Chinatown in KL: Jalan Petaling


Did I just capture a model at random?

As you may have figured out by now, "Jalan" means street. And in Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Petaling, you can find what I believe is the most common ethnic minority in just about anywhere: the overseas Chinese. (Did the yellow and red lanterns give it away?) In case you didn't know, East and Southeast Asia have a significant Chinese population. This came to be during the civil war era of china some fifty or so years ago which led to the Chinese diaspora.

Here in JP, you come here to eat, eat, eat. You can choose from restaurants inside and on the outskirts of the complex. Although Chinatowns are commonly known as shopping streets, I didn't agree it was the case in Kuala Lumpur. Everywhere I looked, it was the same generic sh*t you can find in any cheap wholesale store selling made-in-China products, except for the "I love Malaysia" and Petronas Twin Towers souvenirs (although I still have my doubts about anything mass-produced).






I particularly love this shot just a few blocks away from PJ. It seemed so anachronistic, so out of place in 2014, and yet I couldn't imagine it existing anywhere else other than Kuala Lumpur.

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