Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

If you have ever visited Kuala Lumpur, you have been to Bukit Bintang. Located in the heart of the city, sandwiched between Chinatown and the Central Business District, Bukit Bintang is diverse, eclectic, much loved, and visited day and night by locals and visitors alike. It hosts Sungai Wang Plaza, a myriad of small shops where tourist trinkets sit beside essentials like budget clothing and hairdressing supplies. The famous Low Yat Plaza offers bargains on mobile phones, computers and photographic equipment, but both are only a short walk away from the high-end boutiques of the world’s best designer brands. In the translation from Bahasa Malaysia to English, Bukit Bintang becomes ‘Star Hill’, and if you find the Starhill Gallery nearby, you will be able to enjoy its opulence and tranquillity before stepping back out into the hustle and bustle of Bukit Bintang on a busy shopping day.

Bukit Bintang has always been a market-place but it is also famous for its food in the well-known Jalan Alor, but in the spirit of diversity the Chinese food and Durian stalls are surrounded by restaurants and stalls from all over the world, such as Arabic, Western, Thai, Vietnamese; there is enough to satisfy any palate.

In the last couple of years, property owners and the local council have encouraged a blossoming of street art to brighten up the back-streets and alleyways around the centre of Bukit Bintang and on a lazy Sunday afternoon it is exciting to explore, and enjoy the quality and quirkiness of the murals which in some cases cover an entire block. One of my favourites in terms of historical interest is an alleyway opposite Hotel Comfort Inn on Changkat Bukit Bintang where a plaque on the wall explains how the name Jalan Alor is derived from ‘alur’ meaning a narrow stream or channel. This nearby alleyway follows the course of a dried-up stream which was last mapped in 1921. The street artists have brought it to life with cascades over angled steps, fish playing in the blue waters, and a kingfisher watching over it all from the back wall of a nearby restaurant.

As the light fades and the evening crowds arrive, few visitors venture into the back streets, or if they do they are more likely to be watching their backs than the walls. Their attention is more likely to be drawn to the Chinese lanterns of Jalan Alor and the flickering neon and loud music from Changkat Bukit Bintang. Tourists and many expats from around the world arrive in Bukit Bintang every evening to enjoy good food, meet friends, and maybe enjoy a few drinks in the many bars or even succumb to the charms of a young lady offering unbeatable deals on a massage. As the evening draws on, the restaurants on Jalan Alor begin to close up and live bands, and staff touting happy hour prices on beer towers at many of the bars on Changkat Bukit Bintang signal the shift from genteel tourist mingling to one of Kuala Lumpur’s most popular entertainment venues. Some consider it to be tame by South East Asian standards; perhaps the heavy tax on alcohol in this Muslim country curtails the excesses often seen elsewhere but most bars and clubs stay open until 3am after which the streets are virtually deserted, waiting for a new day to begin. 

Durian is a much-loved delicacy in many parts of South-East Asia. This is celebrated in the street art you can find in Bukit Bintang

Air conditioner condensers ready for harvest.

Cats seem to feature a lot, but without the characteristic kinked tail you will see on the real ones.

Real plants complement the art, helping you to imagine that you could almost anywhere but a bustling South-East Asian capital.

Imagination and interpretation

The whole side of one block has been transformed.

Ancient trees still stand in most parts of Bukit Bintang

True scale is not an issue; you have already suspended belief to see a building transformed into a garden.

A long lost stream is resurrected

With fish!

Cascading steps

He also sees the fish.

Not all streets lend themselves to street art but are photogenic nevertheless.

Jalan Alor. Many of the eateries have yet to open.

Night falls and the evening crowd begin to arrive for food and drink.

Changkat Bukit Bintang

The newly completed Exchange 106 Tower now joins the Petronas Twin Towers as a backdrop to Bukit Bintang.

Cheap bags, electrical goods, SIM cards; everything for the international traveller can be had in Bukit Bintang.

Jalan Alor in full flow.