hk walk: central and western district

It was sunny with some interval pf rains but this did not stop me from exploring Central and Western District of HK island last Saturday. I have been waiting for the right day with the right weather to go for recommended HK walks. Autumn changed to Winter, Winter to Spring and now early Summer... "it is time." I said to myself. And then I found myself set off to HK island...

This is the map that I used for the walk as my guide.

Take Island line MTR and alight at Sheung Wan station. Exit at Exit B, turn right and walk about three minutes. This is Western Market which houses some restaurants, fabric stores and stores selling art. The Western Market is open daily from 10 am to midnight.

Then walk along Morrison Street, turn left into Wing Lok Street.At this point, to be honest, I did not really follow the map.This street is lined with specialty shops selling ginseng and bird's nest.

 

As I walked further down this street, I came across with SASA outlet. A great short stop for those who want to grab some bargain of beauty and personal care products.

Somehow I made my way through to Ladder Street and hit Hollywood Street. Few metres ahead of me is the Man Mo Temple. The temple opens daily from 8 am to 6 pm.

As I walked along Hollywood Street until a junction, Aberdeen Street, I wanted to checked out Bang Bang! 70 but it was closed. Maybe next time? But I was lucky as Vintage HK was opened and I had my little walk distraction here. Although I did not get anything, it was a good distraction or stop.

Instead of checking out Mid-levels Escalator, I walked straight ahead and came across former central police station under restoration or upgrading work. Here is a photo of the other buildings in the same compound.

Next, I walked to Lower Albert Road past the Fringe Club. Don't you think it is an unique looking building?

I walked and followed signs to Duddle Street. These are the only gas lamps in Hong Kong and are turned on daily at 6pm.

Final stop is the Old Supreme Court Building which is at Des Voeux Road Central. 

This walk took about one and a half to two hours to complete. For this walk, you can add two vintage stores into your stops. A good mix of walk and window shopping, don't you think? Hope this gives an idea what to explore in HK. Stay tuned for more HK walks. 

ipoh heritage trail 2

I do not know why I did not make an entry on Ipoh Heritage Trail 2 after the post on Ipoh Heritage Trail back in February. Only recently that I noticed I have missed it out. Please take note this is another incomplete heritage trail (besides the DIY KL heritage trail). 

 

Buildings not in this post are Yau Tat Shin Mansion, Straits Trading Company Warehouses, Eu Yan Sang (36-38 Leech Street), Paloh Ku Miao Temple, Chinese Wholesale District, Wan Muhammad Saleh Mausoleum, Dato' Seri Adika Raja's House, Home for Destitute Boys, Kampung Kuchai Houses, Malay House (Kampung Kuchai), Malay House (off Jalan Mesjid) and Malay School (off Jalan Mesjid). Now, come to think of it, as I am writing this post, the reason why I did not post an entry on this trail is because I do not have photos for quite a number of buildings - almost half of them form the trail!

Anyhow, here are photos of building that I managed to come across and a map of the trail.

 Ipoh Heritage Trail map

  Oversea Building 

 Ambika Estate Office 

 

Star Printing Works 

 

Pakistani Mosque

 Little India District

Kinta Aerated Water

 

Gabbled Shophouses

Sin Yoon Loong

 Eu Yan Sang (2 Birch Street)

 Kampong Paloh Mosque

Warta Kinta Office

Dato' Panglima Kinta Mosque

I have to admit that I really enjoy going for heritage trails. Must have been bitten by heritage trails bug, I guess. Hhmm... which is my next heritage trail adventure - Penang or Malacca?

Weekend is here, yay! And have a great weekend everyone.

(an almost complete) kl heritage trail

One day I thought to myself, "Since I have done two Ipoh heritage trails (which reminds me, trail two is yet to be posted here), why don't I try to go for KL heritage trail? Good idea, no?" Indeed a great idea! Soon, I started to google for KL heritage trail and found couple recommended trails. 

I started my trail from Masjid Jamek and walked towards Dataran Mederka along Jalan Tun Perak. At the junction, I turned to Jalan Raja.Buildings along this stretch of road are Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture buildings, Panggung Bandaraya, Sultan Abdul Samad Building and Old Post Office (photo not in this post).

