Day 1 in Kuala Lumpur: Masjid Jamek, Chow Kit Wet Market, Petronas Towers, Malls, Jalan Alor

image
The retarded sky dolphin.

Our Saturday Cathay Pacific flight to Kuala Lumpur ate up 21.5 hours of time, and due to the time change, arrived at 2AM Monday morning.

The driver from the hotel wasn’t there yet, so J made some expensive phone calls to see where he was. Minutes later, the diminutive fellow approached and showed us to a well-worn, tall minibus.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is in the middle of nowhere, and it feels even more so at night when all you can see is endless dusty roads and palm trees.

After an hour drive, we were dropped off at our hotel in Bukit Bintang. Anggun Boutique Hotel was a relief after the long flight: nicely appointed room with AC and piping hot water. Our room was on the third floor, and only had an interior window.

We went to sleep quickly, and woke up via alarm so that we wouldn’t miss the complimentary breakfast on the rooftop restaurant.

image
Alone on the rooftop.
image
Chicken congee. Now this is breakfast!
image
Ginger chicken.
image
Looking down into the hotel lobby.

We enjoyed the food, mild morning weather, and the sounds and smells of a new city. My blood was beginning to buzz over the excitement of being in SE Asia again, so we started our walk.

Our first destination was Masjid Jamek at the intersection of the Gombak and Kelang rivers.

image
White wall, red door.
image
Rooftops. Notice: someone has been dumping trash out their window.
image
Two odd businesses.
image
Steps.
image
Stairs shaded by fig trees.
image
Sidewalk.
image
A variety of architectural styles.
image
Petty theft auto.
image
Apartment shrine.
image
Under these lose covers was a 4 feet deep trench.
image
Garbage and vine.
image
Buttress much?
image
Panels and marker.
image
A perfectly lit playground.
image
Leaf sacks.

Robocop HQ?
image
Classy awning.
image
Miniature door.
image
Yellow and blue.
image
Unmarked buildings.
image
Colorful signs.

The arcade.
image
Lost luster.
image
A colorful scene.
image
A row of narrow buildings.
image
The mosque where the rivers meet.
image
Islamic inspired tower.
image
Water pipe.
image
Fresh, sulfury water.
image
Construction.
image
Malaysian hipster.
image
The scooterist.
image
Dumpers.
image
J at the mosque.
image
The open-air prayer halls.

By 11AM, it was already dreadfully hot and humid. We wandered through the sari district north of the mosque, navigating by the keeping an eye on the Petronas towers.

Near the Chow Kit wet market, we found a small neighborhood of old wooden houses with lawns that somehow had avoided becoming high-rises.

Each house was unique in color and design, and most were shaded by either mango, banana or rambutan trees. Chickens and scrawny cats wandered around the lawns, and a goat approached me backwards so that I could scratch his rump.

image
Flowers.
image
Mesopotamian collapsing pylon.
image
A specially shaded CCTV.
image
Awning issues.
image
Balconies.
image
A well mopped floor.
image
Roof sprinkler.
image
Bike.
image
Garage.
image
Yellow lettering.
image
Watch your step.
image
High security gate.
image
Abandoned town houses for sale.
image
Open floor plans, good light!
image
The rebel.
image
Apartments.
image
Bananas.
image
Old wooden house.
image
The itchy goat.
image
Colorful sign.
image
You can never have too many flags.
image
Chunks.
image
Entropy.
image
A nice porch for sitting.

The Chow Kit wet market was winding down when we arrived, and most of the meat and fish vendors had already started packing up their smelly goods. We wandered through a few aisles and bought a bunch of dwarf bananas and a kilo of jack fruit. We sat at a bench in the shade of a monorail to eat our fruit and watch the world go by.

Afterward, we criss-crossed through the market again to check out some of the areas we missed.

image
Jackfruit.

Old spiral staircase.
image
Fish.
image
Squid.
image
Chilies.
image
Our anonymous banana man.
image
Jackfruit.
image
Cleansers.
image
Our fruit-eating view.
image
Paint.
image
Fuse boxes.
image
Shallots, garlic and dried fish.
image
A vendor takes of photo of her smiling cow heads.
image
Fish filets.
image
Seems clean…
image
The back rooms.
image
Packing up.
image
A woman rests her legs.
image
Crates.

To avoid the heat, we took a monorail line close to the Petronas Towers. We were willing to pay the step prices for a view from the crosswalk, but it was closed on Mondays. The hotel wasn’t too far from the towers, so we walked back.

On the way, we stopped at a sparkling and cold food court in on the malls to get lunch. Unlike at home, food courts in Asia aren’t depressing places. Often there is a wide variety of great, hygienic food at reasonable prices. We both tried beef rendang. Verdict: delicious.

image
Construction seen from the monorail station.
image
Gate counterweight.
image
STOP.
image
KL City Park.

The Petronas Towers.
image
Measuring something.
image
Stairs.
image
Cat, interrupted.
image
Lot 10 mall.
image
The non-mall, outdoor food court.
image
Shady alley.
image
Robot flagger.
image
Life-affirming architecture.

At the hotel, we took a nap until the evening.

We walked a block to the colorful and bustling night market street of Jalan Alor. It’s a bit of a tourist trap, and not very cheap, but worth seeing once.

Most of the restaurants have food Chinese influence, and there are a few places serving Thai food. Other places try to capitalize on serving weird meats like frog.

It’s impossible to walk down the street without getting greeted by a menu-toting hawker. J and I went down the street twice before deciding on a Thai restaurant. Our food was actually really good, but not Thai cheap.

image
Jalan Alor.
image
Night durians.
image
J.
image
Frog.
image
Grill masters.

After a hot day of walking 13.3 miles, we were in bed and asleep by 8PM.

February 24th, 2014. Categories / Malaysia

News Menu

About Categories Archives