• This strange sounding title actually means

    Zandra Rhodes watching the Dep Toursim Chairman

    ONE MALAYSIA YEAR END SALE

    Indeed on the 15th of November, the Year End Sales were launched at a mega function and mini ramp show coinciding with the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Show weekend. Stores all over Malaysia will be offering discounts and bargains till 4th January 2015 so  fashion lovers and shopaholics have enough time to shop till they drop ( or at least their hands drop off holding heavy bags!)

    Tekat embroiderer at work

    Ramp shows are new to me and frankly I’m not the great fashionista that I often pretend to be (really?).  I can see my friends’ eyes roll up as they see me every day in my Chinese Amah Pant suit and can hardly imagine me even attending a fashion show. This, let me assure you my friends was pure accident. I happened to be part of the MEGA FAM held in KL on the 15th of November and was invited to the launch of the 1MALAYSIAYES which was part of the MEGA FAM event.

    Batik artist

    All 277 delegates to the FAM were transported to the venue – the National Visual Arts Gallery, an apt stage for this major fashion event. that brought together international designers, local talent and a lot of fun and cheer.

    Unlike all the other events which started on time, the official event was delayed by the unexpected rain and thunder which caused huge traffic jams and consequently prevented the officials from arriving in time. But the delegates and other guests weren’t grumbling as there were plenty of eats and drinks to go around before the show began. For those so inclined, there was a Batik artist demonstrating his craft, a Mehndi artiste, a black and white caricaturist and a Tekat artist displaying her skill in traditional gold thread embroidery.

    The show began with a curtain raiser of fashionably dressed dancers followed by stupendous performances by local pop singers who obvioulsy were well loved by the local crowd.  This was followed by local talent singing Nessun Dorma and a dramatic rendition of “The Phantom of the Opera” while the singers came down the circular stairwell in the middle of the hall.

    The evergreen ever popular Ella

    Azly Rahman, Malaysia’s best loved guitarist known as Man Kidal or the left handed man entertained us with his own version of the theme from The Godfather while two other modern singers drove the audience to a frenzy with their caterwaul.

    The fashion show was a ramp walk with designs by the well known British designer  Dame Zandra Rhodes whose flowing garments were an elegant fusion of contemporary  Occidental with traditional Malaysian elements.

    Man Kidal entertaining the audience with his rendition of the theme from the Godfather

    Dancing model

    The YES was launched by the Deputy Chairman of Tourism and with the release of gold and grey balloons that fell from the top, the sale was officially launched. So all you ladies who have been waiting for year end sales, hit the stores now!
                                                                                                                 

    There are over 20 malls in Kuala Lumpur in addition to the other shopping centres like Petaling Street in Chinatown, Central Market at Pasar Seni, Little India at Brickfields and the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex for traditional Malaysian Handicrafts.

    In addition to KL, there are other cities in Malaysia too which have malls that are participating in this nationwide Year End Sale

    And for those of you who don’t know :

    Johore Premium Outlet which is only the second in Asia after Japan is just an hour away from Johore Bharu ( which is only a kilometre away from Singapore across the straits ) and at  JPO you can get deep discounts sometimes as deep as 90% for fashion that is only ONE season old!!!!!

  • The Petronas Towers
    within touching
     distance from my room!

    Since shopping was the main item on our agenda, we were thrown into it almost from the start. Our guide Jeevan helped us with a smooth check-in at the Renaissance Hotel on Jalan Ampang, an oldish hotel but with five star rating nonetheless, chosen for its location near the Petronas Towers and Bukit Bintang or Star Hill which is also known as the Golden Mile as it is a thriving entertainment and shopping area.

    Tourism Malaysia‘s office outside our hotel

    We were each of us given individual rooms that were comfortable and well appointed with fantastic views of the city. From the window of  my room on the 11th floor I had an unhindered view of the stunning – the iconic Petronas Towers and a bird’s eye view of the Toursim Malaysia office with its pink tiled roofs. Later on, I realised that the building in the compound adjoining us, housed the Pakistani High Commission and was one of the few old bungalows that made up this street which used to be called Millionaires’ Row.

    Before heading out we were given a brief property tour of the hotel by the General Manager, giving us an idea of the facilities and various levels of hospitality available at the hotel. This also gave us a chance to meet the other delegates from India, two gentlemen from Delhi and three journalists from the South.

    The Mall Crawl

    We began our Mall Crawl from the Pavilion Mall, a mid level lifestyle Mall getting ready for 1Malaysia YES starting from November 15th and going on till January 4th. With tall red Christmas trees flanking the outside and Christmas decorations all over the place, it indeed boasted a festive air.

    There were several Indian tourists/shoppers on the road yet unlike the Indian tourist of yester -years who wore their Indianness on their sleeve, the new Indian traveller is distinctly global with a fashion sense that allows them to blend easily with the locals on the streets, with their widespread use of cosmetics and fashion accessories.
    The Pavilion Mall, Jeevan informed us was once a girls’ school showing how development has transformed KL into a vibrant world class city.

    Bukit Bintang has a whole range of Malls for high end shoppers and bargain hunters alike where one can shop for Labels and electronic goods without paying any duty.
    International names like Louis Vuitton, Versace, Chanel and Ralph Lauren share space with local International designer labels like Zang Toi, Bernard Chandran and Jimmy Choo and local designer labels like Vincci and Padini to name a few.

