White Elephant That Is Pasar Gombak

This is a government project gone underutilised. It was supposed to be a modern market built in the 80s to house all the smaller markets within the Jalan Gombak area. These include mobile traders and morning trading posts all over.

This modern edifice has three levels, underground for parking, ground level for wet market and upper floor for dry goods. There is even an escalator. However, demand was so poor that up till today, only some lots were taken up. If not for the Maybank Gombak which moved from the 4-1/2 Mile area (next to Sun Hing restaurant), today Pasar Gombak would probably be as empty as a haunted building.

In the later 90s, on the lower ground area, amidst the car parks, there was a furniture trader. However, it was believed that he has to move out because of poor business.

Today, the ground floor is occupied by several traders trading smack on the lobby selling anything from keropok and attire to pillows and frames. It really reminds one of the Kelantan wet markets. Will someone come up with a good rebranding for this market and make it successful again? Afterall, it was built at about the same time with the one in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, and of the same design. When will it stop to be a white elephant?

Hey You Low-Class Residents, Listen Up!

This little sighboard was spotted somewhere in Melawati. It is trying to sell home space at the peak of Melawati. One wonders how many of such "high-class" accommodation are going to be built around the fast-disappearing greenery of Melawati. I feel sorry for the "lower class" residents who live in the foothills, who have to contend with the fear of landslides and flash floods. Of course, you could live a class above. I won't, of course. Conscience does not permit me to.

Astro Dishes Reveal Low-Cost House Owners' Financial Health

Satellite Dishes - Once Luxury, Now Necessity!

Someone once told me that if you want to gauge the financial health of the residents in an area, look at the cars parked around the area.

I think nowadays you only need to just count the number of Astro dishes hanging outside the balconies. Go to any flats, the so-called low-cost housing area and look at their balconies. Count how many satellite dishes are there, pointing skywards to the Astro satellite beaming down your favouritr programmes.

Let's do some simple maths - it costs no less than RM90 a month to subscribe to Astro. Add that to the mobile phone bills, water bills, and electricity, and you will have to have at least RM300 set aside every month just to cope. What about food, children's education, schooling expenses, and so on, you will have an idea of how much these people are earning.

So, if you were told that people living in low-cost flats are poor, just don't you believe it. For instance, take a walk around Section One, Wangsa Maju. This used to be a poor man's abode. Not anymore, not by any chance as you can see in the above snapshots. Just count the number of Astro dishes!

Are you wondering why they are still putting up with the low-cost
housing resident image? Me, too!

Blowing Hot, Blowing Cold Over Advertisement

If you are in Wangsa Maju, pay attention to the signboards, especially those who look at the signboards. Yes, they are as amusing as the signboards themselves.

Just like the other night at Section Two when two elderly couple, who were quite conversant in the English Language, were spotted getting visibly offended by this signage:

Reading the signboard, it is hardly amusing the elderly couple (who were apparently teachers of English or had a reasonably admirable command of the language) had taken offence to the 'blow jobs' this hairstyling salon has advertised. Shoddy English can make your readers blow hot and cold.

Help! The Setapak Garden Pasar Malam is Missing!

We have just been alerted to this. The Wednesday pasar malam at Setapak Garden has gone missing. Last Wednesday, it was said that City Hall came and issued notices that there will be no more pasar malam at Setapak Garden.

The decision to ban the pasar malam started last year when a new thoroughfare was built from Setapak Garden (Teratai Mewah apartments) to the mosque at the 4-3/4 Mile Jalan Gombak or better known as Sungai Mulia. Now that the road is about to be fully opened, ie. joined to Jalan Gombak, City Hall banned the pasar malam, we were told. Because of this, the almost two decade-old night market where residents nearby could purchase cheap veges and other stuff, was removed. Where the new location would be is yet to be known - at least at this moment of writing.

Will a solution be found for the poor traders? Where can the people staying in Setapak Garden and thereabouts purchase cheap goods?

Our suggestion is to use the ring road where the Danau Kota's Bazar Larut malam (see previous post) is located.

Right now, the bazaar operates six days a week, minus Thursday where a pasar malam operates.

