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| World Trade Center, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur |
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| Sunway Putra Mall, Jalan Putra, Kuala Lumpur |
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| The Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur |
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| Promoting Cuti Cuti (Vacation) Malaysia by MATTA FAIR |
" LIFE isn't about waiting for the storm to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain "
" My Staycation & Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) free & easy visit (08.30>15.00) with my travel buddy, Thompson Tham to World Trade Center & The Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur on Saturday Nov 20 2021, travelling by Rapid KL LRT train from SS15, Subang Jaya (my home place) > PWTC, Kuala Lumpur & return, my 15th outdoor trip after a National Lockdown (Movement Control Order / Emergency) imposed by the Malaysian Government on May 6 2021 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases, a National Vaccination campaign is currently being implemented by the Malaysian Government (Phase 1 started in Feb 2021; as at Nov 13 2021, a total of 22.3 million individuals or 95.2% of the adult population in Malaysia have completed their Covid-19 vaccinations); Selangor (my home state) is now under National Recovery Phase 4 (NRP4) starting from Monday Oct 11 2021 hence the Malaysian Government has eased restrictions allowing individuals with vaccination certificate or card for inter state travels, dine-in restaurants, hotel accommodations & homestay, outdoor sport & activities etc "
Expenses incurred: Rm2.10 x 2 (2 train rides 50% discount for seniors) + food (pan mee) Rm9 = Rm13.20(US$3.20), the distance from Subang Jaya (my home place) > World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur is approx 23km.
My travel buddy, Thompson Tham, joining me on this trip
Rapid KL LRT train ride from SS15, Subang Jaya > Masjid Jamek (transit) > PWTC, Kuala Lumpur; Subang Jaya township as viewed in panorama from the SS15 LRT station !
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| Subang Jaya - My Home Place |
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| Subang Jaya in Panorama ! |
Masjid Jamek Rapid KL LRT station (transit) > PWTC, Kuala Lumpur
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Masjid Jamek LRT station is located near the confluence of
the Klang & Gombak Rivers |
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| Masjid Jamek is the spot where Kuala Lumpur began ! |
Cityscape as viewed from the Masjid Jamek & Rapid KL LRT train windows
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| Masjid Jamek, one of the oldest mosque in Kuala Lumpur - built in 1909 |
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| Masjid Jamek - the starting point leading to the birth of Kuala Lumpur in 1857 ! |
World Trade Center, Jalan Tun Ismail, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur - opened in 1985, formerly known as Putra World Trade Center, an iconic building with traditional architecture steep in custom & history, a convention & exhibition center in Kuala Lumpur, the main venue for the staging of the MATTA (Malaysian Association Of Tour & Travel Agent) Fair for the last 2 to 3 decades !
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| Reception Counter - free admission this year, each visitor given a red plastic bag |
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Free admission so no long queue for registration & collection of entry pass
& payment of admission fee at the Reception Counters. An unusual sight ! |
MATTA (Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agent) Fair (Nov 20 & 21 2021 10.00 > 20.00), World Trade Center, Jalan Tun Ismail, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur - held normally March & September every year, This year (2021) is about "Pack your bags, MATTA Fair is back" after 21 months of Lockdown albeit a smaller version; free admission, supported by major state tourism authorities of Malaysia (found in Hall 4) & international tourism organisations from South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan, Turkey & Uganda (Hall 3) .
Hall 4, MATTA Fair, World Trade Center - participations mainly from local state tourism organisations & travel agents, strict SOP to be observed ie social distancing, visitors had to queue up in line to enter Hall 4, visitors turnout appeared much less compared to the pre-Covid 19 Fairs ! Hall 4 had a steady stream of visitors on Day 1 mostly checking out for best travel deals eg hotels, air tickets, theme parks, island resorts etc; both of us collected some tourism brochures from display booths in Hall 4 & 3 especially on tourism information of Borneo Rainforest in Sabah & Sarawak, East Malaysia !
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| SOP, social distancing & queuing to enter Hall 4 & 3 |
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Hall 4 promoting Cuti Cuti Malaysia & local travel packages -
steady stream of visitors, more crowded |
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| Traditional Silat cultural performance (Malay martial art) |
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| Sarawak Tourism Booth - largest & attractive decor |
Hall 3, MATTA Fair, World Trade Center - participants mainly from local travel agencies (established travel agents / players) promoting international package tours & air tickets to selected Asian & European countries ! Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Philippines & Uganda have their own tourism display booths ! But due to the Covid 19 pandemic, observed lesser crowd in Hall 3 ! Big players like Apple Vacations & Parlo have a presence in this MATTA Fair promoting tour packages to Turkey, Switzerland, Dubai & Finland for 2022 departures !
