Kuala Lumpur... the lumpy side
Trip Start
Aug 04, 2008
1
11
16
Trip End
Aug 21, 2008
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Friday, August 15, 2008
Today, we were out of the hotel by 10am. In the first example of the Lonely Planet letting us down, we headed out to find the Pudu Market. It was described quite favourably in the book, raving about the energy of the market, with fresh produce and squawking poultry. We should've known when we stepped out of the skytrain exit. The area of relatively run-down, at least compared to the metropolitan area we had seen until now. Most of the shops were either small and dirty moto repair shops, pawn shops, or closed store-fronts. After walking in what turned out to be the wrong direction for over 20 minutes in absolutely stiffling heat, we wandered into what was the wholesale textile district... pretty much 4 square blocks of nothing but multi-story wholesale clothing shops. We stopped in at a tiny food stop for some bbq pork buns and cold drinks... as well as directions to the market.
Another 15 minute walk later, we stumbled upon the market... but not before walking through what must be considered one of the dodgier areas of KL. Lots of garbage strewn across the streets, lots of pawn shops, lots of "interesting" smells. When we finally found the market, we had one look, looked at each other... and both realized that we really didn't have interest to actually go inside. Outside the building was a market just closing up... produce was literally, all over the floor... along with piles of discarded wood and metal. The market itself was inside a dark "building" shaped like a small airport hangar. We took one picture, and looked for a cab.
Next stop, the Berjaya Times Square shopping centre. 10 minute cab ride later, air conditioning! We headed up to the cinema and snapped up two tickets for WALL-E. Being able to preselect you seats in the theatre seems like sort of a good idea. They don't let you enter the theatre until 10 minutes before, and you just head straight to your seats instead of having to save seats or stink-eye people who are doing just that.
Good movie. Freezing cold movie theatre.
Shopping and dinner later, we made our way back to the Bukit Bintang area, where we did the "Bintang Walk". It was supposed to be a short walking tour of the best shopping neighbourhood of KL... the "Ginza or Champs Elysee of Kuala Lumpur". While not quite living up to the hype, there were lots of shops to see... as well as more of the fish spas!
Back at the hotel, movies of TV ended our night.