How about allowing the Setapak Garden pasar malam to operate there on Wednesdays and the Larut Malam bazaar traders take a break? This is definitely most suitable for the almost mile long Setapak Garden pasar malam. Besides, this area in Danau Kota near the petrol stations is a commercial area which will be almost deserted by nightfall. Certainly the Bazar Larut Malam traders can share the spot with pasar malam traders!

Midnight Pasar Malam in Danau Kota

If you are new to Wangsa Maju and have decided to stay around Gombak, Wangsa Maju or Genting Kelang, and are mostly a nocturnal creature with a penchant for shopping, you might like to know that there is a place for you to frequent.

Known as Bazar Larut Malam, or Midnight Bazaar, this special pasar malam starts from 9pm to 3am, nightly except Thursdays - at least it used to, until recently when every day is bazaar day.



The bazaar takes up the entire stretches of roads around the Shell and Petronas stations and about some of the shophouses' lanes near the the main hawker complex in Danau Kota.

The traders here are all Malays selling a variety of goods, such as bags, attire, shoes, car spareparts, and even on rare occasions, Protons. Yes, the car.

Prices are so-so and you can bargain. Goods mostly come from Indonesia, Thailand or China.

Watch Out When Beating Lights At Danau Kota-Genting Kelang

If you have this insatiable tendency to beat traffic lights, watch out when you are along Danau Kota-Genting Kelang, near the JPJ. There is an overhead camera can can set you RM300 poorer and I bet you it works.

Where To Drop Off Your Recyclable Items in Air Panas

Got old items you want to get rid off? Then head for the Air Panas Market on Sundays.

Watch out for this small 'pondok' just opposite the market across the road by the car park. You can't miss it - orange in colour.

On Sundays it will be opened and you can drop off your second-hand goods there - any recyclable item.

All the income generated from this collection goes to a charity which name is stated on the pondok.

Air Panas Community Hall - When will it materialise?

Remember the small community house opposite the Air Panas wet market? The one the authorities demolished last year? Well, according to the signage here, the place would be used to build a new community hall. Does anyone know when work will begin or will it remain just like that? Anyone who knows something are most welcomed to post a comment to enlighten others like me.

By the way, it was rumoured that a large futsal stadium will be built not far from the Air Panas firestation, opposite the Marian Convent Primary School.

Yes, there is a real hot springs in Hot Springs!

Yes, we at Wangsa Maju have a hot springs in Hot Springs!

Haha, you probably think I am joking - that there is a real hot springs in Hot Springs or better known now as Air Panas. Well, there is one.

In the days of yore, this place was merely a hedged compound of an old timber house by a huge shallow well which water is crystal clean and terribly hot. In the mornings, steam could be seen emanating from it from the other side of the road. The water sometimes looked boiling as sulphurous gases were released from the earth's bowels.


The pool is well landscaped, too!

The water is believed to be able to cure skin problems and arthritis. In the mornings, housewives could be seen washing their clothes there because the water containing a little bit of sulphur was believed to be able to kills fungus on the clothes.

Today, this place has been developed very well although the City Hall has not been intelligent enought to promote it as a tourist attraction - Come on! Where else can you get a hot springs within city limits? In any case, it is now within the compounds of a condoplex called Resource Springs (see below).



If you want to use the water to bathe, you have to pay RM1 per adult per entry. You have to bring your own water trough to scoop the water. There are bath cubicles and divided into men's and women's section. Foot soaks are also available.



ps: The coins you see at the bottom of the pool (picture top) are thrown by people who have made their wishes. Yes, this is also a wishing pond although no one really knows if punters ever won anything just throwing coins into the pool!

Map:

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Are there fish in Taman Sri Rampai lake?

Whenever I pass by this lake at Taman Sri Rampai, I would see some angler casting their lines into the waters and waiting patiently for god-knows-what. A bite, perhaps? Are there fish?

As far as I know, the lotuses are plentiful and fruiting too. If you like the bulbs, you can pick some by the lake's edge. Deeper ones are a danger because the water in some areas are not as shallow as it appears. There are also lotus fruits to enjoy, especially if you like the seeds raw. During the flowering season, March through May, the pink flowers that carpet the lake's surface is a sight to behold.