After the MATTA Fair visit, Thompson & myself made a brief visit to the Kenny Hills Resident area, about 800m from the World Trade Center along Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
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| 1) Villa Putra Condominium, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur |
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2) Cityscape as viewed from an overhead
bridge in Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur |
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| 3) KTM Putra Train Station |
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| 4) Centre for Education & Culture, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia |
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| 5) Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur |
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| 6) Kenny Hills Residence, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur |
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| 7) Malaysia Space Agency (MPSA), Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur |
Sunway Putra Mall, Jalan Putra, Kuala Lumpur - previously known as The Mall or Putra Place, a shopping mall located along Jalan Putra in Kuala Lumpur, situated across the street from the World Trade Center & the Seri Pacific Hotel.
Selera (Food) Street in Sunway Putra Mall, Jalan Putra, Kuala Lumpur - serving Asian & Western, Japanese & Korean, Thai & Malaysian foods etc so take your time to visit each of these food stalls, find a cosy corner to eat & dine, pick your choice of "food glorious food" & enjoy your meals & admire the surroundings in this food street in the Mall !
The Chow Kit - named after Loke Chow Kit (a well known miner, municipal councilor, public official & also the first local owner of a department store), traditionally been known as one of the major red-light districts in Kuala Lumpur, a suburb in central Kuala Lumpur, located around Jalan Chow Kit & is enclosed by the parallel streets of Jalan Raja Laut & Jalan Tuanku Abdul Raham, the largest community here is Indonesians hence the area is also known as "Little Jakarta", Lorong Haji Taib is known for the sale of used clothing & accessories, a daily wet market known as Bazaar Baru Chow Kit is the largest wet market in Kuala Lumpur & a tourist attraction.
After the MATTA Fair visit (1.5 hr), Thompson suggested that both of us explore the Chow Kit area & have a quick lunch there. I have not visited the downtown Chow Kit for the last 3 decades so this is a trip of down the memory lane for me (11.30 > 12.30) ! A blessing for me to do this Jalan Jalan (2km of walkabout) in the main Chow Kit area with a travel buddy (two brains are better than one when coming to picking up a right place to visit) ! Another beautiful Sunday outing for me during the National Recovery Phase 4 !
Lunch with my travel buddy, Thompson Tham in Restoran Kin Kin, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur - famed for being the inventor of chilli pan mee (Rm9=US$2.10) since 1985 ! But the best hand tear pan mee (Rm7.50) I had ever tasted was from a corner food stall used to operate in SS19, Subang Jaya, near my home place, unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I realised that this pan mee stall is no longer operating in SS19 !
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| Pan Mee soup - KM's delight |
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| Dried Pan Mee - Thompson's delight |
After the lunch, both of us made a brief visit to Quill City Mall & then walked towards the nearest LRT train station ie Tun Ismail for our return journey to our home sweet home !  |
| Batu Road Boy's Primary School (1930), Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur |
North East Monsson Season in Malaysia - the north east monsoon season has started (Nov>March) so expect any of these happenings in the next few months ie gloomy weather, dark clouds looming in the sky, scattered thunderstorms during the day or night, heavy down pour of rain, raining cats & dogs for hours, flood in low lying areas, keep an eye on weather forecast if you are doing any outing on a particular day or outstation, carry a small umbrella or raincoat with you otherwise be prepared to have rain drops keep falling on your head or soak to the skin !
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Dark clouds looming in the sky in the early morning
in front of my house in Subang Jaya (mid-Nov 2012) ! |
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| Gave up my early morning walk due to the bad weather ! |
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| The nicest thing about the rain is that it always stop, eventually ! |
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| Don't fear the storm, for the rainbow's never far behind ! |
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| A ray of light warming the day ! |
Wednesday Nov 17 2021 - my 2nd lesson practising to take pictures in panorama near my neighbourhood in SS17, Subang Jaya, Selangor during a morning walk (07.00>08.00), not so perfect shots but improving !
My breakfast & lunch of the day - 3 pieces of home made fried egg & bread + a cup of hot Nescafe premix drink & my afternoon meal, fried noodle !
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| My morning breakfast - breads & egg |
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| My simple lunch - fried noodles |
Shopping of fresh produce & groceries with my wife in Pasar Segar, Fresh Boulevard, Subang Mewah, USJ 1 Subang Jaya, Selangor
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