KP in KL

On my To Do List today was to deposit a check and pick up some art supplies. Both the bank and art supply store are at Masjid Jamek, which is 4 stops and about 7 minutes down on the subway. Really the bank and art supplies were the boring part of the day compared to the people watching I did. A few hours, lots of perspiration in the humidity, and 183 photos later, I've got quite the archive of this area referred to as Masjid Jamek. I think that name actually refers to the oldest mosque that's nearby. I've posted a picture of it before, but there's so much going on down there I took advantage of my time alone and took all the photos I could sneak in without people staring at me too much wondering what in the world I was doing with my zoom lense all up in their business.

This area is completely different from the Ampang/KLCC area as you can see from the photos. A much less developed area, it is a host to people from all different backgrounds and many poor and homeless people. It's a huge center for buses traveling around the KL, with people doing all sorts of business around there. I was the only blonde in the entire area today, and one of only a few foreigners. Anyway, enough talking for now. I'm going to attempt to take you on the little field trip I enjoyed myself today so you can actually see pictures of a small part of KL. You should be able to click on any picture to enlarge it.



I started the walk down our apartment driveway (above) and thought I'd include some pictures of Paul's office and the mosque, Haji, next door to the office and directly across the street from our apartment.
Since today is Friday, the mosque service was going on while I was walking, and for the first time I actually heard them talking, preaching, or whatever they do over the loud speaker before the singing starts.


There is a homeless man who has set up camp right at the corner near our apartment. For some reason he left his things bunched up under the tree today. Normally he's always there under the shade.

So this is the street Paul crosses on foot everyday to get to the office, and the main street we regularly cross to get to the subway. It's not really that bad as long as you're quick enough to dodge the cars and dirt bikes that usually will not yield to pedestrians.

Just around the corner from Paul's office is the subway (LRT) and the taxi drivers line up waiting for people to hop in and give them their next destination.

And a few minutes and short ride later, I arrived at Masjid Jamek, took the escalator back to ground level, and came out looking at this mosque. I was just a few minutes early to witness the Friday service and all the barefoot men washing their heads in the large long troughs.

After a quick stop at the bank, I walked through the fruit carts and bus stop down the street to the Central Market area. It's the same shopping mall I've discussed before where you can buy all the handicrafts. Today however, I chose to hang out outside of the mall to see all the interesting people. So the street below is where all the action takes place. Most of the photos are pretty self explanatory. I really just wanted to let you actually see some pictures finally!

Those numbers are the T-shirt prices in Ringits. Divide it by 3.3 to get the amount in US$.

ISA is a law that allows people to be arrested without granting them certain rights like trial among other things.

Taking her oranges head on in traffic, she ain't sceered!

Who knew Paul's Texas style would influence fashion here so quickly?

The guy in blue is the bus driver who stands there for a good 10 minutes yelling the names of all his stops, along with the 20 other bus drivers at their buses behind him.

The owner of this one is riding hard! Definitely a step up from the average dirt bike.

This little stand in the alley actually became overrun with people buying lunch around 11:30.

This is no Ritz Carleton.

The little boy riding on the back with the red helmet actually has a much younger brother riding shotgun without a helmet. You can see his head just under his dad's.

I will spare you from all 183 photos, and update you on what's going on around here while I've got your attention. Pretty much the same 'ole. I've been working on the folder cover for the UNHCR, a different project than last time. And Paul has been working pretty hard. We're feeling much more at home in the apartment and can't wait for our things to arrive in the airfrieght. During the day I'm trying my best to follow my uber-fanatical-workout-expert sister's advice on how to work off the year's worth of steamed rice I've consumed within a months time. Aside from that, there's not too much else new! I've been reluctant to post anything without some descent pictures, so I thought this might suffice for today. Maybe we'll have new news and pictures after the weekend. Enjoy the weekend!