That day, as we were going around KL in a frenzy trying to find a location for an upcoming photoshoot, it occurred to me that I do not really know this city I have been residing for about six years.
Of course, I spent most of my college years choosing to stay in Subang/Sunway/PJ, which is where most of my location map limits around. There are days when we partake on a journey now to the beautiful city to buy cheap shoes at Sungai Wang (wait, that’s just me) or catch a movie at Pavilion just for the sake of it.
But other than that, KL is pretty much unknown territory.
But when I started working, suddenly I find myself at Pavilion KL, Starhill and KLCC every week. These places, which used to bring out excitement for me, are now like a second home as I travel there regularly for work, events, meetings, etc. I do not how, but within a space of a year, I have grown attached to the city.
I love how, at three in the afternoon, the steel exteriors of Pavilion will glint in the sunlight and as you walk towards it. I love learning new routes to places I always go, observing how our taxi drivers manoeuvre through traffic and backalleys with admirable skill and pride. I love how one moment, you are in the modern architecture of KLCC and next thing, I am standing in the rustic, gritty streets of Brickfields watching ladies in colourful sarees crossing roads.
I love how we have so much food in our city that every corner you find, you will eventually find something yummy to snack on. I love how at nights, you can stumble down sleepily for some Ramli burger or Wong Ah Wah chicken wings, or even for some teh tarik and hokkien mee under the bright fluorescent lights. Gritty, dirty and tough. Intense, fast-paced and vibrant.
One day, while returning from a photoshoot, I was privileged to witness a sunset from the peaks of Bukit Pantai. It was phenomenally beautiful. As I stood there, admiring how the sun rays dissapear down the horizon, I realised that I was looking for beautiful inspirations in the wrong places.
