Paul's Pictures Street Photographer is in Malaysia

Outside the Flower Shop (Kuala Lumpur Malaysia July 2014)

Yes friends, Paul's Pictures is in Malaysia, Georgetown on the island of Penang to be exact. We arrived here last night after spending three nights in the capital Kuala Lumpur, or as the locals call it KL.  KL is an extraordinary place. What I call a mega city. It is an eclectic mix of Victorian era shops, houses and assorted buildings and 21st Century skyscrapers that seem to me to actually be scraping the sky; they are massive! And all kinds of architectural styles too. I loved it.

But even more great is the multi-cultural make up of the city's population. There are people from everywhere here and each cultural group has really made its mark on the city; there are mosques that will blow your mind, lavishly decorated Hindu Temples that soar stories high and Taoist temples crammed with deities and ancestors (who are often the one and the same of course) and the smell of incense.

 Then of course there are the foods that each cultural group has brought to this huge metropolis. We're vegetarian and with the plethora of Indian and Chinese restaurants we didn't have a lot of trouble finding tasty and nourishing meals. Then there is the Chai. We love chai and it was one of the joys of this place that we were able pop over the road from our hotel to the Jai Hind restaurant and grab a real chai for only 50c.

But what of the streets? What of the photography? Well, to be honest, I didn't really have any street photography only outings; a couple of times I took my camera along as we explored. Having said that, I did make a few photographs; I did share a few moments with some very friendly and welcoming people. That's one thing I forgot to mention: in KL we had a lot of friendly encounters, met some nice people over meals in local cafes, shared some laughs and heard "Welcome to Malaysia" many many times.

Those three days were really a period of orientation and acclimatizing (from Melbourne's winter to KL's pre-monsoon heat and humidity is a teeny bit of an adjustment as you can imagine). But now  we are on Penang where we plan to spend the next three and a bit weeks. We may change those plans: already we have a list of other places in Malaysia that are beckoning to us).

So, at this stage it looks like Penang, or rather the city of Georgetown (the main city on the island) will be my main work place.  To tell you the truth I am very excited about being here: it is a vibrant, culturally diverse and all round great place to be.

Stay tuned then for further updates on our Malaysian adventure. I intend to be busy while we are here; while I want to explore and "be a traveller", I really want this to be a street photography trip. So, let's see how it goes!

Peace