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| A bar along Jalan Sultan Ismail not far from Bintang Walk |
I've had so much transit in KL that, at the immigration, the officer would answer his own questions upon presenting my passport. "
Transit again in KL?" No word exchange really. I just nod and smile. The immigration takes your photo and fingerprints as part of their measures to curtail human trafficking. While this takes time, resulting in long queues, once you've had them done from previous travels, it won't take you a minute to go through immigration (although you still have to endure the long queues). But I'm sidetracking, right?
In this post, I'm sharing what I usually do during these transits. Where do I go? I'm like an inspector updating myself with my KL surroundings. It's nice to discover new things - like when I ended up rounding corners, trying to find
Le Apple Boutique Hotel. I searched at the fringes of Jalan Sultan Ismail when I should have looked more centrally. Meanwhile,
Jalan Alor is always a great place to see. It's festive and bright; food's not exactly cheap though it's thought as a backpacker's playground. The misconception about backpackers is that they have oodles of cash stashed in their unwashed linens. Hah!
I find pleasure in discovering new corners, regardless of how mundane they seem to others. They're what makes these transits special. When my brother asked for a perfume - a specific
Paul Smith scent that apparently had gotten shelved and taken off the market due to their "defective nozzle", I was able to roam the swanky Pavilion's perfumery. Otherwise, I don't really frequent these places - except their DVD shops, of course.
I kinda prefer the ragtag atmosphere of a hawker street (not "
hooker" okay?). The meat and essence of a population are more pronounced in these places. Otherwise, I have enough of that in my Manila existence. To think that most foreigners think differently of Metro Manila: exactly the way the city is depicted in the new film, the
Matt Damon-less "
Bourne Legacy" which had its concluding
second-half all shot in the bowels of congested Manila. I liked seeing this rankling sense of apathy because it makes Manila simmer with excitement. Unfortunately for me, my life isn't really in these locations. The
Bourne Legacy people apparently picked the
most unglamorous part of the metropolis to paint a vivid local color. But I hope not a lot of tourists would feel the need to see Manila after seeing the film. I am protective of my country and I do hope we keep maintaining our
low radar status among the backpack community. Quite selfish, am I not? But that's just me thinking out loud.
Meanwhile, here's another snippet of KL... once upon another transit.
This is the
Eye in the Sky!
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| Pretty girl and her beau having a photo shoot all over the Pavilion. |
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| The odd-shaped Sephora Building. |
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| Pavilion's Liuli Fountain in daylight. One of modern KL's must-see sights. |
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| Pavilion towards their Golden Screen Cinemas |
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| Bukit Bintang intersecting with Jalan Sultan Ismail. Lot 10, one of KL's high end malls, is seen in this photo. |
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| Le Apple Boutique Hotel |
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| Festive Jalan Alor |
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| Fruits along Jalan Alor: jackfruit (langka), mangoes, giant guavas, dragon fruit, apples, papaya, banana, grapes, pomelo and durian. |
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| Jalan Alor |
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| A deserted bar along Jalan Sultan Ismail, just a few blocks from the Bintang Walk. |
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| A corner in KL's Little India |
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| Festive bannerets adorn an area in KL's Little India. |
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| My new 24-hour Internet Shop-cum-convenience store near BB Plaza. You can print your boarding pass here (0.50 ringgit a page). This is the 7th Internet Shop among my discoveries. |
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| I just love my Big Breakfast. :) |
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| I have to insinuate these photos before i totally forget about them. I discovered that there's a different variety of Dragon Fruit. They are yellow, smaller, and very sweet! Unfortunately, 15 minutes after partaking, they will send you to the toilet. These are potent gastrocolic fruits, i.e. they are like papayas, pomelos and durians. Very good for constipated patients. |
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| Juicy, sticky and very sweet, these smaller variety of Dragon Fruit is a must-try. Ironically, I found them in Davao City (which doesn't exactly grow Dragon Fruits). |
