Eye in the Sky: Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah

Showing posts with label Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah. Show all posts

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Off Central KL - Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah & the Surrounding Block

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Staying at the other end of Jalan Pudu - away from Puduraya Station (Hentian Puduraya) was interesting because it felt like I was left off center. It was still part of the Golden Triangle, the Bukit Bintang realm, but the place is really in the fringes of this backpack epicenter. In this area, I stayed in 2 nearby hotels or guesthouses: Hotel Orkid Inn and Beltif Hotel which were a study of contrasts. The area is also very close to Berjaya Times Square and the Imbi monorail station. From Jalan Pudu, the next intersecting street was that of Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, easily demarcated by the high rise of Taragon and Furama Hotel. The area is dotted with dated shop houses, turned into mostly Chinese-Malaysian restaurants. As you go further east and southeast, you find karaoke bars and massage parlors found in the areas of Jalan Baba, Jalan Nyonya and Jalan Brunei Utara.

My earliest association with the oddly named street is by gastronomy. though there's more than enough option, I stayed away from dark colored entrees. Kedai Mekanan Teochew is a safe choice for a restaurant. It fancies itself as a porridge restaurant, with several options on platters. A plate with several spoonfuls of mixed viand and rice is a measly 5.50 ringgit, plus 2 ringgit of Coke.

There's an upscale shopping complex in the vicinity called Shaw Parade which is decked in luminous red. There's a bank and a convenience store. Beltif Hotel is located in the same street. Though you will find a sign that says "Internet" along the same road, there's no browsing to be had there; just online gaming.

The area isn't exactly pretty, but its proximity to Bukit Bintang, Puduraya Station and the Bintang Walk makes it an ideal place for backpackers and other tourists. This post tries to document the area.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

This mixed plate at Kedai Mekanan Teochew Restaurant costs a measly 5.50 ringgit.

Food during late lunch.

My food at dinner time.

Kedai Makanan Teochew Porridge Restaurant

Beltif Hotel at the right side of the building.

Shaw Parade

Purple Cane Tea Restaurant (above and below)

Sunday Club

Jalan Basa

An altar in front of a Karaoke Bar

Dark corner along Jalan Pudu

Map of the area

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Beltif Hotel - Accommodations in KL

As we've written in our previous post, this is part of a series that features some of the hotels we've been in during my March-April 2012 trip. We've ventured on discovering better hotels and guesthouses in KL by raising the accommodations budget a notch higher than customary since KL isn't exactly a city of "inexpensive, but nice hotels" unlike its neighboring countries like Thailand, Laos or Indonesia.

Beltif Hotel fits our requirement, i.e. Bukit Bintang area, preferably near a train station. Beltif is very near my favorite mall (one of the world's biggest too) - Berjaya Times Square, and the Imbi monorail station is beside Berjaya. Beltif is located along Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, an unusual street name if you ask me. The area itself is dotted with Chinese Restaurants, many of which provide inexpensive food. The Taragon and the Furama Hotels are just across the road, and karaoke bars abound the area. Since it's close to Jalan Pudu, taxis abound even in the wee hours. And it is possible to walk to the Bukit Bintang area.

Beltif Hotel is actually a boutique hotel, but it's also one of the least expensive we've found in KL. Bookings with Agoda includes breakfast, usually as served buffet from 7 to 10 AM (though options are rather limited to rice, baked beans, egg, sausage, and noodle). The people manning the front desk are friendly although they are less helpful when you ask them to call you a taxi. You don't need to. As mentioned earlier, there's plenty of taxis plying Chankat Thambi Dollah.

If you don't have a laptop and require an internet cafe, you have to walk all the way to Bukit Bintang. There's none in the area.

My room - 105 - was spacious, almost twice the size of my room in Le Apple Boutique Hotel. It's equipped with a 32-inch LCD Panasonic cable TV, a desk, a comfortable bed that takes the shape of your back, wifi in every room, 24-hour room service and a very clean bathroom (with cold and hot water running adequately at all times). At night, the glass door of the floor is locked in, but with your card key, you could open it on your own. This is great for the security of the hotel's guest.

One annoyance: the room had the stench of cigar that gradually dissipates when AC is turned on. This smell greets you every time you get inside - or when AC is turned off. It is best to request for a non-smoking room although I think I requested that upon booking. The walls of the room looked sturdy as well, but I could hear the clearing of throat and the snoring of an old guy next door. Other than that, most of my stay was quiet.

Outside breakfast, I could choose from the street's several restaurants: Chinese, Malay, halal or otherwise. An advantage of the place: its proximity to Berjaya Times Square and clearly, it's one of the most affordable - with better than average facilities.

Their website - http://www.beltifhotel.com/ The hotel is located at 77 Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, off Jalan Pudu. It's easily reached from the Imbi monorail station via a 10-15 minute walk. Contact them at 603- 2148 9191 or email them at info@beltifhotel.com

This is the Eye in the Sky!