Hello KL

A couple of months ago, I joined the Association of British Women in Malaysia (ABWM).  They are a fun group of women who get together at different venues throughout Kuala Lumpur for coffees, Mahjong, dinner socials, charity events, running clubs, book clubs, photo clubs, and more. 

This past month, I was lucky enough to take part in a 4 week (once per week) introductory tour around KL with two lovely British guides from the ABWM-Mandy and Pauline. Our group consisted of seven expats from Australia, America, Scotland, and England. Together, we traveled around different parts of the city including Chinatown, Central Market (Pasar Seni), the light rail, the Taman Tun Dr. Ishmael (TTDI) wet market, a traditional Malay house, the Bangsar neighborhood, and a variety of stores and shops that a new expat might find useful. A good time was had by all.

first day of Hello KL tour

popular expat store for home decorations

our lunch at the Malay house

Jalan Alor area

gorgeous mahjong set at Ambiance

LRT at Bangsar station

stopping for a drink at an old salon-hotel

Central Market

not quite my idea of Christmas trees, but very colorful!

fish balls cooking?

TTDI wet market

the baking store at TTDI

TTDI veggie stands

more veggie stands at TTDI

fish stand at TTDI

florist at TTDI

poultry area at TTDI

the spice lady at TTDI

beautiful displays at Allison's

loved this acupuncture family (at Ambiance)!

some of our group in Bangsar neighborhood

more in Bangsar neighborhood

our group in front of Jalan Conlay Malay house

Petronas towers peeking out behind the Malay house

inside the Malay house

inside the Malay house

our 2 muslim guides in the Malay house

traditional Malay kitchen

Jalan Alor

Bukit Bintang 

Lucky Meats proprietress

street scene KL

elephants at gift shop 

tea time with the group

my dragon fruit smoothy at lunch one day

light rail at Bangsar station

inside Bangsar station

central market

scarf shop

our group in Chinatown

can you find me?

view from near Merdeka Square

the famous Peter Hoe's

Christmas cheer in Chinatown

inside Peter Hoe's

Photography

I enjoy taking pictures and try to photograph what I am looking at in an artistic way. Sometimes photos just jump out at me until I stop and try to capture that moment in time. 

Moving to Malaysia for a year seemed like a good reason to buy a nice camera. So I decided to buy my first digital SLR camera before we left home. After doing some online and in store research as well as getting personal recommendations, I purchased a Canon Rebel T-3. I like it’s moderate size and ease of use, but I still don’t know very much about it. As I take pictures this year, I am trying to experiment using different settings on the camera. And with the help of my daughter, I am also learning more about photoshopping. Additionally, I have started taking photo classes at the British Women’s Association in Kuala Lumpur and am loving it. In our first two classes, we covered some aspects of photo composition and evaluated professional photographer's works as well as some of our own. In the new year, I will be taking classes on movement, portraiture, street photography, aperture and macro, and Light Room (a cataloging and editing program). I am excited. Below, I have included several of my favorite shots. Hope you enjoy ; ).