Walking the Three Hills

The time has come again and on the first Saturday of October every year, we would walk the streets of Kuala Lumpur having fun with our cameras. This year’s edition of the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk tackled the three hills of KL - Bukit Nanas, Bukit Ceylon and Bukit Bintang.

The route was again plotted by the Master Plotter, Ripi. The meeting point was the ABC One Bistro - which has recently changed name to a less catchy Nasi Kandar D Tepilan Shahal. It was a last minute change so that we can make an early charge up the first hill. After a quick breakfast - I already had mine at Central Market - Ripi gave a briefing on the route as well as some pointers and tips. Everybody was set. Some shenanigans ensued while we made our way to Bursa Malaysia where we parked and settled for the obligatory group photo. Snap! Snap!

Ripi being approached by a crew from Astro Awani wanting to take a picture of the group

The trodding started and shutters were released. Up the first hill, Bukit Nanas through the gauntlet that were the canopy walks. It was a good idea to head there early doors since the weather was really getting humid. We congregated at the foot of KL Tower waiting for the later arrivals to catch up before making our way down the hill towards Bukit Ceylon.

We stopped by a Chinese Temple there, having a look at the deities. More photos and then a stop at FamilyMart for some refreshments. Ice cream of course. It was getting warm by then.

Then came the main event - Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang. The whole place had been transformed by DBKL into an Instagram magnet! The streets along Jalan Rembia, across Changkat Bukit Bintang towards Jalan Berangan had been revitalised. Colourful murals and many boutique hotels around there certainly made you feel that you were no longer in KL. A place that is best to be seen for yourself.

We spent close to an hour there, slowly inching our way towards Bukit Bintang where the journey ended at noon at the famous McDonald’s outlet by the intersection. Some of us stayed for lunch. Some said their goodbyes. But everybody had a great time with the weather definitely on our side. The only problem was the sun was harsh when we were at Changkat. Imagine if we were there during the golden hour?

I had some food at McDonald’s and then followed a few of the fellow photographers to Chinatown, taking a ride on the MRT. We then had lunch at the always delightful Merchant’s Lane - which was always full on Saturday lunchtime. We waiting for 20 minutes before being ushered to a small table at the back. But it was worth it.

I had to make a quick exit as I planned to attend a couple of talks at Ruang at 2 pm. After the talks were done, I had a quick tour around Dataran Merdeka before doubling back towards Central Market where I parked my car from the morning. The parking fee? RM21! But hey, the experience was priceless ...

Again Ripi absolutely aced it. It was a great day out, I met many new friends as well as caught up with old faces - most of which I only met once a year. Some of my old buddies were missing and would have been great to live up old memories ... Till next October ...

This entry serves as an overview for the whole walk. A more detailed write-up will come later.

Photography, EventHaris Abdul RahmanOctober 9, 2018Central Market Kuala LumpurKL Forest Eco Park, Bukit Nanas, Bukit Ceylon, #WWPW2018KL, 11th Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk, Jalan Alor, KLickr, #WWPW2018Comment