An Afternoon of Fabric and Stores in Kuala Lumpur

On this first day of 2013, I'll keep it light and share some scenes from my explorations today in Kuala Lumpur. They begin in an area well known for its fabric shops and end at the Sultan Ismail elevated light rail station. Some of the scenes provide a small taste of Kuala Lumpur's mixture of cultures and architectural styles.

A pedestrian street lined with fabric stores

A nearby "food court"

One of many food vendors

Several carpet stores

More stores

A sale section at the Sogo department store

Food court at the Sogo department store

Capturing some "Christmas spirit"

Sultan Ismail Road

Section of the Kuala Lumpur Rail Transit System's Ampang Line

News Year's Kuala Lumpur 2013

If I could sum up my New Year's experience in downtown Kuala Lumpur this 2013 in two words it would be "snow spray". I have now seen enough snow spray to last a lifetime. More of it was sprayed by the thousands of peoples in the streets I visited than... well... it was a lot. Whether it just set back the healing of the Earth's ozone layer or not is a question for scientists to explore.

All I can say is that New Year's in Kuala Lumpur was far more intense than my experience in Phnom Penh several years ago (which was pretty good). At the moment, I am out of words, so I will just share some photos, even if they are a bit fuzzy. For the rest of you still waiting for 2013, I'll just say most seems the same, but you might want to stay clear of any snow spray.

Happy New Year's...

Where I had a late night seafood dinner of sting ray, clams, and assorted veggies

The head chef from Myanmar

The snow spraying fun had already begun before midnight

Snow spray explosions

Nobody was immune

Big crowds

Enthusiasm

Taking over the streets

Many disposed snow spray cans

Photographic opportunities

Capturing the moment

Walking down the middle of the street

More snow

Still snowing

Never enough snow

Nobody was safe

Plenty to clean up

US $5 per cup for a Carlsberg beer at one bar 

Some Indonesian guys I met

Bazaar Baru Chow Kit in Kuala Lumpur

During a long walk today in Kuala Lumpur, I stumbled upon Bazaar Baru Chow Kit. Although several years ago there were hopes this market would become a tourist destination, my experience was similar to another person who shared their experience. I didn't notice any obvious tourists today, and overall the market did not feel touristy.

It might not be the most Malaysian of markets since it is in the midst of a large Indonesian community. But for me, it was still interesting to see how it compared to the wide variety I have seen in China. One of the more noticeable differences could be found in the aromas emanating from the foods and spices. One food stall proved particularly alluring, and I was tempted into enjoying a tasty snack of noodles.

I can't share the nostril-catching smellscape, so I will share a few photos instead. They provide a sense of the diverse visual scenes at a lively market in Kuala Lumpur.

A Monorail and Twin Towers not in China

After seeing my previous post about the vehicles at Xiamen's and Hong Kong's airports, readers familiar with China may have assumed that my ultimate destination was not in mainland China. One reason to make this assumption is that flying from anywhere in mainland China to Hong Kong requires passing through Chinese immigration in the departure city. This is similar to the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and the border between Macau and Zhuhai. There are visa-related reasons a foreigner might deliberately do it, but in general Hong Kong is not used as a layover when traveling between two locations in mainland China.

And my case was no different. After departing Hong Kong, I was destined for somewhere warmer to spend the New Year's holiday.

Jeep and Sony advertising on the monorail

The above photo I took today provides some clues about my current location. If it is not enough, maybe a pair of iconic buildings will help.

The Petronas Towers

In coming days, posts will probably cover a mix of topics. Some will likely be "light", but I'll try to refrain from only commenting on the wonderful food in Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital and largest city of Malaysia.

Comparing Airport Vehicles in Xiamen and Hong Kong

A couple of days ago I made use of various forms of transportation: a taxi from my hotel to the bus station; a bus ride that I expected to take me from Quanzhou to Xiamen's airport; the unlicensed "black" taxi I had to take to get from where the bus actually dropped us off to the airport several miles further away; two flights; an express train; and a monorail.

There's much I could opine about, but I will restrict myself to two scenes from the airports at Xiamen and Hong Kong.

