Feb 26 2009
walk-walk, eating air in Kuala Lumpur
… being a literal translation of the Malay phrases jalan-jalan and makan angin, meaning walking around, taking a leisurely stroll. Of course, Kuala Lumpur being hot, muggy, congested and polluted, I would advise against too much “eating” of the air, lah.
 There are all these tourist/walking signs in the heart of town, but I wouldn’t advise you to do much walking if you don’t have to… |
In my first week of being back in Malaysia, one afternoon I walked from the LRT station to my parents’ apartment. I’ve done it before, and I will do it again. It’s only a 10 minute walk, but boy oh boy was i sweating buckets! Once home, I could barely pull my jeans off of me (think Ross and his leather pants!) they were so stuck!
My friends think I’m crazy to do this, not just because of the heat but for my safety. Not to worry, I stick to the main roads, and I’m not carrying a handbag or purse that would tempt snatch-thieves.
The real danger is the sidewalks, or lack thereof.
Once upon a time they were referred to as “five-foot ways” which implies the width would be about 5 feet, right? Yeah, maybe, once upon a time!
 In some cases, you may have to walk sideways or you’ll fall off the sidewalk! |
Anyone with a wheelchair has very limited mobility here.
Sidewalks are not necessarily flat and even: *I* have difficulty not tripping over interlocking bricks that have sunk or are jutting out of the ground, I can’t imagine someone on wheels successfully navigating the same terrain!
You can have a nice wide sidewalk that suddenly disappears, forcing you to walk on the side of the road. Then the sidewalk may reappear, but in a commendable effort to not simply cut down trees, the width of said sidewalks leaves much to be desired.
Isn’t there a better way, folks?
 tree conservation vs practicality: Lovely old tree near the Twin Towers, but there’s barely room for pedestrians! |
I do appreciate the effort made to conserve these trees, because they provide desperately-needed shade in otherwise sauna-like conditions. I don’t mind tiptoe-ing around these massive tree trunks. I admire the trees for surviving despite the choking pollution. Obstacles like these, I don’t mind…
… but there are other, man-made, obstacles I do NOT appreciate.
 Petaling Jaya: red light camera takes up entire sidewalk |
Like this photo on the left. The sidewalk here is already really narrow, one side is the road, on the other a steep drop to a dirty drain. And what has been set right there in the middle, taking up the entire width of the sidewalk?
It’s a pole on which has been installed one of those red light cameras.
You know, those white elephants that usually don’t work, or flash their lights but don’t actually take any pictures because the film is too expensive? Yeah. One of those things got installed by the authorities at the expense of us poor pedestrians’ accessibility.
Way to go, MBPJ!
 Pedestrian sidewalk or motorcycle parking? |
Then, there are the motorcycles. Bad enough the sidewalks are oftentimes considered convenient passageways by motorcyclists looking to move ahead despite congested traffic conditions. How many times have I seen, or have myself been in the situation of being honked at or almost run down by these motorcyclists who should NOT be on the sidewalks?!
On top of that, they seem to think they can park anywhere. As shown in this picture, motorcycles can often be found totally obstructing the sidewalk, thus totally inconveniencing the very pedestrians the sidewalks are supposed to serve! It’s up to you to pick your way carefully past the machines, or just step down onto the road and bypass them all. As you might see from the image, there’s not too much room to play with if you step down onto the road!
But don’t worry, once you’re used to, or are prepared for the sidewalks that await you, you can jalan-jalan and makan angin around KL and enjoy the actual sights 
More on that in another post, maybe, depending on internet and today.com accessibility.
Cheers,
*lynne*
Wow, sounds like a lot of effort to go to just to take a walk. Do people tend to look for alternative ways to get their exercise?
I like the expression, ‘eating air’ but all of those obstacles on the narrow pavements (or sidewalks as you say in American English!) look like a real pain. As Angie says, it would be very difficult and dangerous with a stroller…and a lively older child!!
Sometimes, I find the lack of sidewalks annoying here in Australia. Sometimes they stop for no apparent reason - if you are lucky, you can cross over to the other side and walk there, but, in other places, there are no sidewalks at all, making it quite dangerous to walk, especially if you have a stroller and there is quite a lot of traffic.
Wow! Those sidewalks definitely would make me rethink walking places rather than driving or taking a bus. Do police ticket the motorcyclists who block the path like that?
yup! stop wasting time! i have no idea why ppl come to KL anyways. it is by far one of the worst cities in the entire planet. for tourists wanting to visit malaysia, pls go to penang, sabah or sarawak, or any other state EXCEPT KL. there is nothing there. period.