The Third Floor Cafe

Big books. And good coffee. On a Sunday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect way to end the week.

That was what I had earlier today when I ventured to Isetan at Lot 10 as I got a spare couple of hours. The initial plan was to see a 3D printing demonstration but I realised that the timing was not right. I had to be back home before the program started. So, the hour sipping coffee and browsing books at the third floor at the Isetan store sounded fine to me.

Just in case you were so enamoured and wanted to go to Japan straight away, there was also a travel agent on the same floor

It was rather difficult to term the place. Was it a cafe with books, or a cafe at a bookstore. Seemed like most people were doing a bit of both. The coffee was OK, not the best in town, but the books there were something else especially when you venture towards the travel books section. Great material, in heavy minded volumes. The books on urban landscapes and street photography definitely tickled my fancy as lately I found those to be the kind of photography I like - or more like the only photography my schedule allowed me to do plenty of.

I decided against buying the books as I had to trek back to another store where I parked my car and I had a couple of stops in between. Maybe I would come back to buy some books. It would complement the volume I had in my living room nicely.

The cafe counter

Typical Japanese. Everything were laid over neatly ...

Apart from the cafe and books, the third floor were also dedicated to workshops for origami as well as all things Japanese. Take that day for instance, there was a Japanese artist who came to do a demo on 3D glass printing. There were more activities laid out for the rest of the year - which you had to enrol and pay for of course. I might just bring Idlan there one of these days if the event was right ... he loved origami.

Lot 10 hosted - and still hosts - the first Isetan Store in Malaysia. There were a few others now but the one in Lot 10 had been renovated into what was termed a “Japanese Concept Store”. It had ample space with plenty of room to browse around. There were no items cluttering the walkways and it did not have the typical “pushy” salesperson common in KL. You can just walk around without being bothered. Definitely a place worth visiting ....

It Has Been a While

It had been a while since I had the chance to have a nice walk in town, just with my camera. Ramadhan, then Raya made for busy weekends. Last Sunday morning, I had a couple of free hours and I did just that.

I kinda got a good feel taking wide-angle street photos lately. I had the choice of either the Alpha 7 with the Batis or as I did this time around, the X-Pro2 with the 10-24 mm wide angle zoom. I got off the rounds early, got to the bank and sorted out my credit card payments plus a quick stop at Low Yat checking out the new gadgets.

What did I check out this time? The new 10.5 inch iPad Pro. Definitely nippy but my old iPad was still working fine.

I spent some time around Pavilion looking for a new pair of shoes, but nothing caught my fancy. Going out this early on a Sunday meant that there were hardly any traffic to content with. Everything was smooth and I get to see and do what I planned smoothly. I was back at the apartment well before lunchtime ...

Sunny Walk

My favourite kind of Sunday would be when I was not on call, it rained early in the morning, and then the cloud cleared up by midmorning, in time for me to finish my rounds. From then on, it would be sunny all day, capped off with gorgeous sunset and serene blue hour!

Congregating

Where to park?

The archway

Masih ada "Ruang"?

They were few and far in between but I had such a Sunday recently. So, I decided to bring my gear out and just walk around town.

Sundays in the centre of town nowadays felt like you were being transported to another realm. The area around Central Market were filled with foreigners enjoying their day off work and truth be told. It could be off-putting and intimidating. This was especially so when they appeared in such large group. You often fear for your safety and walking alone, I do not fell safe carrying my expensive cameras anymore.

Across to Central Market

Golden reflection

Under the shade

Inner city life

But my Ricoh GR was no slouch and I was able to snap around without much notice. It would have been nice if I could have hooked up with a few mates ....

New Year Lunch

The New Year started with a great win for United last night. Although it was only Middlesborough, the manner in which we came from behind to clinch the match in the final 5 minutes was reminiscent of the Ferguson era. And it was fitting as the great Sir was in the stands celebrating his 75th birthday.

The ward round came next after which I drove straight into town to sort my monthly credit card payment. I was surprised to see the new addition to Pavilion had already been opened. Now, you could walk straight from the new extension called "Connection" via an underground tunnel to Fahrenheit across the road. Great plan. If only another extension could be made straight to the new MRT line. That would really take the cake!

Getting my order ready

It was calm and quiet in there despite people walking about around us

On my way back to my car, I stopped for lunch at one of the Arab cafe there, watching people passing by in the great weather. Not a bad spot. Before I leave, I took the chance to explore the new extension, which I would blog about soon. Suffice to say, I did more exploration than I planned. Since I had already booked a trip for the haircut with the boys later, I couldn't hang around for too long.

I was lucky that I came to Pavilion early as the carpark was really packed at the time I was leaving with a long queue forming outside. I guessed everybody was up for some shopping ....

The photos were taken using my Huawei P9

Reindeer Aplenty

For this year, the theme at BSC was reindeer. But this wasn't any ordinary reindeer. These were girl reindeers. With heels!

I thought those creatures looked too tall when I first theme, and hen looking back from a distance it struck me, they were all females. One of them wearing a tutu. Not sure what that meant! Female power maybe.

But as usual, their Xmas decorations here were pretty creative and amazing. Shame that space was at a premium, hence it wasn't easy to manoeuvre around the lobby where the decorations were. They also spilt over to the sides, making the already narrow walkway even smaller.

Like last year, the view was much better from the upper floor, and certainly there were plenty of details to be spotted. Kudos for the effort ....

Sunday Afternoon in Town

It has been a while since I had the chance to get my camera out for a free spin. It was a Sunday and frankly, I had done my chores and was looking forward to a quick lunch with Anita. I had some time after lunch for a quick walk.

Of all the Uniqlo outlets in KL, I rate this as the best ....

Those guys better calm down ....

I wonder how long that building going to take to build ...

Hair fashion night with no hair ....

The big ribbon for the HIV week

After late lunch at Pavilion, I took the M-P out around Bukit Bintang. The weather was not too inviting and to be frank, it was threatening to rain all afternoon. Not exactly conducive for a photowalk, but I must not complain.

The ever so serene looking fountain

Flocks of them were coming

Wet surface

This way is up!

There was nothing much going on there at the moment. I guessed, with Ramadhan coming up soon, the decor would be gearing up to that. Anita did her shopping, while I just hang around for a while. I was too lazy to walk all the way to Low Yat, and soon turned back. I settled for a quiet coffee instead.