Have been travelling to KL for work but never had the chance to venture into the life of the locals. Most importantly, the subculture of the various distinct groups in our Asian Neighbour.
I tried to catch some time to shop today after work. Only managed to get to Sungei Wang a quarter past 10, which is the official time all the shops at the mega malls close. Unfortunately, 80% of the shops already had their metal grills pulled shut. With that, all the empty lots look the same. It was a maze. Yellow / Blue / Red zone... groups of teenagers sitting on the floor or stools, uniformed service staff packing up and waiting to be "released" from their day of working at the counters. These shops are familiar yet culturally different. 10 pm sharp. All metal grills are down. In China, this is the best time to get your goodies. Prices are slashed so that vendors can move goods or lock in a last minute profit. In KL, they just want you out of the door. If you want to make a last purchase, its either take it, leave it, or haggle someone else please...
Outside Sungei Wang along Imbi, you see expats crowding near the new "old town" coffee joint, or the locals queuing for their sip of A&Ws. I got to queue for a good 10 minutes to get my order of my float, despite the fact that there's probably just one other person in front of me... service service indeed. Pimps liberally give out name cards of their ladies to the "DOMs", street hawkers display their wares and variety of knick knacks. Any empty spaces in between the walkways, are lined by a few beggars.
I chanced upon an Indian dance crew filming one of their massive group dance routine in the middle of the corner street. Girls in boots, guys in white shiny dressy shirts, with massive coordinated actions caught my eye. Tickled me a bit to see the actual production. And of course, I was not the only one trying to catch a glimpse of someone that we may recognize amongst the actors.
Moving along, we see a different bunch of people. The Arab crowds. "Tajines / Labanese" restaurants line the main road, just beside the modern structures of the mega malls. There, you see the traditional arab families, enjoying their late dinners. The younger crowd may fancy a french influenced alfresco style dining, with chairs facing the roads, for ease of "people watching". Out on the streets, you see people setting up caricature stands with just two chairs, an easel and possibly a poor excuse of a light bulb. Cabs are littered along the road, with wierdly, their drivers' door opened, and the cab drivers would puff their cigarettes, waiting to pounce on any loitering targets.
As you walk towards Pavilion, things become orderly, clean, organized, where all you see are the big flashy letters - Gucci / Coach / Prada... somehow it turned pretty boring, or should I say, structured and civilized, really quickly.. :)
This is just a 15 minutes stretch that borders between the central district and the popular teenage or shopping joint. Up above you see the massive LRT structure, down below you see the spit covered uneven roads, with a mix of arabs, malays, indians, and chinese (minority).
Malaysia is so close that you feel pretty at home, but if you look once again at the subcultures, you would find it pretty intriguing indeed...
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