The Central Market

Today our three oldest grand-daughters were back in school after their spring break and Amy decided to leave little Whitney with Melona, their wonderful maid, while she took us to the Central Market and China Town in KL. There are lots of little shop and food stalls in and around the building.  I was Carol's buyer and porter and occasionally snapped a few photos.

A bracelet and necklace store with purely decorative pieces and those with religious themes of  just about every persuasion.

Master Chin can read your palm and tell you what lies ahead in the Year of the Snake

The infamously smelly Durian fruit.  I suppose I ought to actually try it, but I'm not going to.

I have no clue what this strangely hairy fruit is.

Amy couldn't resist looking for yet another bag (she's loved bags since she was 3) and sunglasses in the knock-off section of the market -- i.e., fake Gucci, Prada, etc.  There was also a guy selling pirated DVDs of movies and television shows but we passed.  Amy and Justin have some at their house and I couldn't tell the difference in the image quality.

There was a Hindu temple we went through. Not sure which Hindu god this is and there were no signs.

I know this is Shiva Nataraja, a depiction of the god Shiva as the cosmic dancer who dances to destroy a weary universe in preparation for the god Brahma to start the process of creation again. Shiva Nataraja was originally a Tamil concept and most of the Indians in Malaysia are Tamil.

A half block away I saw a Buddhist monk with his begging bowl at an outside street restaurant.  He wasn't getting any contributions from any of the Chinese patrons but after I took this picture I gave him 10 Ringgits, about $3 U.S., and he appeared surprised.

There was also what appeared to me to be a Confucian temple.

This man is cooking naan at an open air street restaurant across from the Central Market.  He cooks it by reaching in the cooking vessel with his hand and slapping a ball of dough against the side of the wall where it sticks and cooks.  When its done he uses the tongs to pull it off the side of the wall and transfers it to the plate 

Fish head curry anyone?  Its famous . . .