A Malaysian Photo And Travel Blog

When writing a blog article, I always begin by saying "I LOVE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY!". It's my daily mantra. Being on the street, armed with a DSLR camera, and surrounded by total strangers—it makes me feel ALIVE again. Words cannot describe the gratifying feelings I get from street photography.

Recently, I've come across a lot of interesting articles  about The 2012 Deepavali Bazaar in Brickfields Little India. I'm a BIG FAN of festive bazaars in Malaysia. The smells, lights, colors, and surging humanity offered by Brickfields Little India—is proving too difficult too resist.

I woke up early, boarded KTM Komuter electric train to KL Sentral station. It was a public holiday (Hari Raya Qurban) and there were loads of commuters. The six coach train was packed to the brim—one can see that Kuala Lumpur has been transformed into a foreign-worker haven.

From KL Sentral, I walked all the way to Brickfields Little India. I was sweating like a pig—it was hot, no shade and no wind! Luckily it was a clear sunny day, the sky above me looks bright blue.

Today Brickfields is experiencing many changes. Around Kuala Lumpur Sentral there are many high-rise buildings in the making—new shopping mall (Nu Sentral), hotels and office towers. The good old Brickfields area has undergone a redevelopment process like beautification projects and widening of roads—making Little India more attractive and swanky for residents and tourists alike.

Halfway walking, I stumbled upon a fortune teller sitting on a concrete pavement. I was trying so hard to get conversations going, but without success. He doesn't speak English or Malay. His tools of the trade are cowrie shells, Tarot-like cards, red strings and pictures of well known gurus including the revered Śri Sathya Sai Baba. As I was exploring the rest of Brickfields Little India, I noticed there were many fortune tellers from India. These guys loved to be in the limelight :)

Next I met several hawkers weaving garlands of flowers. Most of them are camera shy. There's a small Indian temple, partially hidden at the back of the hawker stalls. A lady was lighting up some incense. We had a friendly chat and she gave me the directions to 2012 Brickfields Little India Deepavali Bazaar. The bazaar is within walking distance - just right next to Lotus Hotel.

I've spent another 40 minutes taking pictures of the bazaar with my newly purchased Nikon D3200 + AF-S DX VR 18-105 mm Lens. I'll let the pictures do the talking. If you enjoy what you read and see, click 'LIKE' to share with your friends and family :)


Title: Old versus New
About: Brickfields is also known as a "Divine Location" as many religious buildings, some over 100 years old, are concentrated in the area, particularly Jalan Berhala. The road named Jalan Berhala means shrine road, it houses the Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple, the quaint Arulmigu Sree Veera Hanuman Temple, and the Sri Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar Temple.

Pictured above is The Tamil Methodist Church in Brickfields, established in 1896.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/320 s
ISO: 100
F-STOP: f/9
FOCAL LENGTH: 32mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Distracted
About: A man threading a garland of jasmine flowers. He looks a bit worried.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/40 s
ISO: 400
F-STOP: f/3.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Working lady
About: I chanced upon this lady at the back alley of Brickfields. She was busy making garlands of jasmine flowers.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 140
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 66mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: The white shaman
About: A shaman waiting for his next client.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 160
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: The art of weaving (1)
About: Being the Little India of Kuala Lumpur, Brickfields has many shops that are owned by Indian businessmen. There are spice shops, grocery outlets, traditional sweet and snacks shops, textile shops, goldsmiths, hotels, restaurants, food stalls, printers and even flower stalls.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/400 s
ISO: 3200
F-STOP: f/4.5
FOCAL LENGTH: 40mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: The art of weaving (2)
About: At almost any Indian auspicious day, i.e. marriages, spiritual gatherings, special social events, the aromatic flower garland plays a significant role. Also flower garlands play an important part in daily worship in Indian temples, indicating in their offering by the devotees, their humble devotion and love for the grand mystery of life represented by various Gods and Goddesses.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500 s
ISO: 2200
F-STOP: f/4.5
FOCAL LENGTH: 40mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Colors and motifs
About: Each piece is different - be it color or pattern.
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 220
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 30mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Don't play-play
About: He is one of the many fortune tellers in Brickfields Little India. Guess what? It's almost like they want to be photographed :) The fortune teller threw some cowrie shells and their position was interpreted by the God via the shaman (the man in red).
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 400
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 52mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Shop till you drop
About: The shops here sell everything from traditional Indian goods such as saris, flower garlands, spices and Bollywood music, to local delicacies such as vadai, thosai (Indian pancakes made from fermented rice flour) and more.