    Sungei Wang Plaza is a veritable bargain hunter’s paradise with a warren of stores stocking all kind of goods from SIM cards to groceries and cosmetics and clothes –  almost like an Elco Arcade type of Mall. Apart from getting stuff at unbelievably “good” prices, the thrill of shopping in this mall is the bargaining which is normally absent in a sanitized mall with its fixed prices. Some of the people in our group actually managed to strike deals hammering down prices to almost half and unlike the shopkeepers in Shanghai who actually shout at you for haggling, these shopkeepers are more civil and enjoy the verbal sparring.

    Low Yat Plaza is perfect for those seeking bargains in IT , digital games. cameras and other electronic items with 500 retail outlets operating within the 7 storied mall. With Malaysia being a manufacturing hub of high quality electronic goods and also duty free haven for electronics this is the perfect place to buy your gadgets and gizmos at competitive prices. I for one found the scratch guard the screen for my Canon SX 700 HS , something which I looked for high and low in Mumbai. I also managed to pick up a strap for the camera which made it easier for me to lug around town. While the shops are pretty transparent, it helps to have a local who knows his way and can perhaps broker a better deal than what is advertised.

    Mother & daughter dressed identically

    A must visit Mall at Bukit Bintang

    We passed other malls like Lot 10, Starhill Gallery but didn’t venture in as we were feeling tired and wanted to wind down with a quick cup of tea which we had at the Old Town White Coffee, a chain of Irani style roadside Chinese cafes now found in almost every mall.

                                                 
    Fresh roasted corn anyone? 

    Dinner that night was at Nawab’s which was really nothing to write home about  foodwise or decor wise…….

  • A pleasant surprise

    Little did I know what was in store for me when I found that I was one of the winners of the Malaysiajao contest held by Tourism Malaysia and Blogadda.

    I soon found out when I attended the MEGA FAM or the familiarisation trip organised by Tourism Malaysia to showcase its tourism facilities. 27 countries participated in this event with over 277 delegates hailing from countries as far as Argentina to those in the region were hosted. At a grand seminar held at the Royal Chulan Hotel in KL on 15th November 2014, we were treated to brief presentations, an entertainment program and all we were advised  to do was

    “ENJOY, RELAX AND SPEND AS MUCH MONEY AS YOU CAN” .

     

    What is a FAM?

    I soon found out what it was all about when I attended this FAM . It the second biggest this year and special because it was also the launch of the 1Malaysia YES ( or One Malaysia Year End Sale)

    Taking a leaf from neighbouring Thailand, the Ministry of Tourism  revamped itself from a dusty bureaucratic organisation to a vibrant Tourism Malaysia.  The sole idea was developing Tourism. It is, after all,  the third largest driver of the Malaysian economy after petroleum and agriculture. It  generated an income of RM 65.4 billion in 2013. This was a wise step indeed because the industry has grown  remarkably since its first FAM in 2000 . And every year the numbers keep increasing with 2013 seeing 25.7 million tourists.

    [bctt tweet=”Today Malaysia has 2 million tourists visiting annually with the sixth largest group of tourists coming from India.” username=”via unishta”]

    Why Malayasia?

    Well, apart from the fact that Malaysia is close to home, there are many reasons why it is indeed a great holiday destination. It has something for everyone.
    • Wildlife and nature
    Proboscis Monkey in Borneo.jpgEven before the plane lands at KL, you can see miles and miles of lush green palm growing in the land below you. And this rich tropical country with its forests and wildlife is a fascinating place for nature lovers who can enjoy nature parks in the city itself.  Or you could go into the interiors on Eco trails.
    Here you can see exotic birds and animals like the proboscis monkey can in their natural habitat . (Though thankfully, the Americana Periplanata remains a rare species.)

     

    • Culture and history
    Apart from the shared history of the Commonwealth nations, we Indians will have a lot to identify with in Malaysia. Malaysia is truly the melting pot of Asia. And its multi cultural and multi ethnic society is quite similar to ours. With several of its people having roots from South India, there are pockets in various cities that are actually called Little India. You are immediately transported to the Malabar or Coromandel coast.
    The ethnic Chinese too have maintained their identity while integrating with the native population of Malays or the Bhumiputras. While there are some who have retained  their ethnicity, there are populations of mixed ancestry like the Baba Nyonya  (Chinese +Malay) or the  Chindi ( Indian +  Chinese ) or even some who can trace his ancestry to all three ethnicities making him truly Asian.
    • Adventure sports
    Tourism has long since evolved from mere sightseeing to actually participating in death defying stunts likeparagliding, wind surfing, white river rafting and scuba diving.For the not so adventurous who prefer getting their adrenaline pumping by merely watching, Malaysia hosted the  F1 in March this year and and will the Formula E in November

    • Family destination
    Aquaria KLCC SharksThemed parks like the Butterfly park in KL, the Aquaria at Petronas Towers in KLCC, Legoland , LBT and Hello Kitty in Johore are just some of the places that make Malaysia a place for parents to unwind with their children. 

    • Shopping
    Unbeknownst to many, KL is the world’s  4th best shopping destination after London, New York and Tokyo and shopping enjoys the second biggest share in tourist expenditure after accommodation.With huge shopping malls in the major cities and indigenous shopping too, Malaysia offers every retail consumer just the products he wants from high end luxe to affordable to plain dirt cheap.Finally, Malays are a friendly welcoming people. Their warm equatorial climate which often has a cooling late afternoon shower makes it an all weather destination with something for some one.

    So as I found out during the FAM, why not Malaysia?

    Image of Bellybytes

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