Monday, November 23, 2009

A STORY OF KUALA LUMPUR (ep15)

CHAPTER 1: TRIVIA dE KUALA LUMPUR

(PART 013)

~"BUKIT BINTANG"~


Bukit Bintang (or Star Hill) is the name of a shopping and entertainment district in Kuala Lumpur, and the road that runs through it, Jalan Bukit Bintang. The area is home to many landmark shopping centres, cafés, clubs, shops, malls and specialty shops. This area is also popular among tourists and locals, especially youths.

Bukit Bintang is located within three main roads: Jalan Bukit Bintang starts from Jalan Pudu and intersects with Jalan Sultan Ismail. The district is bordered by Jalan Raja Chulan at the north and Jalan Imbi at the south. There are a number of hotels and restaurants located in the area, as well as hawker-styled eateries, the place of which provide cheap dishes in a laidback usually open atmosphere.




Bintang Walk is located along the Jalan Bukit Bintang shopping strip. This place has been transformed over the last 5 years to be one of the busiest shopping haven. Cafes, restaurants, clubs, shops, malls and more fill up this street. On weekends, thousands of locals as well as tourists promenade along Bintang Walk and its shopping centres. Almost every major nightlife event happens here such as the New Year's countdown, Merdeka eve celebrations, as well as fashion shows, street concerts and parties.

Bukit Bintang is one of the city's shopping districts offering a variety of merchandise to suit every taste and budget. The city's major shopping outlets are located in this area, including Berjaya Times Square, Bukit Bintang Plaza, Imbi Plaza, Kuala Lumpur Plaza, Low Yat Plaza, Starhill Gallery, Sungei Wang Plaza, Lot 10 and the newly opened Pavilion KL. Imbi is a vibrant commercial area located near Bukit Bintang and being a popular tourist spot, the district is especially crowded during public holidays and peak hours. The Berjaya Times Square shopping complex and hotel is located in Imbi. Jalan Imbi is the main road running through this area.



Jalan Alor is an entire street dedicated to hawker stalls that serve up local delights ranging from
Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Malay and even fusion food. Located right next to Bukit Bintang road, Jalan Alor is extremely popular with the locals for offering delicious food served in a traditional open-air atmosphere, with chairs and tables on the curbs and road-side.
This is one place that is busy both during the day and night, catering to working people during lunch time and tourists in the evenings. Hawkers operate from one end of the street to the other.
The stalls are mostly erected on the kerbs of the streets, but some restaurants also operate from shop lot premises behind the kerb.

Cosmo's World Indoor Theme Park can be located at Times Square. Families can bring their children for roller coaster rides and other excitement in this theme park conveniently located within the city. There is also a mini arcade in Sungei Wang Plaza located on the second floor which attracts many young people drawn to its racing simulators and shoot-em-up games.



There is health-related attraction that Bukit Bintang is most famous for; foot/body massages and Spa. Many shops along the Bukit Bintang Street offer exotic foot treatments. These incorporate reflexology, which stimulates pressure points on the foot through massage. Among the claimed benefits of foot massages are a better blood circulation, cures to certain ailments and a balanced, detoxified body. In these shops, patrons sit on reclining long chairs and spend up to an hour or more getting their feet treated to a thorough massage. Charges go by the time spent and how complex or wide the area which the massages cover. The shops are usually open till late night, which is when they get the most customers who come in after a tired day of work.

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