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In a large capital city like Kuala Lumpur, there are several busy streets,
but the busiest of all is Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. From early morning,
traffic starts building up. Crowds of pedestrians, shoppers and others can
be seen walking along the pavements outside the shops or trying to cross the
road.
The noise of cars and taxis hooting, or of scooters, flying past is
deafening. Anyone who stops by to watch the scene is amazed at the number of
vehicles zooming past or crawling along when caught at the traffic lights.
The people, mainly lady shoppers with children, line the street as they
await an opportunity to cross the road. It is a bright and gay scene. The
main attraction is the variety of textile shops, departmental stores, the
Selangor Emporium, carpet shops, restaurants, jewellers or electrical goods
shops, pavement stalls with small items like costume jewellery, toys and
aluminium cooking utensils and vendors attracting customers to buy their
wares.
In the hustle and bustle, one can
savour the delicious aroma of Oriental delicacies floating in the air. It
comes from 'Nasi Beriyani', 'Satay', pungent
curries, fried chicken and sweet meats, tempting passers-by to stop for some
refreshment.
In the afternoon, the crowds grow bigger as office workers join the
throngs of people. Now it is also time
to go home. Taxis are in great demand while shoppers queue up to get one.
Most of the taxis have already been hired and so they do not stop to pick up
passengers, much to the frustration of the shoppers.
The crowds gradually disappear as evening approaches and darkness begins
to creep in but they grow steadily again as the night market starts
operating. Crowds swarm around for night snacks at the various food stalls
and restaurants near the theatre or to pick up some good bargains. Now Jalan
Tuanku Abdul Rahman is a sea of lights. It is indeed the liveliest street,
busy all day long and into the night, in .the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the
nation's capital. |