But fish?

Several years ago, City Hall threw a fishing competition here and released some patins. Rumour is still going around that there are some huge ones lurking in the waters, waiting stupidly to bite onto the baits of some lucky angler. Believe it or not, up to you. But every single angler I see there each day amazes me no end how some people could keep their hopes up every single day!



ps: This I know - there used to be lots of emerald chiclids that can be reared as aquarium fish here in the past. Not anymore.

Every town has its Joker - even Medan Idaman

This lady in yellow must have been in her 70s. If you are in Medan Idaman, you will see her for she is a familiar face there, busy chasing motorists who just parked or about to get out of their car. She will knock on your window if you have not yet gotten down, and if you had, she will politely ask you for one ringgit.

If you don't acknowledge, she will keep on asking, short of following you all around. If you still ignore her, she will head for the next 'victim'. Thank god she has not learnt the tricks of reverse psychology - follow you till you get so damned embarrassed and pay her off just to leave you alone!

Whose mother is she no one seems to know. I think she is a harmless creature who is probably spending her twillight years doing this just for kicks.

Maybe she just want to piss the motorists off big time and make some dough along the way.

Mind you, she is not a beggar. She just politely asks you for the money and if you don't give it to her, she doesn't verbally abuse you. Otherwise she would have upgraded her status to someone not quite right "up there".

To avoid embarrassment, the minute you spot her, just get quickly out of her sight.

I wish someone would claim her. If she is your mother, take her home. After a life of slogging, she deserves better than roam the streets of Gombak Fifth Mile. She just might get knocked down by a reckless motorist when crossing the busy road one of these days.

How to get from Wangsa Maju to KL City Centre in 10 minutes

Well, if you know your way around, there are many. You could use Jalan Jelatek via Setiawangsa. But if you are a newcomer, let me let you in on this short cut. It is well known among locals and takes you to Ampang Park in 10 minutes.

Head towards Taman Sri Rampai and subsequently Setapak Jaya. Follow the road to the end till you see an oxidation pond and continue along this one-way road and you will arrive at a downhill bend which subsequently takes you across a small stream. The road then forks into a T-junction.

Take the left of the fork and follow the road straight will take you into Jalan Semarak, or Jalan Gurney - which is about 7 minutes from Ampang Park and KLCC if there is no jam in town. (The road passes through some squatters' area (once known as Kampung Congo) now being developed for the DUKE Highway.)


Note: IN the mornings, don't use this road. It is very narrow and heavily jammed!

Oh those mamaks! Why do they have to book parking lots so early?

Look at the picture. This employee of a mamak restaurant was caught in the act. He wasn't too pleased when he realised his action was being photographed.

It was only 6:30pm and he is already at it at Medan Idaman. Here you can see he is marking his territory - putting chairs and tables on parking lots so that he will have extra serving space.

Not only is he depriving motorists of parking lots, he is also causing congestion because motorists have no choice but to double park by the lots he had booked.

This had been a regular occurrence in Medan Idaman, at Gombak Fifth Mile. Both the front and in the middle lanes. These restaurateurs have no respect for other people's businesses or the law and one wonders why the full weight of the law did not come down hard on them. Come on City Hall!

Many shop owners have confided that the congestion and lack of parking space had caused a drop in their businesses. A clinic nearby is also affected tremendously by the action of these selfish restaurant operators. Severely-ill patients were forced to walk several hundred metres away to the clinics because there were simply no parking space. I wonder why the other affected businesses bother to pay assessment fees when City Hall did not look after their interests.

Why can't they take up the parking lots after say 9pm when businesses start to close and nightlife kicks in? The restaurateurs would have the entire Medan Idaman to themselves and no one would raise an eyebrow.

The Origin of (Pasaraya) Ong Tai Kim (Supermarket)

Do you know that the Pasaraya Ong Tai Kim got its name from its founder, the late Ong Tai Kim?

This affable and plump gentleman started his business in the 70s and the original shop where he started from was a timber structure located across the road from where the current Pasaraya Ong Tai Kim is now located.

