An Afternoon in Kay El : Sin Sze Yi Temple, Pasar Seni, Old Town

One of my favourite places to walk around in KL is around the old town where I get off an the Masjid Jamek LRT stop. The old colonial buildings of old KL still stand along the river delta. In fact, Masjid Jamek is located where KL's river splits into two. This is where the earliest development of Kuala Lumpur, the capital started. One of the men who contributed greatly to developing this city is a chinese labourer turned Kapitan, Yap Ah Loy. Despite his great contributions, Yap has not been given enough credit by the Malaysian government. He risks being omitted from Malaysian history in the near future.

One of the buildings which will stand as Yap's memorial is the Sin Sze Yi Temple, a stone's throw away from Pasar Seni, KL's Central Market. Most tourists who visit the Central Market are not aware of this temple. In fact, it should not be missed simply for the ambience and its history. It is one of the oldest temples in KL which is still welcoming devotees today.

The crowd peaks on major chinese festivals especially Chinese New Year. On normal days, it is tranquil and one can hear the occasional ritual chanted by the caretakers for the odd devotees coming in.

As a child, I would follow my family to this temple on the morning of the first day of chinese new year. I waited anxiously for my grandma to summon me when she is done with the praying at the main alters. One of the gods she prays to is the Scholar God. My grandma would call out to us kids to walk under the alter table from one side to the other. Apparently, this was supposed to make us more obedient and brighter in our studies. I can testify that this ritual, as it is, has a 50% effectiveness rate.

This afternoon, I find myself sitting on the long bench I used to sit on together with my dad and grandpa. We were just waiting for grandma, my mum and my aunties to finish with their prayers. Yeps...in a chinese family, even the praying is outsourced to the women folk. With both dad and grandma gone, I find myself drifting into a sentimental mood. So I do what most chinese do. I got up and move on.

The next on my agenda was the Pasar Seni. I am not a big fan of this place but there is a shop I fancy. Pasar Seni is the typical tourist trap. All dressed up but not much substance. The non-adventurous tourist will find it easy but expensive. Most stalls sell their goods at a 100% mark up on average. The store I visited is one of its kind in the world.

I arrived shortly after lunch. Ferrelle's owners is a brother and sister team. The sister designs the shoes and handbags. They are made from batik. I will not say it's Malaysian batik lest my Indonesian friends be dismayed. Whatever it is, I love the shoes and bags here. The owners are very helpful and given its unique design, I am more willing to pay the price quoted.

From Pasar Seni, I ventured on further to China Town. In my opinion, China Town's main street has become like an overly dressed lady with too much red rouge on. The show is put up for foreigners by mostly foreigners. I get mistaken for a Japanese again. The scores of Bangladeshi stall keepers and some chinese boys yelling out Japanese to me.
"Konichiwa?" No answer. Two seconds silence and then "Toyota? Suzuki? Honda?". I walked on trying to hide my grin.

The reason why I came to China Town was to buy some chinese tea at Purple Cane. For those who fancy a meal cooked with tea, >Purple Cane also has a restaurant nearby. But for this afternoon, I headed for some sago gula melaka at Culture Street.

With more calories in my system, I walked back to the Pasar Seni LRT station. Next stop, KLCC.

Suria KLCC is the posh shopping mall below the Petronas Twin Towers. Most international brands are available here. I opted for the food court. It has a wide array of food, both local and international in one space. I miss the food court concept which is non-existent in Denmark. To top it all, the food court has a nice view over KLCC park and the surrounding skyscrappers. Another place to sit and have a coffee is right above the food court at the Kinokuniya bookshop. I love the abundance of English books, something I find lacking in Denmark.

I left KLCC just before the 5pm crowd. Another nice afternoon in KL.