Can? or Cannot!

I always find things like this quite amusing....

Xmas at Pavilion Shopping Mall, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

I always enjoy Christmas in Malaysia and bearing in mind that only about 20% of the population actually celebrate any religious connection to Xmas it's great that almost the entire population seem to join-in and get behind it and all the retail opportunities that occur.
The Xmas Decorations are something to behold!
 Taking tackiness to a new level are the completely over-the-top Christmas decorations at the Pavilion Shopping Mall.
It looks like they've just pulled-out everything from their storage and just thrown it all together with a shovel.
Most Shopping Malls here try to stick with a theme such as Trees or Santa and to limit their choice of colours to just a couple.
Mid Valley usually does the best display,KLCC uses the same huge tree that I've seen every year for the last 8 years and Lot 10 usually has blue and white tastefully decorated trees and then go and spoil it by adding way too much other stuff....
Most Shopping Malls and shops at least try to keep their display a bit tasteful-even understated.

Not Pavilion.
All the themes and all of the colours.
In all of the sizes.
First up were the white wire Xmas trees.These are quite good in themselves and they light-up at night.
But rather than leave it there someone from Pavilion's management must have thought "Hey.we've still got loads of stuff from previous years,lets just throw it out and see what happens".
So,out comes the "life-like" reindeer and sleigh.
But it clashes with the wire sleigh so they decide to put it inside.
And then someone says "what about these really big balls? They don't go with anything but at least they're new"
"And they will be a talking-point."
So, into the display they go.
Then they add green and red trees to the centre console....
with gold gazebo like cages.
I'll have to take a walk there at night...to see what it looks like.

And,there's still 6 weeks to go before Christmas.
So they're bound to add even more tat.
It's so gloriously over-the-top that it takes tackiness to a new low....

UPDATE 8/12/10
I knew they couldn't leave it alone...they have now added some gold and red wire circles,which I think are supposed to be snowflakes to the top of the white wire xmas trees.....which is nice!

Tiger Tim's Pub, Tengkat Tong Shin, Kuala Lumpur

Not so much of a new bar but more of a relocation.
But still,it's good to see something open on Tengkat Tong Shin that isn't a Backpacker's Hostel, Foot-Massage Place or a bloody Convenience Store.
Tiger Tim's Pub is the new location for that hole-in-the-wall place "Uptown Bar" aka "Billie's Bar" that has been going for years on the less fashionable part of Changkat Bukit Bintang; close to Jalan Alor-next to the Dry Cleaners.
They've moved it lock,stock and barrel (even the tacky wagon-wheel bench) to just around the corner in Tengkat Tong Shin, between Carrefour and Mutiara Ville, if you're interested.
Which I'm not.
I never liked Uptown Bar...and Tiger Tim's looks the same dark,dingy,grubby and over-priced dump that it's predecessor was.
A mug of Tiger at Happy Hour until 9pm is RM12. and about RM15 thereafter.
And, there's nothing happy about that is there? as you can get it for RM10 just around the corner along Changkat Bukit Bintang.
I guess it's a place you'll either like or hate and some people hang-out in places like this to relax, shoot some pool and flirt with the grubby looking girls that occasionally drop-by.
Ah well, having said that, I guess for a change,it might be OK for a beer or two.....
It's certainly non pretentious and non-posy.
Apologies if you met your future wife in a place like this but I just can't see the attraction here.

Street Party, Changkat Bukit Bintang 30/10/10

You see what people can do if they put their mind to it?
After the pathetic VW event at Elixir a few weeks back-those clever people at VW must have read my blog and arranged for the street to be closed to traffic so that they could have a "proper' launch of their overpriced cars.
We had international and local entertainment,fireworks and a great party-atmosphere all along Changkat Bukit Bintang and the later it got,the more people turned-up.
It was really good.
Firstly there was a local "Mat Rock" band-all loud guitars and drums,then a rather uninteresting rap act followed by Aussie girl pop-punk band "The Veronicas" who were surprisingly good,followed by warbler Leonna Lewis (nice girl,great voice but the songs all sound the same).
There were probably about 500 people watching the main event-and then it just got busier and busier.

And busier.
Now,it may be a bit embarrassing to say that the last live music I saw was Leonna Lewis but my point is that when Changkat Bukit Bintang is closed to traffic-everybody wins.
Customers can walk without fear of injury to one place and another whilst the Landlords and Owners enjoy the increased crowds and revenues.
I understand that DBKL aren't interested in closing the road (wonder why? maybe they don't want to see unemployed Parking Jockeys roaming the street) so maybe the Owners and Landlords should petition Tourism Malaysia.

It just needs a few floodlights in the car parks at the top of the street-the diversion streets already exist and have been tried and tested many times as, to my memory Changkat Bukit Bintang has been closed to traffic  4 or 5 times already.
So what if a few high-rollers have to actually walk to their venue of choice rather than just park outside?