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Published: November 4th 2008
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Tong Shin
My favourite photo I set out after breakfast to explore my surroundings. I usually walk for around for about two or three hours a day. I was in the mood for taking photos today, which I would like to share with you. After arriving back at my guesthouse, the heavens opened - I have been told that most rain occurs between October and March (so I picked a good month to arrive eh). Kuala Lumpur usually has heavy sunshine during the mornings lasting late into the afternoon, while the evenings tend to see rain and occasional thunderstorms, such as today. Kuala Lumpur is located about 350 km north of the equator belt which makes it a lovely warm maritime tropical place. The temperatures generally range between 29°C - 35°C during the day and 26°C - 29°C at night, getting slightly, and I add, slightly, cooler after periods of heavy rainfall. Kuala Lumper is shielded by mountainous valleys on many different sides, making it relatively cooler than most places in Malaysia while being one of the least affected by monsoon winds coming from the east or west, which means that for most of the year, Kuala Lumpur is peppered with showers and occasional thunderstorms, but
Rambutans
These are just sooooo gorgeous - I bought some in Harrods about 4yrs ago and they cost me 90p each!!! here the whole bunch cost a little over one pound! when they do come they are relatively short, but you get absolutely soaked if you happen to caught in one!!
We are having one of these tropical storms today, and so I am sitting in the reception area at Number Eight Guesthouse, which is snugly located along Tengkat Tong Shin, which is within a short walking distance from Bintang Walk.
Tengkat Tong Shin houses rows of impressive heritage structures that have been around since the colonial times. The exterior still exudes a bit of history but to keep up with the times, the street has been modernized and turned into an entertainment area.
Bukit Bintang certainly seems very popular and fashionable, and rather chic, the women walking around all seem so slim and stylish. Whether you fancy haute cuisine or hawker stalls, brand name fashion or quirky local boutiques it’s all available in Bukit Bintang, which is all inside the ‘Golden Triangle area. No doubt, Bukit Bintang is the Kuala Lumpur’s premier commercial hub. Congested by major shopping malls like Sungai Wang, Lot 10, BB Plaza, Star Hill Gallery and the developing seven-storey Pavilion KL shopping mall, Bukit Bintan is just a Shopping Paradise, which I know
Tong Shin
a picture in the spa where I had my pedicure my daughter Sami would just be like a kid in a sweetshop here!! Bukit Bintang also well-known for all its luxury hotels and high profile residential condominiums, and numerous guesthouses.
The other thing that is great is the local transport, it's clean, air conditioned and reliable!!! Everything seems to run on time and incredibly cheap!! which of course encourages most of us to use it more often.
There are no end to the cafes and restaurants, so whatever your taste you will definitely find somewhere to tempt you. I find the prices pretty reasonable, you can eat a good meal for around 25 Ringgits. If you want to try one of the hawker stalls, you can get a kebab, burger or such like, for under 10 Ringgits, but obviously you're not sitting in style, but the food is generally good. I haven't had anything distasteful...yet!, so have written a bit about what I have learned over the past week, which I hope you will find as interesting as I do.
Fresh fruit is plentiful, there are no end to the weird and wonderful fruits on the local stalls, such as watermelon, ciku, (flesh is often of a
Bukit Bintang Plaza
A bit more interesting than our models back home?! deep brownish hue with fine texture, it has a distinct sweet flavour, the famous "durian" refered to as the "King of malaysian fruits", it is sought and savoured with passion by lovers of the fruit, I can't actually bring myself to eat it, the pungent white pulp is overpowering!!, pomelo (the biggest of all citrus fruits, the pomelo is divided into 10 to 15 segments of juice-filled sacs and is usually sweet and juicy, papaya, duku langsat, which are clustered in bunches, the flesh is translucent and juicy and eaten fresh has a very delicate and sweet flavour, mangosteen (the queen of Malaysian fruits, enclosed in the rind are snowy white segments with a sweet pleasant flavour), pineapple, rambutan, guava, jackfruit (which I tried in sri lanka, these are among the larger fruits cultivated in Malaysia, and the golden flesh around the seed is succulent and has a distinctive taste, not my taste!), mango (one of my favourites), starfruit and last but not list the cempedak, which is a native fruit of Malaysia, it exudes a distinctly strong smell, and a waxy golden yellow flesh, which is supposed to be sweet, it can be eaten fresh, fried or processed into
Bukit Bintang Plaza
A coffee shop - such an incredible place juice, I haven't actually tried it yet! So there you have it, all these gorgeous fruits!! No wonder everyone here looks so healthy and slim. There are so few overweight people here, they must be doing something right.
I hope I haven't bored you, I just find everything here so amazing, including the fruits, which are a bit more interesting than apples, pears, bananas etc. I have to say my favourite has got to be the rambutan, I remember eating them as a child and I still adore them!! I keep a bunch in my room, instead of eating sweets and chocolate when I read, I tuck into them.
I am moving from here on Thursday morning to Zoo Negara, which is only 10 minutes from here but looks like paradise! Sharon (my friend from school!) is joining me tomorrow night. I am going to meet her at the airport as she is petrified of flying and just wants to see a familiar face to greet her! We will both move on Thursday and begin our work as Zoo Keeper's Assistants looking after orangutans!! for 16 days until we go to Borneo to actually live with them in
Bukit Bintang
A small child wanting to touch the fountain the jungle!!
I've added a photo of Vinnie, who is the guy who generally runs this place, he speaks perfect English and is friendly, helpful and just fun to be around! Any problems then call Vinnie and he'll sort them out for you. He has been an enormous help to me since my arrival and I will definitely visit here again. I've also added a photo of the guy who owns the building, he is just so cute and is always chatting away to me, I hardly ever understand him! He is always sending out for local food for me to try!! Today he wanted me to try his wife's bean oil thingy - I can't describe it really, it was a bit pot with this white stodgy stuff in it - I said I had to get to the post office to post a parcel and I would try it later!! Needless to say when I got back it was nowhere to be seen, I did tease Vinnie saying that I would remind Chia that he hadn't eaten his share of it yet, as Chia wanted both of us to try it and neither of us were very
Bukit Bintang
A train over the town centre obliging!!!
Selamat tinggal
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Bev
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Another great blog Jo, you certainly seem to be having a great time and making the most of every day - you'll have these great memories for life. I do think that you've missed your vocation in life - "journalist" in the making ???? Take care, keep safe and keep writing x x