, Pak Rahmat, Adi and Kamarul.

The rest of the group had lunch at the Burger King outlet there. Adi, my cousin also joined us at the end point. We spent a good half an hour catching up before the whole party broke up.

Looking forward for the next chapter of the walk. Time now to upload my photo for the photowalk competition. The winner would win Photoshop CS5 and an iPad. Why not.

The Positives of The New Central Market

There had been plenty of changes at Central Market over the last few years. I have mentioned the negatives in my previous posts, mainly on how the place had become commercialised. But, on the other side of the coin, the commercialisation also contributed to a more organized and more presentable venue.

I noticed a couple of things this time around, from spending around half an hour there. The tiles and the restaurants.

Some creative gift shops around here. This one sells novelty postcards.The sidewalks were themed. This one was self-explanatory.Nice outdoor motifs, indoors.Trying them for sizeStill in Hari Raya mode

I didn't know why, but I found the tiles on the floors there fascinating. Maybe I should Google a bit more details about that. The restaurants were rather more obvious. Actually, I wouldn't mind bringing over a few friends from abroad hanging around there for a couple of hours or so, enjoying the ambiance, do a bit of shopping and then have something to eat.

Apparently, you can get free wifi from the shops there as well, making it quite interesting to spend some time looking at people. Might try that in the future.

The main food court on the upper floorNice neat rows of seatingHow it looked from the lower floors.The main entrance on the daySince I was alone, and I had to rush to Kajang for lunch, I left early. Would love to come back soon and have another feel of the place.

For more stories about this photowalk around Central Market, please click here.

The Third Installment of the CM Walk

Just to finish things off, in the middle of the walk, I ventured into Jalan Tun HS Lee, where it was dubbed Little India in the middle of town.

Colours everywhere. There were plenty of shops selling flowers. Nice friendly people all around.It was Malaysia Day a couple of days back. The Jalur Gemilang was still on display.Now, this was confusing. Does it mean the beauties were on display 24 hours in a day?That chap thought I was a foreigner from snapping his photos ....There were plenty of Indian shops here, as well as restaurants. Stopped here a few times before, the last time being right at the end of the Kam Raslan Walk a few months back.

Where to go next?Saw this charming hotel across the street from Little IndiaThe colour was really striking. Not sure how good the hotel was though.Well, everything was for sale I nowadays.More charming little shops could be found around here.Nice name for a building, "Raggae House". I wondered what went on behinds those walls.A colourful place, with flowers and sarees. A real treat for the camera. It was still early, so the sun was still low. Not really that hot as yet .....

More entries about this photowalk available here.