Several years later, the row of brick shophouses were built. If I am not mistaken, it was in the early 80s and the wooden structures replaced. Ong Tai Kim then moved to the newer premises, occupying two lots side-by-side and complete with a basement.

The row of shophouses formed the fringe of Kampung Lee Kong Chian or better known among the Hokkien residents there as Gong Bak Goh Kee meaning Gombak Fifth Mile (or Batu Lima in Malay) stretching from the southern entrance (in front of the traffic lights to Setapak Garden) to the northern entrance (after the bridge just a short distance from the junction to Taman Ibukota.

Today, Pasaraya Ong Tai Kim has become the icon of Gombak and is an often referred-to landmark that is synonymous with Gombak.

The complex today occupies five floors with the ground floor being the supermarket and sundry goods section.

Pasaraya Ong Tai Kim is open from 9am to 10pm. Parking is bad so be prepared to park far and walk. Within its vicinity is the Medan Idaman Complex, a shopping complex wannabe that caters to the local makcik and ah sohs. Oh, it is a heaven for handphones and accessories.

NZ Curry House Charging For Papadam

Have you been to NZ Curryhouse lately? The one situated exactly beside the Carrefour Shopping Complex?

Great meals there but recently we found out that they have started charging for papadam, you know the Indian crackers that go with your meal?

Well, if in the past, they give you a couple of papadam when you order your rice, now they don't give you any. They ask you to buy -a packet of about five pieces of the usual palm-sized crackers for 50sen.

Most places give these free with your meal. Not at NZ anymore. I just wonder why. Maybe some people just take as many as their conscience would allow, sometimes wasting them on the plate, half eaten.

I checked with friends if this was a national phenomena. Some said yes, other mamak have started packing and selling them to diners. Have you experienced any?

I hope the mixed rice stalls won't start charging for soups and some, suet char (iced chinese tea).

Can Someone Please Remove These Stumps

Obstacle to pedestrians, especially in poorly lit areas at night.

These tree stumps have been lying along Jalan Genting Kelang for more than a week already. They were of trees cut to make way for road widening. Well and good. But will someone please throw them away so that they don't become obstacles to pedestrians? In poorly lit areas, someone walking along this stretch could get hurt badly.

Painted Storks On Lamp Posts Near Zoo

Taking A Break ... On Lamp Posts

If you drive along Jalan Hulu Kelang in the evenings, especially during cold days just after a heavy rain, chances are that you would have seen these birds perched on the street lamps.

Well, they are Painted Storks which the National Zoo (Zoo Negara) acquired for captive breeding in the 80s and later released to be free flying birds. These are not local birds, having originated from India and Sri Lanka.

Today there are about 460 of them and they can be seen flying around the vicinity of the zoo, riding the thermals in the afternoons or taking a break for the night along lamp posts.

The gentle birds were almost exterminated during the last outbreak of bird flu at Kampung Pasir Wardieburn Camp if not for their location.

Luck was on their side as they were not within a 5km radius of the area where all birds within the radius had to be culled. The zoo lies within a 10km radius of the point of infection and the birds were spared. But the clock is ticking as development encroaches nearer to the zoo.


Painted Storks Resting At Their Colony Island In Zoo Negara

An island has been created within the zoo for the Painted Storks to nest and breed. During the day, they fly to as far as Kapar in Klang to forage for food and you can see their unmistakable V-formation. They stop at the banks of the Klang and Gombak rivers to feed. Sometimes they could be seen at the Lake Gardens in the heart of the city or even on the roofs of the National Museum.

So far, there has been no reports of the birds nesting outside the zoo, however.

Note: Zoo Negara holds the record of having the largest colony of bred Painted and Milky Storks in the world.

Freshly Made Putu Mayam in Air Panas (Hot Springs)

Putu mayam, hot from the steamer and best eaten with palm sugar.

Ever wondered where you could find freshly made string hoppers or better known among us as putu mayam? Well, wonder no more. Just drop by the Air Panas night market every Monday.

