2019 is closing in. It has been an interesting year, one I should really note down in my blog for fond memories' sake but I've been so caught up with life off the computer that ... well, time just flew. Anyway, better late than never I believe. Here goes a story that should have been told months ago.
September. Malaysia Day was another long weekend for us. My girlfriend, Jen, stayed over. We shopped for Christmas presents, caught up with stories of our lives, explored new places and attended a RIUH event.
RIUH is a monthly platform where creative people, local artisans and artistes are brought together in a set up of pop-up stores, workshops and live performances. The atmosphere is vibrant, like the word riuh which in English means to be alive with noise.
For Malaysia Day, RIUH worked with Grab to host the event. YTL, a prominent property developer in KL, generously sponsored the location, opening the long abandoned Sentul Railway Depot to the public. And what a beautiful place it was. This 110-year-old train depot was what drew me to RIUH. It used to be a workshop and an area that stored railcars, steam and diesel locomotives, so I gather from Wikipedia.
Sentul Depot
These buildings are like giant pieces of treasure from the past. Imagine how cool it would be if much of this structure is preserved. YTL has plans to upgrade the place and I'm hoping for something 'natural'. My heart flutters at the thought of long kopi sessions with friends under a big shady tree.
Much of Kuala Lumpur's old buildings have lost their charm through modernisation - think soulless grey office towers or pricey condos that's half filled with stuck-up tenants and rules that make you laugh because you realise a ton of money was paid to live in a fancy jail cell. I'm just saying that if I had that much money, I would choose an environment of good neighbourliness where joy and our innovative side can flourish, and living creatures are welcome.
An Old Abandoned Building At Sentul Depot
So the three (me, hubs and Jen) of us made our way to RIUH early Sunday morning lured by the ooh-aah magic of Sentul Depot. We were enamoured the moment we walked into a bright and airy atmosphere.
Sentul Depot
Sentul Depot
Sentul Depot
The organisers had done a great job bringing this place alive. Check out my first stop. Bas Tak Sekolah? This is a school bus turned mobile book store, selling a range of local titles that says, "Think deeply, Malaysians."
Bas Tak Sekolah
Good Books Available In Bas Tak Sekolah
I was hungry and thirsty by the time we'd done our exploring and snapping photos. Some of the sellers were still setting up their stalls at 10am. We saw this amazing burnt cheesecake from Cakies and knew we had to try. The lady in charge tempted us with fluffy doughnuts of which three flavours ended up in our hands. Finding a table to sit down and eat was easy. Gosh, it was heavenly tucking in to our baked goodies with live music for entertainment.
Cakies Burnt Cheesecake
RIUH at Sentul Depot
It's been a long time since a local live performance made me go wow - Tiga Soul rocked the stage. See the short clip I shot below. The energy was high and mesmerising. I'm stalking their instagram right now because I'd pay to go for their concert. Really!
There was a short queue at the coffee truck but service was so slow (they didn't have their kopi yet bah) that we had to try another stall. Unfortunately, payment by cash wasn't allowed in this section of the event space. We had to use GrabPay, a credit system on the Grab app. Seeing our predicament, a very nice lady offered to help us. She used her account to help us pay and we gave her the cash. God bless her.
Here is a look at the stalls in RIUH. There were many nice items for sale.
Stalls at RIUH
The Rojak Project is an interesting food art piece with an important message about embracing our differences. As a multicultural nation, don't be colour blind, be colour-embracing citizens.
The Rojak Project
There is much to explore at RIUH and I cannot possibly include everything in one blog piece but I hope I have interest you enough to attend the event should you hear about it. I end this post with couple of shots of the surrounding area of Sentul Depot.
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