Friday, July 08, 2005
Sorry lah, been meaning to put this up, but forgot... not that anyone was expecting it.
Pt. 2 - KL malls
Okay, I'm very well aware that there are many, many malls in downtown KL, so I'm only gonna talk about the ones that I know and am at least familiar with.
1. Midvalley Megamall
Between KL and PJ and is next to the Federal Highway, Midvalley was the biggest mall in the country back in the day. But it's not now, so there - hah! Parking rates are the same as Pyramid, and you can pay your parking first, if you like. But other than that, it's a bit too big for my taste and it's tiring as the shops are too far spread out for me. And there's only like, one major bookstore (MPH). Only thing it's got going is that it's a mass-friendly place, where there's a terrible jam trying to enter during the weekends.
College students most likely spotted: HELP students, as it's the closest one.
2. Suria KLCC
In KL's golden triangle, KLCC is between the Petronas Twin Towers and is in the vicinity of many 5-star hotels and entertainment places. It's also accessible by LRT (RM2.40 from Kelana Jaya one way) as it's not advisable to drive down unless you're looking for trouble. And I think it's RM2.50 for the first hour or two or something. Nipponophiles would flock to Kinokuniya on the 2nd and 4th floor for their fix of animes and all things Japanese. It's also another place most people (even the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis) would go to during the weekend because there's the train access. It's also the least tiring of malls to be in as 1/3 of the retail outlets are so high-end most average wage earners and students like myself would not dare step in and would just walk past. But the most popular places in KLCC is TGV and Kinokuniya as they're an escalator apart. And for those travelling by train would be hit by the strong scent of Rotiboy's Mexican bun as you walk to and fro the train station.
Also not forgetting that people with spare change can use the Premier Paid Toilet for RM2 on the first floor, which is what I call the "designer" floor cos there's the Cartier and the Carat Club and all. The only difference? Body Shop products.
Prob the place for TAR students and who ever else.
3. Berjaya Times Square
The place screams LA-LA to me. It's like Sungai Wang Plaza in a nicer building. 10 floors of retail and there are 4-5 barely-occupied floors, probably. But it's got Borders bookshop on the 2nd floor and also the IMAX cinema on the 10th floor. Not to mention the 4-5 Starbucks outlets under one roof because Berjaya owns both Times Square and Starbucks. Access to Low Yat and Sungai Wang is also easy from there.
Parking rates are RM2 first hour, RM1 after that, maximum RM4 (weekdays); RM3 first hour, RM2 after that, maximum RM6 (weekends). Which I guess is not too bad compared to parking elsewhere in the area.
4. Sungai Wang Plaza
La-la land. But it's heaven for the fashion-conscious as there are loads of clothes and also handphone booths to upgrade your cellphone from. A haven for pirated DVDs. There are also several tattoo parlours here too, but I've noticed one so far. Then there's also the pirated computer software and all upstairs. But am no big fan of the crowds lah seriously, so I don't have the patience to find a diamond in the rough there. Heck I don't even go there that often. And I wouldn't recommend driving there unless you can afford to burn the time and petrol in traffic and actually KNOW how to get there.
And then there's Victoria Music, which can be difficult to find in this maze of shops if you're like me. But it's worth it. Their singles collection is bigger than any other music store that I know of. Heck, it's even bigger than the other branches that I've ever been tolah.
But when you consider the non-driving alternative (read: train), you have to get to KL Sentral, walk to the monorail station and then taking the monorail which has its own seperate fee structure, and then the process in reverse after traipsing the place... it's tiring leh. (Last I checked, a round trip from Sentral to Imbi costs RM3.20). Not counting the fare to KL Sentral.
5. Lot 10
Nothing much to talk about here. I wouldn't go out of my way to be there unless I'm in the area or there's a freebie giveaway event, haha. I move on to the next mall.
6. Starhill - Another place for the rich. 'Nuff said.
7. Low Yat
Tech haven for geeks and cheapskates alike. Brightly-lit and air-conditioned compared to Imbi Plaza. But since I'm not much of a bargain-hunting geek, I'm gonna leave it at that.
