Bukit Bintang, Shopping Bukit in Malaysia

Jalan Bukit Bintang is one of the most famous tourist shopping spot and entertainment district in Malaysia. Its crowded, noisy, a bit dirty and 24-hour alive. There are some malls such as Lot 10, Sungai Wang, Bukit Bintang Plaza, Imbi Plaza, Lot Yat Plaza, Starhill Gallery, Pavillion Mall ( most W.O.W), Fahreinheit 88.

 A part of Bintang Walk is designed as an "Arab Street". Lots of Mid-Eastern people live and make money in this area. Pakistan, Iranian, Arabian, Turkey etc dominated this area. 

A KL monorail is also available here for us to go around the other part of Kuala Lumpur. There are fine restaurants as well as food staal located in Jalan Alor. It jammed with lots of tables and chair along the street as you walk down the street, you can see lots of waitress trying to get you into their place. 

Jalan Alor

A woman called me and offer me a food , well i was hungry so i decided to sit, as soon as i sit , a few guys came and dropped me  Menu (s) and started their marketing skill. Oh my God i didnt know that its everybody's restaurant. You can sit anywhere even in the place you like but they will come to you. Interesting. But i like Jalan A lor. Its budget food street and mainly a chinese cuisine. 

Back to the hustle and bustle Bintang walk, a lots of fine dining and night clubs. I recommend The Ship for a best steak in town, Al fresco Cafe's for sheesa and good scene and atmosphere arabian in the middle of bukit bintang. 

Malacca, Heritage Town in the Malaysia Coast

I just dont know why i kept coming back to Malacca or Melaka - red: Indo-Melayu. I just fallen in love with this little town.  It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south. The capital is Malacca City, which is 148 km south east of Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur, 235 km north west to Johor's largest city Johor Bahru and 95 km north west to Johor's second largest city Batu Pahat. This historical city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008.

Although it was the location of one of the earliest Malay sultanates, the monarchy was abolished when the Portuguese conquered it in 1511. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri or Governor, rather than a Sultan, acts as the head of state now. 

The historic centre of Malacca was inscribed on the World Heritage List on 7 July 2008 together with George Town, the capital of Penang.

The Malays, settled in Malacca since 1400, form the largest community and have a distinctive culture.

Two of the most important museums in Malacca are the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum and the Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum.

Malacca is well-known for its food; Malay dishes include ikan asam pedas, sambal belacan and cencaluk.

Belacan, a Malay variety of shrimp paste, is prepared from fresh shrimp of a species known as keragu in Malay. These are mashed into a paste and dried in lumps, pounded and formed into large balls, dried again for a week or so, wrapped in plastic and stored for future use. It is in this form that most of these blachan balls are sold. Belacan is used as an ingredient in many dishes, or eaten on its own with rice. A common preparation is sambal belacan, made by mixing belacan with chili peppers, minced garlic, shallot paste and sugar and then fried. The aroma from the frying mixture can be unpalatable to Westerners who have not become accustomed to it, but is an absolute delight to the Asian connoisseur.

Malacca is also famous for satay celup. Raw fish and meat are skewered onto sticks which is then cooked in a peanut sauce; this is often sold in individual sticks.

Nyonya-Baba cuisine is a fusion of Chinese (mostly southern Hokkien or Fujian influence), Portuguese, Dutch, Indian, British and Malay cooking with most dishes being spicy in nature. Peranakan dishes include Itik Tim (a soup containing duck and salted vegetables), Ayam Pong Teh (chicken casserole with salted brown-bean sauce usually served with potatoes) as well as the famous Nyonya Laksa. Chicken Rice Ball is another dish popular with domestic Chinese tourists.

Heavily decorated bicycle rickshaw in Malacca

Heavily decorated bicycle rickshaw in Malacca

Malacca's ethnic Portuguese population are the descendants of Portuguese colonists from the 16th and 17th centuries. Even to this day, many of the traditions originating with the Portuguese occupation are still practised, i.e. "Intrudu" from Portuguese word "Entrudo" (a water festival that marks the beginning of Lent, the Catholic fasting period), "branyu" (traditional dance), "Santa Cruz" (a yearly Festival of street celebrations).

The Portuguese colonists contributed dishes like Devil's Curry and Portuguese egg tarts to the town's cuisine. Ikan Bakar (roasted fish) restaurants in Umbai, Serkam and Alai are also popular.

