Christmas In KL

At this time of year the Shopping Malls are covered in Xmas Decorations.
No surprises there.
In Kuala Lumpur it's usually a case of "more is better" as most malls cannot resist going way over-the-top. When it comes to creating that perfect display they add everything and the kitchen-sink and end-up with a bit of a dogs breakfast and a display that looks like it's been thrown together with a shovel.
See last year's comments here!
However,This year Pavilion has done something a little different.

A display of 150 Bears outside (one for each country that bothered to participate) creates quite an interesting installation,with each bear decorated in a unique style by an artist of that country...Some have clearly put in a lot of effort whilst other countries that couldn't really be bothered (but you be the judge of that) have just splashed on a bit of paint and left it at that.
I quite like it.
Once inside the shopping centre I feared the worst as I was greeted by the usual mess of confusing styles and themes but when I had a look at the centre-piece I was pleasantly surprised...

It kinda works......

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

How Not To Promote A Shopping Centre

I lifted this from The Star Online

Friday December 2, 2011
Latin crooner charms ‘crazy’ crowd.

KUALA LUMPUR: Armed with umbrellas and ponchos, scores of people braved the rain to watch Latin crooner Julio Iglesias sing a selection of his hit songs at YTL’s Concert of Celebration 2011.
With 350 million records sold in 14 languages and 79 albums released, the 68-year-old Iglesias showed why he was still top of his game at last night’s concert.
He made up for the damp weather by rousing the audience to sing along to some of his songs, which included Spanish numbers and the ever popular To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before and Crazy.
His most energetic number came at the end of the 90-minute set when he belted out Me Va Me Va.


Now,I've got nothing against Julio and nothing against the crowd who stood in the rain to watch him.
My issue is with the organisers.
Bukit Bintang in one of the busiest roads in KL.
It was closed for 3 days.
The traffic chaos was terrible.
And I mean Terrible.
It's difficult to imagine how a private company can get permission to shut one of the busiest roads in order to promote one of their shopping centres,whilst all around chaos ensures.
Whenever the opposition parties apply for a permit to hold a rally-it's refused on the grounds of "It will cause too much traffic chaos and inconvenience to the public"
Errm,Hello!
You may think that's Double Standards.
You may be well be right.
There were diversions in place but honestly,trying to squeeze 4 lanes of traffic into just one ain't gonna work.
So,as people left work and thought "Oh no!,rain again- it will be a bad journey home tonight" they had no idea how bad it really would be.
The organisers if they even thought for just one second of the chaos they will cause probably didn't care "as the people stuck in the horrendous jam aren't the type of people who shop in Star Hill anyway...and so what? our VIP guests will arrive by a motorcade with police outriders who will carve their way through the traffic"....
And,if you read the report it says "scores of people (for all you metric people a score is an old-fashioned way of saying  20)..so it was hardly well attended....they could have all fitted inside the shopping centre they were trying to promote.

I really don't understand why they didn't use one of the many under-used stadiums.....

The Return of Tiger Crystal

And what a welcome return it is!
First introduced in February 2010,Tiger Crystal is a light,refreshing bottled beer that is easy to drink and not quite as strong (or sweet and sickly) as normal Tiger draft.
And best of all,it doesn't result in such a horrendous hangover as a night on Tiger draft usually does.
This is good news.
Very Good News.
It disappeared from the bars in March this year and has just made a comeback.
I can only think that my complaints to the Tiger Brewery went unnoticed for a while until some lowly brewer stumbled upon it and thought..."Good idea,lets make some more..." 
At the moment,Gypsy Bar are selling a bucket of 5 for RM 60. whilst in Healy Macs it will cost you RM 70.

Enjoy!

Hiking Bukit Broga

Bukit Broga is a small hill about 40kms south of KL past Kajang (20kms) and just past Seminyeh.

As usual it's almost impossible to get to without your own transport.There is a University of Nottingham campus close by to serve as a landmark.
It's an unusual place because you see something you don't normally see in Malaysia:
Grass.
And lots of it.
It must be something to do with the soil being to thin to support trees so you get some pretty good views and some unusual scenery.A different shade of green.
The hike itself starts in a make-shift car-park (RM2) and goes through a small Oil-Palm plantation,which quickly gives way to a few scrawny Rubber Trees but pretty soon you're in open country.
Broga consists of three summits with bare rocks scattered around and although there is some graffiti on the rocks there is very little rubbish/litter.
Yet another surprise.
If you're fairly fit,the hike will not be a problem.
Me? Well, not having done any cardio for a couple of months,it was at times a bit of a struggle,especially the first summit which left me breathless and a bit light-headed until I had a rest and ate a medicinal Mars Bar.
From there-on it was all rather pleasant.
The final summit was a bit of a challenge and there are some fairly big boulders to overcome.
Fortunately,when it gets a bit steep some thoughtful people have laid down some ropes but even though there is a rope at the final summit we had to find an alternate route as the final stretch was a bit too severe.

