Thursday 19 April 2018

Go Outing In Kuala Lumpur

Hello again

Kuala Lumpur. . . ibu negeri . . .  say it as in the old song, Kuala Lumpur.

KL is so very familiar to most of us. Little wonder because it is the heart of the country. It is the earlier hub of rapid growth. Hence young people flock there to find jobs after leaving school, me included.

I am more familiar with KL of the 80s, never I forget the public transport we had at that time, the notorious minibus, and never I forget about how the bus conductor used to cram us to the back of the bus for wanting to take in more passengers. We were inside the bus packed like sardines.

Those are history because now we have the LRT, MRT, monorail, uber, grabs etc.

Unlike the old days, the road system is hundred times better now. There are many different routes to choose to reach a destination. Up to you to plan your journey. If you don't mind paying the tolls your travel is usually smooth.

Over the years there are great changes to the capital city. If you put me right in the centre of KL now I would feel like a country bumpkin, well perhaps I am one and sure I'll be groping to find my way. There are more roads, more traffic, more buildings, more people.

I'll be overwhelmed and the old lady would feel lost in the great big city. 

If ever I am in the city I would rely on others to drive me around but to tell you the truth I wouldn't know the exact locations except if there are some old landmarks which I can remember.

Of course, if I see this landmark then I know its Ampang . . . (The pictures below were taken on an April night last year. Waited some time for the moon )




Though I am very contented with my living in a small town I sometimes nevertheless feel I am missing out on the happenings in the city. So once in a while, it is good to go outing there. Just to update myself a little. 

Three weeks ago I went to KL and I requested to be driven via the famous SMART tunnel. I only hear about the tunnel but have never travelled through it yet.

By the way, if you don't already know, SMART stands for Stormwater Management And  Road Tunnel.

It was built by the government meant to alleviate the flooding in the city during exceptionally heavy rain.

I experienced flash flood a few times when I was working in KL in the 80s. I remember once the water had risen so fast and caused havoc to our working place.  Now conditions should improve though news of flash floods still pop up sometimes.

It was nice and cool to take the tunnel way because you can avoid the traffic jams. In no time you reach the other end. So depending on where you want to go taking the tunnel is fast and safe.

Below are some of the pictures of the tunnel  I managed to capture. I was told that the green-lighted area is where the emergency exits are. So never fear.





Green area . . .

Actually,  we were going to Jalan Conlay where the annual crafts exhibition was ongoing, the Hari Kraf Kebangsaan 2018



Tengkolok the Malay traditional head gear

Ethnic bead crafts

Some people still prefer to use this type of cookware

Lengthy explanations on how to do batik painting




 A lot of things to see to learn and of course to buy.


Bought . . .

Then time for makan. Daughter gave a treat to a lunch buffet at the nearby hotel.


Displayed on the wall in the lobby

Temptatious sweets

The scrumptious buffet spread, a mix of local and not so local cuisine was very inviting. The food was good so it was worth it to consider that was a cheat day diet wise.

After the heavy lunch, we headed for home. We had to move fast because we expected the traffic to be heavy as it was a Friday. Though we took the SMART tunnel again the rest of the way the traffic was as usual, heavy, well . . . it's Kuala Lumpur . . .


Cheers . . .


13 comments:

  1. Ha ha, what an adventure you have with the minibus! So interesting! I do love those earthen cookware and woven pouches. So unique. You did some really beautiful captures of our twin towers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Time has changed. Now we have better public transport. Though everything is modern now we still appreciate things like earthen cookware woven pandan pouches.
      Thanks that you appreciate the photos. Twin towers are very beautiful when lighted up at night.

      Delete
  2. Wah, banyaknya shopping barang kraf. Zumal tak pernah lagi bergambar suasana malam depan klcc tu nampak cantik laa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Biasa lah kalau ke tempat begitu rambang mata.

      Suasana malam kat klcc tu memang sangat cantik, tower dan fountain bermandikan cahaya dengan music lagi menceriakan suasana.

      Delete
    2. ooo ada music yer dekat fountain tu...

      Delete
  3. i pun orang budak zaman bas mini.
    esp masa sekolah di Shah Alam.
    naik bas 0.50 sen je. cramp bas dibuatnya.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mesti ingat lagi kan konduktor bus asyik arah penumpang "belakang! belakang! ha ha.

      Delete
  4. puduraya dulu adalah tempat transit yang banyak mengimbau kenangan ...

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    Replies
    1. Dan tempat yang paling sibuk. Biasa ketingalan bas ha ha.

      Delete
  5. Beautiful capture of the twin towers, in the swim :) BTW, those woven souvenirs are beautiful.

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  6. 1. ampang park now no more.. ;(
    2. although smart tunnel lah sangat, still got flash flood especially dpn IJN
    3. thanks singgah2 jenguk2 komen2 blog wak tuu.,

    this is key ell., ')

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  7. 1. Kalau shopping mesti di ampang park satu waktu dulu.
    2. Sekarang ni hujan hebat dari dulu.
    3. Baca blog jadi pastime sebab tak de kerja lain. Selalu juga baca tiga lalat.Interesting cara wak walau pun tak banyak tulis.

    ReplyDelete