There is also a sizeable amount of Sikhs residing in Malacca, and Sikhs from Malacca and abroad congregate in the gurdwara (Sikh temple) situated in Jalan Temenggong during the last weekend of May, to commemorate the death of its former priest, Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji, who was elevated to a saint upon passing away. Visitors are welcome but are advised to follow rules and common practices within the premises. Typical vegetarian punjabi cuisine will be served to everyone visiting the gurdwara.

 

Kuala Lumpur, The Jiran Negeri

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is pretty similar to Indonesia in terms of the culture and languange. Yes, we also looked similar, speaks similar but different country in terms of the economy and politics country. It is my first country i got to go abroad. Actually i went to Malaysia with my ex-Boyfriend. Thanks to him , he introduced me a lots about the country and travelling abroad. Sorry for your marriage anyway. - LOL-

Twin Towers Petronas

First impression when i stepped into the country is more humid, people are ok, they speak english better than indonesian and also mandarin, indian. Yeah its a mixed race-country. You will see lots of Chinese, Indian and Mid East People. I dont have a problem getting around. It is very easy to get around, go from place to place, easy direction and many choices of transportation. I love the subway and monorail :)

Kuala Lumpur is Metro-city, huge, very very modern, hectic, a bit dirty but for you as a shopper, you gonna love it . You will see malls such as Suria KLCC, Pavilion, Lot 10, any so on in the Bukit Bintang area. Its is a shopping paradise. Bargain to branded stuff all you can find it there.  I am more Bukit Bintang shopper where you can get a fake and bargained stuff. Spending an evening in Bukit Bintang area is not bad either, seeing the crowds and traffic always fascinating for me. I have been to Malaysia many times, 6 times i think till 2011. I like the country , I do not really like the Malaysians, I like the food, I like the attractions and i love because it is cheap country to travel. Ha!

They do not have a clear rainy or dry season , let us say they have rain and sun all year. You can not really tell when is the rainy season or dry season. When it is rain it is. When it is hot it is hot as hell and high humidity does not help either. I always bring an umbrella in my back pack just in case.

Movie Freaks

Movie! Yes ! after what happened to the cinema business back home that they don't update the movies due to some financial problem, i have been very sad that i could not get to see new hollywood movies! Arrghh...its very annoying. While others such as Harry Potter fan were drying to see the last sequel but we had to face the fact that they wont release it in indonesia on time and make some of the fans flew to Singapore just to watch it! And fortunately a week after it , the Harry Potter is coming here! Duet with Transformer 3. I could imagine how its gonna be in the first day premiere. Yes right, ive got making my way to the premiere and it was jammed of people! kilometers of que, GOSH...but that doesn't matter since im a movie freak. Alright i had to wait for couple hours and finally stand in front of the cashier. Well i didn't expect for the best seat in the theatre like sit in the middle row. i know by the time my turn i will only get front seat. I've got M row which is not very front but 2 rows before the front. And again not in the middle. Thats alright do i look like have a choice? No...

Here in the Kuala Lumpur, I don't have to worry about the theatre. Thousand of movie theatre, they all come from various company and offers range of prices. My first movie i watched was Rise Of the Planet of the Apes. Trailer and reviews are not bad. Mostly great though. I watched in TGV cinema located in the KLCC Suria Mall. Not bad for the price and cinema actually smaller than XXI or 21. Still comfortable. Overall the Apes was pleasant, unpredictable and magnificent effects the whole scenes. Good job !

Umbrella or a Hat..? Eh...

Both are things we usually bring with us. Here I am in the country where they have sun and rains all year. Which means no terms for dry or wet season. Somedays sun will be shining and somedays the rains will be pouring. This time I didn't really prepare well, so I forgot to bring my umbrella or water proof jacket. I had to buy one umbrella here. It's ok for 10 RM. About 27.000 IDR. It might be useful.I bought one white umbrella plus the case,makes my ringgits worth anyway. Looks pretty good.haha..
I haven't used it so far. It's been raining but I got so lucky cos the nature gave me a sign everytime I wanted to go, rain came first. Saved my body..lol. I woud not use an umbrella in the hot sunny day just to keep my skin whites. Never ever. I like the sun and it's kinda silly use an umbrella when it's not rain. However, still some people use it to prevent the sun bur their lovely white skin.

Departure

It's a bit too late to write this blog, but I wanted to share my journeys with others since traveling has been my passion and step my feet onto north or south pole is my biggest dream ever. Hence, Im enjoying every places I go, every people I met. Here is the journey begun...