My college mate Evelyn was in KL to visit, so I thought of bringing her to a more touristy place rather than the usual shopping hotspots. After our lunch at Melur & Thyme, we hopped onto an LRT to explore Central Market (aka Pasar Seni). Once we got off the platform, we were greeted with the sight of colourful murals all along the banks of the Klang River…

The city council used to paint a fresh coat of white paint over them from time to time, but this hasn’t been done so some of the murals and graffiti looked old and faded.

Just across the street from the LRT station, Central Market is a touristy hub selling everything from souvenirs to snacks, artsy fartsy stuff, crafts and handmade items. Founded in 1888, it was a wet market before being turned into a tourist attraction. The current minty blue building was finished in 1937, which makes it still well over 75 years old.

Divided into several sections according to the three major races in Malaysia, there are shops selling items themed around Malay, Indian and Chinese culture, as well as various knickknacks, like this shop that sells Red-Indian dreamcatchers and accessories. For the buyer who likes ‘exotic’ things to take home, there are also souvenirs like Persian rugs, Balinese masks, wood carvings and more.

Step outside of the comfy, air-conditioned environment and you’ll come to a narrow area with small stores selling artwork and offering caricature sketches. We proceeded to a (rather hidden) entrance, to an adjacent building at the back.

Located on the top floor, the Illusion 3D Art Museum was quiet, even for a weekend. The normal price was RM20++(pricey imo). We were turning to leave when the receptionist told us she’d give us a discount for RM17 each, so… we ended up there for the afternoon. :3

There are 30+ exhibits in there for you to pose with. They also provide you with helpful examples at each display, as well as a guide to where you should stand for the best 3d-looking picture. Some of the exhibits had real-life props, such as this bicycle and trumpet inspired by the original mural by Ernest Zacharevic in Penang..

Evelyn attempting to stop the ‘train’.

An old sewing machine. My aunt had one of these, and I liked playing with the pedal at the bottom 🙂

She had one of those old-school irons (background) as well, whereby the heating was from charcoal pieces inserted into a space under the iron.

The exhibits were pretty random, with no specific theme. I went from being barber to the Father of Independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, to being a female Moses (in blazer and boots, no less!) parting the sea.

Obama would sever all ties with Malaysia if he saw this mural of him. Evelyn seems pretty mortified. 😀

The next pop sensation 🙂

“Who will be my Jack?”

There was an interesting room where you get to experience 3d imagery superimposed over a screen with you in it. You’ll see yourself on the screen, and all these 3d-looking figures will appear together, like animals and dinosaurs.

Overall it was fun and I liked the fact that there weren’t many people because we could take all the time in the world to figure out the perfect photo angles.

3D ILLUSION ART MUSEUM

Lot 4.01-4.03 Level 2, Central Market Annexe, Jalan Hang Kasturi. Kuala Lumpur

Open daily from 10am – 9pm

Phone: 03-2022 1613

We also dropped by Petaling Street / Chinatown for a bit, but it was stuffy and hot and there were too many foreigners manning the stalls to be considered Chinatown lol.

Craving the comfort of air conditioning, we hopped back on the train and made our way back to Nu Sentral for dinner.

Stay tuned!