Piquant Photos: Dec 2012: Wandering around in Downtown KL in the pouring monsoon

So I checked into the hotel and immediately grabbed my camera and headed out. All prepared for a lovely time, except for one thing.

An umbrella

It was chucking down.

But I was having fun :) just revelling in it. If I didnt have my camera with me, i would have run out and gotten wet

you said it bro

Ah! durian. I love those.

Downtown KL is an amazing place

this is backpackers district. you get brilliant stuff, cheap and cheerful

And as you can see, people take things easy here. Now you see why I love this place?

A colonial era building. In chinese characters…Men’s Benevolent Dramatic Association.

lol, see? backbackers paradise

hair back? lol. not hairy back, eh?

our man has turned over to the side

I couldnt take it any more

I bought one of these packs and dug into it right in the street. Oh! man, what a great feeling, I love it. Beautiful. Just utterly beautiful. This is the main reason why I love KL.

I start pottering towards the temple area

Old buildings..

A street shrine

So I reach the Sze Ya Temple.

It has some great ceramic statues on top, unfortunately closed, so I was only able to look at it from outside.

And then it started to really chuck it down

I withdrew to find a bit of shelter. I mean, do you need anything else?

Very peaceful

Nice bikes

Still chucking it down…

Hmmm, massage girls, eh? I think i will skip

the pots were full…

Beautiful architecture.

I am back in front of the temple when the rain ceases.

Two dragons, with a fish blowing water and a pearl? or jade bead? what is it?

The dragon looks a bit limp

the upper panel has some beautiful motifs

Lovely lovely flowers..

And I reach the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. After taking off my shoes, I enter the temple

Its apparently in the shape of a human body, so I am entering below the gopuram which has the representation of the feet and I am seeing towards the head where the main deity is placed.

I move to the left and there is an extraordinary mural

With a row of unique apsaras. in Bronze.

See? each of them are uniquely cast. WOW!

What? about 50 of them? holy moly. Can you imagine the work?

And then some views of the Gopuram. Why do people automatically go around temples on a clockwise direction?

I move down the left

And there are small shrines lined up against the walls. With some tiled images of Gods. The one on the left is a decidedly North Indian cast. Hmm

That lion looks dodgy to me.

Here’s one of the dieties. Parvati if I m not wrong but the tusks are confusing me.

these lions are good

Another personification of Parvati

A multi headed goddess, with different coloured faces. Hmmm.

Another mini Gopuram

A worshipper at one of the shrines. With the gods and goddesses neatly labelled on top.

More views of the amazing work on the Gopurams.

A diorama of Shiv, Parvati, Narad Muni and the 2 kids.

This was an interesting arrangement of idols which I haven't seen before. 3x3 idols. Very curious. I couldn't make out what it was supposed to represent either.

Another view of the gopuram

The main shop

With this amazing structure in the middle

The main diety

A neat little hole for you to crack open the coconuts.

Looking at the Gopuram from the front. Amazing work. There are about 300 odd statues on this and they were all made by one man. Gobsmacking.

Hey, my firm is up there.

It is indeed a backpackers mecca.

A police station

Nice bikes

And a nice little cat

This was a fascinating colonial time building.

Beautiful roofs

With lovely colonial architecture.

Not sure what this says :(

Scallops

The juxtaposition of modernist buildings with age old colonial architecture is fascinating.

The weather was hugely humid, very warm and redolent of wonderful aromas. And then you see this entwined pair of trees.

Then I came across this old building which was showing its age

And a sign of a building going to pot is when plants are growing on the building. This really screws up the construction..

I turn the corner to find the Chan See Shu Yuen Temple. Its a clan temple.

With the most extraordinary ceramic friezes. It was quite dark by now so I am not getting the full force…

they are extraordinary work, seriously beautiful. well worth it.

I did not know that a chinese man, Yap Ah Loy was responsible for the foundation of Kuala Lumpur! now that’s going to stick in the craw of the nationalists, heh. they get their independence due to a chinese, their economic poweress is due to a chinese, capital city founded by a chinese…man, the locals just cant grab a break.