June 2015
On my first trip to KL with Masaaki in the mid-80's, the old Central Market of KL was just being renovated and reformatted into its current form. We had no idea about it and instead focused on the old railway station, the huge city mosque, and the cultural museum. KL in those days was totally uninteresting when compared to today. After visiting Penang, Bangkok, and Koh Phangan - we found Kuala Lumpur to be, indeed, dull.
Brian and I moved to the region in the early 90's and, after getting settled in Indonesia, I started to explore. By that time, all the Malaysian government's efforts to create a modern capital city were starting to pay off. From Singapore I took a long-distance bus to Malaysia's capital for a second look. People may now have forgetten, but that art deco gem, the Old Central Market (building from 1937, not 1888 when it was founded) was the centerpiece of turning KL's Chinatown into a tourist attraction. Although I was not impressed with the "art market" (which was largely imported junk from neighboring countries, sadly), I was struck by the effort to turn very dull Kuala Lumpur into something more.
Over time, Pasar Seni was largely side-lined (although still maintained and a nice place to visit) as the city built more attractive areas in which to hang out and spend money. People forgot that one of the seeds of the urban renewal of KL was the lowly old Central Market, barely saved from the wrecking ball. Kuala Lumpur had watched Singapore transform itself and knew it could do the same. The old Central Market was one of the first steps.
My favorite story from Pasar Seni was from an ill-fated trip there with Kelle H. She found a woman who told fortunes and insisted she have it done. I didn't take it too seriously, but Kelle hung on every word. "All true, all true" she said, as she told me the vague predictions that could have applied to anyone. The gods apparently had spoken. Unfortunately the gods didn't advise her to give up smoking as Kelle sadly passed from cancer a few years later.
Kuala Lumpur might these days might be associated with the Petronas Towers and Bukit Bintang - but I can't forget the former wet market resurrected as a local artists' showcase that started the ball rolling.