Since its major transformation, Brickfields Little India has turned into one of Kuala Lumpur’s trademark tourist hotspots not only because of the wares found here but for its proximity to KL Sentral station.
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 100
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Pots and pans
About: The big boss was setting up his temporary makeshift stall at Brickfields Deepavali bazaar. It's a mini stall packed with glitzy pots and pans.

Indians dominate Brickfields Little India, but the two major communities — the Malays and the Chinese — also share space with them. Shops are stacked to the brim with goods familiar in India — like Sakthi Rasam from South India, Parampara incense and Gold Winner Sunflower oil.
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 360
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 48mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Getting the right one
About: Street photography in Little India is a breeze, as I snapped away. I hereby declare street photog is publicly acceptable here in Brickfields, unlike Petaling Street, Chinatown.
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 360
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 52mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Canvas art
About: A trader selling canvas art at one of the many Deepavali Bazaars in Brickfields Little India
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 s
ISO: 400
F-STOP: f/5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: The art of weaving (3)
About: An elderly lady was weaving jasmine flower (Malay: bunga melur) into a garland. She insists that no one takes her picture. I obliged and requested a 'hand shot' and she agreed.
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Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/100 s
ISO: 1800
F-STOP: f/5
FOCAL LENGTH: 52mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: The metal dancer
About: At the intersection of Brickfields Little India and KL Sentral, the gigantic statue of a dancing woman, done in that eye-catching cubist, neo-modernist style, serves as sentinel and gatekeeper. It does reminds me of the Bollywood dancer.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/200 s
ISO: 100
F-STOP: f/7.1
FOCAL LENGTH: 34mm
CAMERA: Nikon D3200

Brickfields Little India—Getting there, Maps and Directions:

By train:
Since the opening of the KL Sentral transport hub here, getting to Brickfields Little India could not been easier. KL Sentral is the station for all Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Intercity and its KTM Komuter trains, the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit (LRT) line, and also the KLIA Ekspress and KLIA Transit fast trains to/from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The KL Sentral monorail station is about 200m from the actual KL Sentral complex, and transfering between the two requires you to cross the road and walk around the building site. The other monorail station in this district is Tun Sambanthan station located on the banks of the Klang River behind the shopping area.

By bus:
Many buses go through Brickfields. The ones going into town terminate at Kota Raya or Klang bus stand. Buses heading out of town serve Mid Valley, Pantai Dalam and some PJ areas. All the Rapid buses now pass through KL Sentral.

Address and GPS Coordinates:

Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GPS: N3 07.733 E101 41.036

Google Maps:


View Larger Map

Brickfields Little India—Things to See and Do:

Thean Hou Temple, Persiaran Endah, off Jalan Syed Putra:
The Thean Hou temple is one of the largest and most ornate Chinese temples in the region. The six-tiered temple was built by the Hainanese community and is dedicated to Tian Hou, or The Heavenly Mother. But, as an example of the syncreticism of Chinese religion, also houses two other altars, one for Shui Wei Sheng Niang, the Goddess of the Waterfront and another for Kuan Yin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. Its grand architecture and fantastic view of the Valley make it a tourist favourite.

Buddhist Temple (The Buddhist Maha Vihara), Jalan Berhala:
The Buddhist Maha Vihara was founded in 1894 by the Sinhalese to provide a place of worship for their Sri Lankan Theravada tradition, this beautiful temple with eccos of colonialism in the architecture sill supports an active Buddhist community in Kuala Lumpur.

Food, Glorious Food:
Brickfields is famous throughout KL for its Indian, particularly the South Indian, "banana leaf" meal shops, which are cheap and extremely filling. There are also several Chinese coffeeshops offering the usual types of food. At the other end of the budget, KL Sentral's two five-star hotels have international-standard restaurants where you can dine in style. There is only one Western fast food place in Brickfields, KFC.

Brickfields Little India—Deepavali/Diwali Bazaar 2012:

The 2012 Deepavali Bazaar has been relocated by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) to Jalan Chan Ah Tong carpark (beside Lotus Hotel) and Jalan Berhala's carpark (in front of Vivekananda Primary School).

Open at 11 a.m. onwards (October 26th - November 11th, 2012).

Note: Blog last updated October 29th, 2012 (12:25 a.m.)