Old-new KL neighborhoods

Sun, 03/23/2008 3:05 PM  |  Travel

Some of you might have driven around Cheras in search of an elusive address. You may even have sworn unspeakable things upon the graves of your ancestors.

You are not to blame. Cheras was once a jungle. OK, so that's no excuse, but it's now a morass of ill-planned concrete vegetation. Cheras has grown from trees to the many sub-suburbs known as Taman and, as a whole, is considered a city suburb. There are more than 30 Tamans and their locations are sprawled all over, just to spite you.

Visitors can make their way to a house converted into a Chinese-temple along Jl. Arif in Taman Connaught. The beautiful interior with marble floorings and walls give off a cooling effect. The general perception that vegetarian dishes taste bland and unappetizing is untrue here.

Come Chinese New Year, the volunteers will cook up some tasty morsels that might encourage new vegetarian-converts. Do note that meals are served on an early-bird basis.

You might also want to check out Taman Midah on the 5-5.5-mile stretch which used to be called Bolton Garden. There is also Taman Taynton (formerly known as Taynton View).

A clutter of shop-houses are concentrated in both these Taman, where there are the obligatory night pubs, karaokes, kopitiam, hardware and sundry stores and what have you.

On the 3.5-mile stretch along Jl. Cheras, a shop named Jin Woh has been manufacturing Chinese sausages in the old method for more than 30 years. When you step into the store, trays of sausages stacked up on one another can be seen.

The shop's interior and exterior exude an old-world charm as well. It is perhaps not as equally charming to vegetarians.

Pudu Ulu

Not many people know how to define the position of the village known as Pudu Ulu. No doubt it is a neighborhood of Pudu, but actually it lies at the foot of the 4th mile hill on Cheras Road. This village is located three-quarters of a mile from Kuala Lumpur.

Pedestrians used to find it difficult to maneuver a gradient to wrap round a corner at the hill. There were some 60 houses on both sides of the highway, excluding the numerous Chinese outlying huts and kongsi houses.

The inhabitants are predominantly Chinese who used to earn their livelihood from the nearby mines, either directly or through supplying the miners.

The mine pits have since been filled up and there have been drastic changes in Pudu Ulu. Now a commercial and a political hub, the Gerakan party headquarters is located in the eponymous Bangunan PGRM (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia).

-- Tan Hee Hui/Contributor

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.