Petaling street. The Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur

Various sorts of sport shoes.

To see and experience the old nostalgic atmosphere of Kuala Lumpur city. One should spend some time visiting Petaling Street, which is almost in the center of the city. It is also known as China Town as most of its inhibitions were Chinese and the town was started by the Chinese many years ago. In the early days, there were two groups of Chinese who belonged to notorious secret societies. They were people of the Hakka and Hokkien races of Chinese who were mainly tin miners. A war broke out amongst them in 1870 that left the tin mines in disuse and many tin mines were flooded. The British who were in government managed to end this civil war between the Chinese and Yap Ah Loy who was the Chinese Capitan managed to persuade the Chinese to stay on and rebuild their lives by starting businesses in the area.

Bags galore.

Today, This famous street cuts through Jalan Pudu and Jalan Sultan with various hotels in Kuala Lumpur like the Swiss Inn Kuala Lumpur, Ancasa Hotel and Salamanda Hotel. There are also other budget hotels in Petaling Street such as the Hotel City and Hotel China Town 2. Petaling Street being so close to the central hub of Kuala Lumpur makes it a famous destination for both local and foreign tourists. Most of the sellers trade their wares from little stalls rather than shops. It is a place where the hustling and bustling never comes to an end. Day or night, visitors keep coming to Petaling Street to either dine on the famous street foods here or to

The chestnut roaster.

get some good bargains on things sold. Petaling Street is a shoppers' paradise if you want to bargain your way to some cheap things. There is almost everything here from clothes, souvenirs to electronic items to fabrics. Other than cheap stuff, Petaling Street is renowned for selling imitation goods like handbags, wallets, watches and shoes from brands like Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Nike and so on. Food here is also aplenty. Most of the shops here are the little stalls but many locals claim that at these stalls is where some of the best street food can be found. A famous delicacy in Petaling Street is the salted roast duck and others. Be sure to be there early as the roast ducks are sold out by lunchtime. There is also a kind of rice cake called Mochi, which is cowered, by ground peanuts and sesame seeds. It is a very delicious snack and is sold by an old lady. Other than shopping and eating here in the Chinatown, there are other attractions nearby as well. Two places not to be missed are the

A cooling drink.

Central Market Kuala Lumpur and the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur. This Indian temple is reputed to be the richest temple in Malaysia and is worth a visit.

Petaling Street is easy accessible by car or by public transport. It is possible to get here by car but it is quite a task to find parking spaces, as it is always very crowded here. Another way to get here is by taking the Kelana Jaya LRT Line and getting down at the Pasar Seni LRT Station. It is a short walking distance from the LRT station to Petaling Street.

Text and photo by David de la Harpe