It is Chinatown - Take a virtual trip!

In the bygone days when Malaysia was famous as ‘Tanah Melayu’ or Malaya, the Chinese had come to this country to work at the tin mines. However, during the Selangor Civil War, the tin mines were temporarily abandoned. The Chinese returned after the war, only to find the mines flooded. Yap Ah Loy, an influential Chinese figure back then, had opened a tapioca mill on Petaling Street in his bid to coax the Chinese to stay on. To this day, Petaling Street is sometimes called ‘Chee Cheong Kai’, meaning ‘Starch Factory Street’ in Cantonese, referring to its history as the centre for the production of tapioca flour back then.

Since then, Petaling Street has been given a makeover. Gone are the patchy roads, broken pavements and colourful umbrellas attached to wooden barrows lining the street on both sides. A green canopy covers the length of the street – a sun and rain armour for the vendors and punters. An Oriental-style abbey with the words ‘Jalan Petaling/Petaling Street’ spelled out in gold letters greets visitors at its main entrance.

Ask anyone who’s been to Malaysia about Petaling Street and they will name it as a bargain hunter refuge, albeit in a different league when compared to its more glamorous counterparts, Bukit Bintang and KLCC. The entire expanse alters into a sprightly night market after dark, with chock-full of kiosks selling all kinds of stuff right from street food to batiks to souvenir items like key chains to bags and shoes at dirt-cheap prices – WARNING – handbags, watches, trainers, clothing – you name it, they have it but watch out as the whole street is practically littered with fake branded items, so, you see Prada sitting next to Cartier, impeccably.

Every nook and cranny of this street is filled with another thing as revealed above – FOOD – Chinese and seafood mostly, bringing about a hard-to-resist mixture of aroma filling the air. The best thing about them is that most of them are open until very late at night (unlike most parts of Malaysia).

While it is one of the bustling shopping meccas of Kuala Lumpur, the basic rule of thumb while stopping by is to visit as many stalls as possible to look for the lowest price of the item that you want. Go local. Eat local. Interact. Bargain. And remember that Malaysians are one of the friendliest people in the world. An experience in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown will show how the rich confluence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islam cultures help shape the present Kuala Lumpur as a melting pot.

Chinatown is served by a good network of public transportation. Buses heading for ‘Kotaraya’ or Central market should be opted while you can also either take the LRT (Pasar Seni or Masjid Jamek station), KTM Komuter (Kuala Lumpur station) or Monorail (Maharajalela station) from where the street is pretty much walkable.

I wasn't carrying my camera along this time, hence, google was the only I could count on in getting these photos - sigh!!!