On The Train (Bukit Galing Camp), Aug 6, 2010

Things got complicate and challenging for me this month. With various responsibilities demanding my resources - physical, time and money, I got stretched a little bit. The biggest concern however has to do with my own health. I had been a time bomb walking around waiting to explode.

The Bukit Galing Camp group page that I created few months back now getting a lot of air time and participation have increased many folds thanks to the old classics photos uploaded by my good buddy Zaha. Everyone is trying to reconnect to one another which is wonderful to me. Personally, slowly my old mental hardisk started to retrieve important and memorable events in my life between the period of 1968 -1976. The life as anak mat kampau in an enclosure that was named as Bukit Galing Camp. That was a long, long time ago but if you asked everyone they would say it was just like yesterday. That brings me to the main topic of my blog today - ‘organic social networks’ - if there is such a term. This kind of social network always associated itself to a place or location. The sense of belonging to a place is so strong that no matter what, one is immediately accepted to be part of the network if you once in your life been associated to the place. More so if you had been living in that place for quite a while. This kind of network would be stronger among the pioneers. Especially when they share certain experiences and growing up together. The stories that they tell years later would be the connectors to most of the meanings and contexts of the knowledge that they have. Over time though I am not very sure whether this kind of network is sustainable.

Masjid India and the Vicinity

After years of ignoring the Masjid India area, well I do not have any good reason why I should be there, last week I was there passing through for five consecutive days. I was attending a five day course in the vicinity.  Up until that day I did not know that there is a Maytower Hotel and Apartments in KL and let alone in Masjid India area. 

Walking through the area was indeed a new discovery. Gone are the days of mischievous if not really nasty neighborhood where hoodlums making it their den for almost any form of illegal activities. I felt really safe walking there and the existence of Mydin and Jakel bringing out more family atmosphere. It was really a nice surprise for me. the area now is a worthy tourist site offering more credible and clean three star hotels like Maytower. Being close to the Masjid Jamek LRT station is definitely useful and helpful. Jalan Melaka had been one of the banking street in Kuala Lumpur but ever since the collapse of Bank Bumiputra the area never recovered from the set back. A curse as it may seems but that is the reality for me. Thinking about it I guess it is the nature of a city like KL where events, positive or negative, will change the make up, environment and one’s perception of a place. I live long enough to see the transformation.