Malay Mail

Urban Getaway: kl monorail: part deux - mono-rule!
joachim ang

The second of a three-parter, joachim ang pays homage to kl’s modern present

It began with a trek up Sungai Klang in the 1850s.

A group of industrious miners were sent upriver in search of valuable tin.

Their journey landed at the unassumingly quiet confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers where huge deposits of the precious mineral was found.

It was at this place, where the muddy rivers meet, that Kuala Lumpur found its soul.

The “muddy confluence” saw quite a bit soon after - overnight growth into a rowdy tin mine field; clan and civil wars; the arrival of the British; and its naming as the capital of thethen Federated Malay States.

The various races settled in a melting pot of cultures.

East of Sungai Klang became the commercial centre for the whole town.

The south would become known as Chinatown; the north, Jalan Tun Perak; and the west became the administrative point of the British, now known as Dataran Merdeka, where independence from British occupation was famously declared in 1957.

It is hard to imagine Kuala Lumpur as anything other than the picture of the modern city that we see today.

As shown in part I of our monorail report, tracing the monorail line from point to point is one of the best ways to view and experience the city.

We kicked off our exploration with a trip through the KL Sentral and Hang Tuah stations, which provided a glimpse of the charm of Kuala Lumpur’s past.

Now in part II, we travel through the stretch between the Imbi and Bukit Nanas stations, which catapult us one and a half centuries into the future, and right into the heart of urban modernity.

Stop 5: imbi – once, twice, three times a lady

Mammoth. Huge. Sprawling. Assign any grand adjective you want to the Berjaya Times Square complex (just as long as it connotes ‘massive’).

Tagged as the ‘world’s largest building ever built in a single phase’, with 7.5 million square feet of built-up floor area, Berjaya Times Square is a shopping complex, luxury accommodation, and food and beverage and entertainment provider all in one.

The largest shopping complex in Malaysia houses the largest indoor rollercoaster ride in Southeast Asia, a massive Borders bookstore spanning two stories and three Starbucks outlets.

three starbucks outlets?!

Stop 6: bukit bintang – stop! in the name of love

Go on. You know you’re fabulous. Whip out that plastic and shop till you drop.

If you missed your weekly gym workout, just take a five-minute walk from the Imbi station for the latest gadgets at Low Yat Plaza.

Otherwise, stop by the Bukit Bintang monorail station and into the embrace of the holy trinity of shopping in KL.

The Sungai Wang, Lot 10 and Starhill shopping complexes boast the latest in street fashion sensibilities right up to high-end couture.

Find yourself also within walking distance to a blitz of grand hotels, including the JW Marriot, Westin and Ritz Carlton.

Take a moment to stop and check out the many shops surrounding these areas and you may be surprised to find hidden gems, like a little shop selling army fatigues round the corner from Bukit Bintang.

Now, this is an area I am sure you have been to many times before.

So have I, for that matter.

But as I did with my earlier stops, I found myself seeing Bukit Bintang through new eyes.

There is something about journeying by foot, camera in tow, that allows you to see many facets of a place that you thought you knew.

Perhaps, it is the fact that, for once, I paused to take pictures and by doing so, I allowed myself to stop and notice things other than those I was looking for.

For once, I was not in a rush to go somewhere and be someplace or to buy something.

For once I was actually exploring the area.

Stop 7: raja chulan – on a night like this

Shopping mania continues at KLCC and The Weld.

Party the night away at Hard Rock Cafe, Ruums, The Beach Club and the whole Jalan P Ramlee stretch.

Find yourself strategically close to hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental and Mutiara.

Shop, party, sleep – how convenient…

Stop 8: bukit nanas – jungle boogie

On one hand, you have access to one of the most happening nightspots around, Zouk.

On the other, as you descend the escalator from the monorail stop, you find yourself at the entrance of the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve – a pre-historic rainforest gazetted in 1906.

I stopped and thought of the many times I had passed this entrance in a rush from my commute to work from the Dang Wangi LRT station across the street.

I wondered if my fellow commuters, like I, had missed the venture into this lush beautiful lung of tropical greenery.

Just stand at the foot of the hilly reserve and the air is immediately different.

It is clean and fresh.

Standing there, I found it hard to believe that I was still smack in the middle of the city.

Don’t worry about getting lost as there are ample signs to lead you through the forest trail.

Ultimately, it connects to the base of the 421- metre – high Kuala Lumpur Tower.

It is an interesting story of contrasts - a majestic rainforest in the middle of a concrete jungle.

A story of contrasts that is appropriate, in a way, given Kuala Lumpur’s rich history, and varied cultures and influences.

An interesting story of contrasts that would continue through to the last leg of my journey from Medan Tuanku to Titiwangsa.