On the first step out of the Central Market area, there was a betrayal of intentions. My steps still didn’t accept heading to the inn.
It was almost nine o’clock in the evening….
“Central Market may begin to lose its charisma, swallowed up by darkness, but not Petaling Street. The crowds have just started there”, I began to force my intention to change direction, even though my body was already shattered due to the nearly nine-hour journey from Kuala Terengganu that morning to the afternoon.
I stepped north to completely devour Hang Kasturi Street until I cut off Jalan Leboh Pasar Besar Street at a t-junction. The T-junction was marked by the existence of the UOB building and the Pacific Express Hotel. The situation was still crowded along the road. So that I was even more engrossed and felt safe when I stepped east until I met an intersection marked by the Maybank Building. The intersection brought together four roads, namely Yap Ah Loy Street from the east, Tun H S Lee Street from the north, Leboh Pasar Besar Street from the west, and Petaling Street from the south.
Yap Ah Loy Street….Who is Yap Ah Loy?
Yes, Yap Ah Loy is the Chinese figure who first prospered in the Pasar Seni area by building a tapioca factory. The prosperity brought about by his business activities has helped a lot in developing Chinatown in the Pasar Seni area.
OK, let’s continue my short journey….
Because I wanted to visit Petaling Street, I had to head south from the intersection earlier. The road I took was part of the Petaling Street section. This is a popular street in the Chinatown area that runs from north to south for nearly 800 meters. But Petaling Street I mean in the title of this article is part of its section that provides 300 meters long protective roofed commerce stalls.
However, apart from taking advantage of Petaling Street, this street bazaar also widens to the east and west to take advantage of the side of Hang Lekir Street which does not have a protective roof.
Exactly nine in the evening…..
I arrived at the gate of Petaling Street. I crossed the wide intersection paved with neat paving blocks to enter the initial area of Petaling Street. As soon as I passed through the gate, the easiest thing to remember was the rows of lanterns hanging from the ceiling. In addition, the concrete-paved streets with paving block motifs and pillars and roof trusses made of steel perfectly straddling the road were things that could be quickly captured in memory when passing by.
The fundamental difference from the lanes in this commercial area is….The route along Petaling Street is dominated by stalls selling souvenirs, various clothes, bags, shoes, wallets, accessories, and other knick-knacks with Malaysian smells. Meanwhile, along Hang Lekir Street, we can easily find food stalls that are dominated by Chinese food and various other street foods such as roasted walnuts, fruits, drinks, and others. As an illustration, for various types of drinks, from soy milk to fruit juice, the price is only 1.8 – 6 Ringgit….Cheap, right?
However, the very cheap and negotiable price of souvenirs certainly indicated that these products would be easy to buy by tourists. Therefore, we need to be observant to bid before deciding to buy.
Petaling Street is indeed an idol trading place in Kuala Lumpur. Apart from that, Petaling Street also describes an existence for efforts to preserve Chinese culture in Kuala Lumpur.
On my fifth visit to Petaling Street, I only explored it in less than half an hour.
Exactly half past ten….
I decided to back to the inn because my eyes were getting sleepy and my body was feeling worn out.
Well, I better hurry to rest.