The Dragon Air plane I boarded in Xiamen, Fujian province

The Cathay Pacific plane I boarded in Hong Kong

The smaller vehicles in the two scenes particularly caught my eye. You can click on the photos for larger versions, but I will also share here a cropped version of the photo from Xiamen.

Not cropped to highlight the van

The difference in the smaller vehicles at the airports in Xiamen and Hong Kong reminded me of a comparison James Fallows made in his "illustrated version" of the "Flying Blind Through the Mountains of Hunan" excerpt from his book "China Airborne". In that case, he used his experiences at airports in China and Japan to highlight a broader difference he saw between the two countries. I don't think the same lesson holds in this case, but the vehicles are indicative of other differences between Hong Kong and Chinese cities such as Xiamen in Fujian province. The most obvious is in the typical transportation methods available. Although a variety of three-wheeled vehicles are commonly seen on the streets of several cities I have visited in Fujian, I don't recall having ever seeing similar vehicles in Hong Kong. In later posts I will share scenes of transportation in Quanzhou and Putian--both cities in Fujian province. Plenty of tricycles will be included.

For now, I am just happy that my airport experiences weren't as adventurous as those of Fallows. For a great read with insights about China, check out the links above.

A Quanzhou Church and Police on Christmas Eve

On the evening of December 24, I was walking down a street in Quanzhou, Fujian province, and noticed a church. Given the Christmas Eve celebrations, it was rather active, and like many other passersby I decided to take a closer look.

A view from the upper balcony

Although the evening service wouldn't start for another 90 minutes, people were already taking seats. Several people told me it was safe to say the church would soon fill to capacity. Fortunately, plenty of staff was around to assist everyone.

Back of the shirt worn by some of the church staff

I observed some preparations for the service and saw several people dressed up for the occasion.

One of the rooms underneath the main prayer area

I didn't attend the service, so I have nothing to say about it. But at least I can share a photo of the church's exterior.

A benefit of a wide-angle lens

Some readers might now be wondering about the police who just happen to be captured in the photo. I counted more than 30, and I suspect there were others. I first observed them when three entered the church to take photographs. When I caught one of them trying to photograph me from the side (ah, peripheral vision) I decided it was a sign to leave even though I did not expect there would be any problems.

The large number of people attending this open church service and the large police presence reminds me of a statement I made last year in a post about Easter in China:

The issue of religion is an example of how China can be open and free in some ways and yet so controlled and censored in other ways.

I will leave it at that since I'd only be rehashing the earlier post.

Anyways, it was a striking scene to me. People attending church, people stopping by just to look and have a photograph of themselves taken, and police keeping an eye on all of it. Just another Christmas Eve in China...

Students Selling Christmas Apples in Quanzhou, China

Tonight I met five college students at a popular shopping street in Quanzhou, Fujian province.

They were all selling apples in paper bags with various designs for about 10 yuan (US $1.60) each. Why? Because it was Christmas Eve.

One of the ways some Chinese celebrate Christmas Eve is to give apples to their friends. The explanation usually given is that the Chinese word for "apple", "píngguǒ (苹果)", sounds somewhat similar the word for "peace", "píng'ān (平安)", and "Christmas Eve", "píng'ānyè (平安夜)". The apple simply represents goodness, happiness, or safety, and like wearing a Santa hat, the Christmas eve tradition has no religious connotation for these students. The apple giving practice is an example of how a Western holiday has been "localized" in China.

As I spoke to one of the students, further evidence of the tradition appeared when a young woman who was selling clothing nearby received an apple as a gift from her friend.

The students weren't just selling the apples to help others celebrate the holiday. They were all members of a business club at their university. Like many other students I have spoken to, they are concerned about gaining the "real world" experience they feel their school does not provide. The club helps to arrange such opportunities, even if it involves selling apples on the street and avoiding the local chengguan (城管), urban management officials whose responsibilities include cracking down on unlicensed street vendors. The occasionally appearing chengguan weren't perceived as a significant obstacle, but the students still found their job to be rather difficult. It didn't seem that many passersby needed a tastefully packaged 10 yuan apple. But at least the students had already sold 15 that night, including 7 to one woman alone.

In a later post, I will share a religious aspect to the Christmas holiday that I stumbled upon in Quanzhou. I didn't see any apples or chengguan involved, but there were plenty of police.