The 2km hike to the summit takes about 30 mins if you're super-fit but if you're like me and take every opportunity to "enjoy the view" ie catch your breath,it will take an hour or more.
It's slightly disappointing to be greeted by a sign at the top telling you you're 400m high because it seems much higher.
If you're still up for a challenge you can continue further for about 3km to reach the summit of Tok Wan but I think I'll save that for another trip.
As usual with all these hiking places,if you come here on a weekend or public holiday,you'll hate it as there will be a continuous queue going all the way up and all the way down again.
And you will find a few food and drinks stalls complete with white plastic chairs. 
If you come here when it's raining,or are unlucky enough to get caught in a downpour then you will without  a shadow of a doubt really not enjoy the constant slipping,sliding and falling-over and getting covered in mud and could probably be struck by lightening,which will really ruin your day.
But, get the timing right-and its a very enjoyable half-day outing.

The Only Dish Worth Trying in Pavilion Food-Court

.....is the Mee Jawa at the stall down the end going towards Carl's Junior.

The reason I say this is quite simple-most of the other food on offer has that bland-tasteless,franchised food-court feel about it.
It can all look OK but when you actually eat it,you begin to think ;What's The Point?"
Just about every Shopping Mall has exactly the same old sub-standard crap (except for Lot 10)
Not so with the Mee Jawa in Pavilions.
And,at RM 9 for a big,steaming bowl it's pretty good value for money for this food-court and is quite filling and very tasty.
It's much better than the Mee Jawa on offer at Old Town White Coffee,and cheaper than what they serve atLittle Penang Cafe

Definitely worth a try....makes me hungry just thinking about it.......

Spritz Changkat Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur

This bar has probably had more face-lifts than most ageing Hollywood stars put-together!

If memory serves me correctly,first it was a Brazilian Restaurant which did well for quite a few years,then it became an "upmarket" Chinese Restaurant,then maybe an Italian Restaurant, then it re-opened as "Spritz" and has been refurbished at least 3 times.Each refurbishment moves the establishment further away from "Restaurant" and closer to "Bar"
It is one of the only places on Changkat Bukit Bintang that sells Carlsberg.
Which is good.
And,Sunday night it's RM 10 a mug all night long.
Other nights it has a stupid Happy Hour/Normal Price thing going on until 9pm.
And in a place like this,why pay more after 9pm to drink in exactly the same environment?
They have live,mainly acoustic but over-amplified music most nights.


The night I was there it was far less crowded than it's neighbour (Gypsy) but the Carlsberg Beer and the friendly staff more than compensated.
But....
I'm not really sure what to make of it....there's nothing wrong with it but it leaves me feeling a bit non-plused....

Seduction Jalan P.Ramlee Kuala Lumpur

I stumbled upon Seduction last Sunday and I'm still recovering from the experience!

Situated underneath Modesto's on Jalan P.Ramlee it's become a venue for Sunday Tea Dances-which you can read about here!.
The first thing you should know-It's LOUD!
and secondly,It gets EVEN LOUDER!
On a scale of 1 to 10,  the volume control is set to "11"
But..as with most Tea Dances,the crowd seems friendly with lots of Filipinas out for a good time,the price of beer is reasonable,the atmosphere is pretty good and there is no cover charge/Happy Hour vs Normal  (ie. exorbitant) price nonsense that most bars along Jalan P.Ramlee adopt after 9 or 10pm.
If you like live music,flashing lights,dancing competitions and drinking-then you'll like it here.
Some people even try to make conversation,whether they succeed or not I don't know-I could just about hear the guy right next to me if he shouted as close to my ear as possible... and that was when there was a lull between songs.
If you want to experience the Sunday Tea Dance phenomena,get here around 5-6pm.
Make sure you've had something to eat.
And,you'll enjoy it more if you've already got a few beers inside you as if you go in sober,when it's all in full-swing it's a bit of a shock to the system.