Situated at the other end (away from the wet market) is an Indian chap I called Anei who makes killer putu mayam. You can watch him prepare the string hoppers over an upturned rattan basket which he uses as a receptacle to steam this traditional Indian delicacy.

He also make steamed curry puffs if you are interested. These are like our curry puffs, except that the filling is sweet and contains generrous amounts of coconut shavings and black sugar. Best time to visit him is before 9pm. By 10pm, he's all sold out.



Anei busy making steamed curry puffs. They are white in contrast to traditional ones which are yellow because they have been fried.

Jalan Gombak Expanded But Will Traffic Woes End?

(The start of the widening at 5th Mile)

Good things are coming to Jalan Gombak from the 5th Mile (Ong Tai Kim) to the Setapak Police Station region. Since its last upgrading in the 80s where a toll was put up at Jalan Pahang and discontinued in the early 2000, it will now again be improved. The two lane thoroughfare which was the main link between the Selangor and the East Coast states in the days of yore before the Karak Highway was built will now be expanded into a three-lane dual carriageway.

Work begun last year after land was acquired and the expansion involved 25 feet on both sides. (See Picture, Red Arrows) So far the foundation work has begun and stopped briefly in varius parts during the run up to the elections and now continued again.

With the expansion, Gombak residents can expect a smoother flow of traffic, lesser jams. Or will they?

Well, they will face horrendous jams if the planners don't do anything about the viaduct at the Setapak Police Station which underpasses Jalan Genting Kelang to join Jalan Pahang into Setapak (see pictures below). So far, there has been no communication from the Mayor's Office. What are the plans then?

Commonsense will tell one that a three-lane traffic on a busy working morning cannot be squeezed into a two-lane tunnel or you will have flaring tempers and fistfights born. Can someone shed some light on this?

Now You Know Why Genting Kelang Trees Were Cut

Courtesy: The Star Online

Jalan Genting Klang no more a green zone

THE residents of Jalan Genting Klang in Setapak are crying foul over the cutting down of trees in their area.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) personnel carried out the exercise a week ago and residents, shop owners and motorists say without the tall, shady green trees, the area is hotter and dustier.

The residents are also puzzled over the action as the area has been gazetted as a green zone by DBKL.

According to a resident, who does not want to be named, the tree cutting exercise goes against DBKL’s policy in keeping the city green.

“I am not sure about the reason for this but it is not right to cut such trees. The least DBKL could have done is inform the public before resorting to such a drastic act.

“If they plan to widen or upgrade the roads, they should have taken all aspects into consideration and tried to maintain at least a few of the trees.

“It is a shame to chop down the trees that had grown so tall,” he said with exasperation in his voice.

He also added that a similar exercise was carried out along Jalan Gombak, Gombak and that the 100 year-old trees were cut for road widening purposes.

More at The Star Online

I highlighted this in an earlier post. Now that we know why, is our Mayor is going to put a stop to such blatant disregard for the environment? The MP has already written a memorandum to Mr Mayor and hopefully such acts would not happen again in future.

I wonder why don't they just dig up and move the trees? Not that these Yellow Flames have huge root balls. Why don't they just dig them up and move then inland further. Am sure City Hall has good horticulturists to teach them how.

These trees were planted on a huge budget years ago when someone wanted Kuala Lumpur to be the (now forgotten!) Garden City of Lights.

Now they are just lobbed off leaving the ugly stumps along roads? Will someone be hauled up to answer for this stupidity? I certainly hope City Hall will have some sense when they want to beautify the city.

Green the city you must but you also need to plan for the long term. You just can't plant trees today without considering whether you are going to widen the road in five years' time.

J-Card Member Sale - April 17

Wangsa Maju residents who are J-Card members. Take note. Keep yourself free.

Jusco is having a member's sale on that day. Plenty of bargains as usual. Also plenty of heartaches - if you insist on driving there and getting caught up in the jam.

My advice: take a bus. Or a train. Or even a cab. All right - if you insist - drive if you must but park far away - in Section 1 and walk there. It is easier on the nerves.

Oh, if you must bring your kids, keep them on a leash. Kids and sale are not a good mix and if they get lost, you will be in trouble.