Daily Times

Kuala Lumpur is blessed with a collection of beautiful temples, handicrafts markets and art galleries that are must-see items on any travellers’ to-do list in the city.

An abundance of these sights is focused in Chinatown, so if you aim to see everything the city has to offer, then some exploration is a definite must.

There is a place in the heart of Kuala Lumpur which never sleeps and far more colourful and bustling than its bigger and more glamorous neighbours, Kuala Lumpur City Centre and beautiful Bukit Bintang. KL’s Chinatown is a thriving tourist bubble crammed with some of the city’s best cultural sites including Central Market, the Sri Mahamariamman Temple and Chinese temples that are hundreds of years old.

The fastest way to get to Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur is to use public transport. Maharaja Lela Station on the monorail stops at the southern end of Petaling Street.

This Chinatown, based in Petaling Street, is also known as ‘Chee Cheong Kai’ (Starch Factory Street), a reference to its roots as a tapioca-producing district. Deeply immersed in Oriental culture, heritage and history, Chinatown is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist spots in Malaysia for shopping and dining out. At night, its main market area, Petaling Street, transforms into a lively and vibrant night market, filled with hundreds of stalls offering all kinds of goods at dirt-cheap prices, and the best thing is, the prices can be brought lower still as haggling is the way of life here.

The fastest way to get to Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur is to use public transport. Maharaja Lela Station on the monorail stops at the southern end of Petaling Street

Recently I had a chance to visit this place and found interesting, as a signboard warning against the sale of imitation goods provides an interesting even ironic contrast as the whole street is practically littered with fake branded items. Handbags, watches, trainers, clothing – you name it, they’ve got it. Louis Vuitton sits side-by-side with Rolex, and you can sometimes get the latest cinematic releases at less than RM 10 each. For shoppers on a tight budget or those looking for cheap and cheerful ‘branded’ goods, Petaling Street will be their first stop as it offers not just variety but also value for money as the prices can be further whittled down through hard bargaining.

I would recommend to my readers that if you are good in bargaining then visit this place, as the shopkeepers reduce the price up to 70 percent from the original price. However, if you are not good into it then your wallets will be empty in seconds.

If you are a food lover than Petaling Street is also filled with opportunities to sample a delightful array of local cuisine. Chinese and seafood restaurants can be found at every corner, and stalls selling all kinds of snacks are stretched along the street, resulting in an interesting mixture of aroma filling the air that is quite hard to resist. One thing more one can find South Indian restaurants in a huge number as they are cheaper and better in taste. One talli (plate) of chicken with one bread is just RM 3 and cup of tea is RM 1.5.

The best thing about these food stalls is that they are open until very late at night, with some even staying open until four to five in the morning.

You simply must visit Chinatown when you are in Kuala Lumpur as it redefines just how much money you don’t need to be spending on designer labels.

The writer is a social and political activist. He can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com and Tweets at @Salmani_salu