Pt. 2 - KL malls
Okay, I'm very well aware that there are many, many malls in downtown KL, so I'm only gonna talk about the ones that I know and am at least familiar with.
1. Midvalley Megamall
Between KL and PJ and is next to the Federal Highway, Midvalley was the biggest mall in the country back in the day. But it's not now, so there - hah! Parking rates are the same as Pyramid, and you can pay your parking first, if you like. But other than that, it's a bit too big for my taste and it's tiring as the shops are too far spread out for me. And there's only like, one major bookstore (MPH). Only thing it's got going is that it's a mass-friendly place, where there's a terrible jam trying to enter during the weekends.
College students most likely spotted: HELP students, as it's the closest one.
2. Suria KLCC
In KL's golden triangle, KLCC is between the Petronas Twin Towers and is in the vicinity of many 5-star hotels and entertainment places. It's also accessible by LRT (RM2.40 from Kelana Jaya one way) as it's not advisable to drive down unless you're looking for trouble. And I think it's RM2.50 for the first hour or two or something. Nipponophiles would flock to Kinokuniya on the 2nd and 4th floor for their fix of animes and all things Japanese. It's also another place most people (even the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis) would go to during the weekend because there's the train access. It's also the least tiring of malls to be in as 1/3 of the retail outlets are so high-end most average wage earners and students like myself would not dare step in and would just walk past. But the most popular places in KLCC is TGV and Kinokuniya as they're an escalator apart. And for those travelling by train would be hit by the strong scent of Rotiboy's Mexican bun as you walk to and fro the train station.
Also not forgetting that people with spare change can use the Premier Paid Toilet for RM2 on the first floor, which is what I call the "designer" floor cos there's the Cartier and the Carat Club and all. The only difference? Body Shop products.
Prob the place for TAR students and who ever else.
3. Berjaya Times Square
The place screams LA-LA to me. It's like Sungai Wang Plaza in a nicer building. 10 floors of retail and there are 4-5 barely-occupied floors, probably. But it's got Borders bookshop on the 2nd floor and also the IMAX cinema on the 10th floor. Not to mention the 4-5 Starbucks outlets under one roof because Berjaya owns both Times Square and Starbucks. Access to Low Yat and Sungai Wang is also easy from there.
Parking rates are RM2 first hour, RM1 after that, maximum RM4 (weekdays); RM3 first hour, RM2 after that, maximum RM6 (weekends). Which I guess is not too bad compared to parking elsewhere in the area.
4. Sungai Wang Plaza
La-la land. But it's heaven for the fashion-conscious as there are loads of clothes and also handphone booths to upgrade your cellphone from. A haven for pirated DVDs. There are also several tattoo parlours here too, but I've noticed one so far. Then there's also the pirated computer software and all upstairs. But am no big fan of the crowds lah seriously, so I don't have the patience to find a diamond in the rough there. Heck I don't even go there that often. And I wouldn't recommend driving there unless you can afford to burn the time and petrol in traffic and actually KNOW how to get there.
And then there's Victoria Music, which can be difficult to find in this maze of shops if you're like me. But it's worth it. Their singles collection is bigger than any other music store that I know of. Heck, it's even bigger than the other branches that I've ever been tolah.
But when you consider the non-driving alternative (read: train), you have to get to KL Sentral, walk to the monorail station and then taking the monorail which has its own seperate fee structure, and then the process in reverse after traipsing the place... it's tiring leh. (Last I checked, a round trip from Sentral to Imbi costs RM3.20). Not counting the fare to KL Sentral.
5. Lot 10
Nothing much to talk about here. I wouldn't go out of my way to be there unless I'm in the area or there's a freebie giveaway event, haha. I move on to the next mall.
6. Starhill - Another place for the rich. 'Nuff said.
7. Low Yat
Tech haven for geeks and cheapskates alike. Brightly-lit and air-conditioned compared to Imbi Plaza. But since I'm not much of a bargain-hunting geek, I'm gonna leave it at that.