Masjid Jamek 

Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture (Old Sessions and Magistrate Courts) 

Panggung Bandaraya (Old City Hall)

Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture (Old High Court)

 Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Then I crossed the road, heading towards to the green turf (Dataran Mederka). On my right is the Cathedral of St. Mary and few metres ahead there is a building in black and white. This is the Royal Selangor Club.

Cathedral of St. Mary

Royal Selangor Club

I walked along Jalan Raja until I reached the junction with Lebuh Pasar Besar. Right in front of me, on the left side of the road is the Textile Museum and Warisan Restaurant is opposite the museum. Next to the restaurant is the KL city gallery which was Government Printing Office.

Textile Museum (Federated Malay States Railway)

Warisan Restaurant (Chartered Bank)

KL city gallery (Government Printing Office)

Next, I walked heading to Medan Pasar but I detoured at Loke Yew building to take a photo of the industrial court building.

Industrial Court

Shoplots and clock tower at Medan Pasar

Once I have reached Medan Pasar, I wandered off to many different places; Petaling Street, Kota Raya, Masjid India and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman to name a few. There are so many lovely buildings in the city! For more photos of other buildings taken during this trail, click here.

It was an indeed an interesting and fun outing. I think I have missed two buildings; Central Market and KL railway station and that it is the reason why I named this post (an almost complete) KL heritage trail. Or perhaps, I might have left out couple more buildings?

If you have done any version of KL heritage trails, please feel free to share.

Reference:

http://www.malaysia-traveller.com/kuala-lumpur-heritage-trail.html

http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/hot-on-kl-s-heritage-trail-1.36942

http://outskirtoutreach.org/road-map-of-kuala-lumpur-kl-self-guided-heritage-trail/

Ipoh Heritage Trail 1

Ipoh is the capital of Perak and it is the fourth largest city in Malaysia. Ipoh developed into one of Malaysia's main cities around the turn of the 19th century due to the booming tin mining industry.

During my recent trip back to Ipoh, I had the opportunity to go on Ipoh heritage trails. This post will focus on heritage trail 1. Here is the map which I obtained from the tourism office.

If you are planning to do the trail in the morning, I would suggest to have breakfast at any kopitiam in Panglima Street and leave your vehicle here as well. Instead of following the sequence on the map, I focused on the following streets: Panglima Street, Panglima Lane, Belfield Street, Post Office Road, Station Road and Brewster Road. Interesting buildings in these areas...

Concubine Lane (24)

Dramatists' Hostel - built in 1920s (21)

Chung Thye Phin Building - built in 1907 (12)

S.P.H. De Silva Building - built at the turn of last century (11)

Mikasa Photo Shop (20)

Jan Sahib's Office (19)

The Chartered Bank (14)

Straits Trading Building (OCBC) - built in 1907 (13)

Mercantile Bank - built in 1931 (15)

Birch Memorial (18)

Perak Hydro Building (17)

Residence & Law Office of the Seenivasagam Brothers (16)

Hongkong and Shanghai Bank - built in 1931 (10)

FMS Bar & Restaurant (9)

After exploring this part of the town, I walked back to Panglima Street to explore two building prior to driving to railway station.

Perak Ku Kong Chow Association - built in 1928 (22)

Han Chin Pet Soo (23)

This is the bit that one may consider driving instead of walking. Perhaps the weather was a bit hot at that time, thus I did not walk.

Railway station - built from 1914 to 1917 (1)

Town Hall and Post Office - built from 1914 to 1916 (3)

High Court - built from 1926 to 1928 (4)

Church of St. John the Divine - built in 1912 (6)

St. Michael's Institution (7)

Royal Ipoh Club (5)

Town Padang Mosque - built in 1908 (8)

It was a wonderful journey and all this while, I did not know the history of these buildings which I have passed by or seen some of the buildings during my teens in Ipoh. But now, after went on the trail, I have learnt a bit of these beautiful old buildings. Hope you have enjoyed this post as much as I have enjoyed walking and taking photos of these lovely old building.

Note:
At the time of walking the trail, war memorial (2) was not available to public to due some construction work.