Sunday, February 08, 2009

Busking @ Bintang Walk...

The Bintang Walk in Kuala Lumpur is a great place to be and one would be fascinated with the happening there all day long. It is a great place to be not only to the first timer but the frequent visitors as well. A place where the happening is multicultural and the activities are so wide in range that it create sort of a cultural fussion. It is a place for all, the young and the old. A place where the old buildings and the new one blended well, giving one a glimpse of the history of the city and its progress over times. In a way it is a place that changes all the time. It is a place where you could get accommodations from the cheapest Budget hotel to the Five star hotel of international standard. Indeed it is a place that accommodates everyone especially so to tourists who want to have a taste of what the Malaysian culture is all about. A truly Asian culture as the tourist advertisement says. It is not only a place to shops till you drop but also a place where you could get foods all the time, twenty four hours a day without difficulty and relatively at a fair price too. You may sit at the side cafe or hawkers stall to have coffee or beer or whatever and enjoy the day passes by or you just walk to the posh modern shopping complex there and pampered yourselves with the foods at the food courts or shop on luxury items of international brands that are reasonablely priced. There are also great cafes that you could indulge yourselves with western food and snack over coffee with friends. In a way it is a place for everyone to have a joyous time.

Even as a local who have live in the city for almost forty years I am awe as to the rapid development of that part of the city. It is a place that changes day by day and as vibrant as any other cities in the world. It is a walking distance to the famous Petronas Twin Towers and most tourists would just take a slow walk to and fro, with a stop for drink or food along the way. Like any other cities it is transformed into a glittering nightspot when night comes where one could parties the night away and enjoy the hospitality of the local. Indeed it is a place that one should not miss when on a visit to KL.

In it vicinity you would be mingling with thousand of tourists and the local. People of all nationalities are there mingling with one another. At a glance you could notice Arab, Japanese, Chinese, the European and American and Asian of many nationalities as well as folks from the African continent enjoying themselves in having a fun holiday in this part of the city. It is indeed a place like no other where you see smiling faces enjoying themselves care less of the happening on the other part of the world. They are having a great time and Bintang Walk and its vicinity is the place they have chosen to be and as a local I too felt as a tourist when I am there. It is well connected to the other part of the city by the monorail, a wonderful experience to be on where you could see the whole of the city from above as the elevated monorail move on to its destination.

From time to time I would play tourist and walk the length of the Bintang Walk just to watch the happening and on one such day I got the opportunity to watch a great show by a Street Performer. It was indeed great to get to watch this man in action dressed in silver, performing for the public at one of the square. While he was resting I took the opportunity to take a picture with him and above are some of the exciting moments of his solo performance to the delight of the folks passing by. I donated some buck and thank him for been such a sport. It does made my day.

Have a nice day.

10 comments:

louis said...

Nice hat you are wearing in that picture, Idrus.

I look forward to being in Bukit Bintang again. It's my favorite hangout in KL.

Pak Idrus said...

Louis, thanks for the visit and the good words.

I do hope that you would come again for a revisit of those places that you have been before. This time I would be there to accompany you and chauffeur you around.

Have a nice day.

Rita Ho said...

One can walk from Bintang Walk to Petronas Towers?? Wow! I'm trying to imagine the route.

Like Louis, I used to hang-out at Bintang Walk quite a bit. It was good therapy for me to sit at the side-walk tables after a long day at work and relax, people-watch or hang out with friends. Add in some window-shopping as well. :)

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Oooo, those buskers are really talented, Pak Idrus! Including those teenagers doing shuffle and b-boy dancing outside Maybank.

I don't like the Bukit Bintang area much because everyone wants me to go in for foot relexology. I don't even look tired! Their foreign workers grab my arm and try to lead me into the shop for reflexology. Alamak! And there are rows upon rows of relexology shops. I think that's silly. I wouldn't want to open a shop identical to my neighbour's.

Best regards,
CO78

Pak Idrus said...

Rita Ho, thanks for the visit and sharing your experiences on the Bintang Walk.

Yes one could do a slow walk all the way to the KLCC. I did that one evening and it was great. You just take a walk on the pavement along Jalan Sultan Ismail in front of the Hilton, now Mutiara Hotel, to the Equatorial Hotel, then to Jalan Pinang. On both sides of the roads there are many restaurant/Bar/disco and well lit in the evening, so the walk is actually very pleasant and enjoyable.

They have improved the pavement and great to walk on. Try it the next time you are around. In fact the Pavilion Mall has provide a crossover path over the Jalan Raja Chulan to get to the other side of the road where there are more eateries call the Chulan Square. Things has changed indeed.

Have a nice day.

Unknown said...

I used to do that also; walking from KLCC, to Pavilion and finally to Times Square looking for food :D
Too bad I didn't have my camera yet at that time. But should I be doing it again next time, i doubt that my battery will survive. Then again, should be OK, I have two ;)

Pak Idrus said...

Covert_Operations'78, Ee Lynn thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the Bintang Walk.

Yes the Malaysia busker are now very professional and their performance add value to the places. As usual tourists area are full of all sorts of services, so just walk along and just ignore them and you would be OK. That's capitalism in its ugly form.

Have a nice day.

Pak Idrus said...

Akmal, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the Bintang Walk.

At your age you should make walking around as your daily ritual. Indeed it is refreshing to walk and enjoy the places with a camera to capture the events unfolded. I did once and managed to capture great images of the Bintang Walk and it is now in my archive.

Have a nice day.

Fara Omar said...

Hi Pak Idrus,

I am interested in locating these street buskers. Are they around only on the weekends? I would love to go on a photography trip.

Thanks. :)

Pak Idrus said...

Fara, thanks for the visit.

You can normally see those buskers at the corner where the Jalan Bk.Bintang meet the Jalan Sultan Ismail near the traffic light crossing. I believe they perform almost everyday. There are others that performed at Central Market.

Have a nice day.