©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 95

Lake Gardens, &

Neighbourhood Top Five 1 Admiring the beauti- 2 Enveloping yourself in 4 Marvelling at the archi- ful objects and art works greenery at the Tun Abdul tectural detail of the Thean gathered from around the Razak Heritage Park (p98), Hou Temple (p100) and world in the Islamic Arts home to KL Bird Park. the views from its elevated Museum (p97), which occu- 3 Exploring multicultural terraces. pies an impressive building Brickfields (p103), home 5 Sampling some of KL’s embellished with decorative to temples, churches and top food and fashion picks domes and mosaic tiles. ’s official in Bangsar Baru (p106

Little . and66 p110).

n i n arlime

d Jln P d

u MERDEKA h a J SQUARE l l a n S n K a Jln Ce in lt n a u d b J e J a ln

S r ri l Pud l 666a a n u 666 u s Jl n LAKE l

T n Pe J GARDENS ug J u l Tun Abdul Razak n t Heritage Park P a Jln H e l a in n r g (Lake Gardens) d â# g Je a 1# b

2# n at Tasik a Perdana Jln M 666 ah a ra din ja amud le l n Hish a lta u S BANGSAR Jln I ln n st ra J a a t BARU n u f h t BRICKFIELDS a P o n r a a 5# a b 3#ú m a ang is am Kl M W 66r S 6i 66 n J a n a J l l ln g n s Tu Te J g ra n ln n se a J u k B S ln ra J Jln A a tr Pu ed Sy 6Jln 6

0 1 km e# 0 0.5 miles 4# 6For more detail of this area, see Map p260 and p262 A 96 Lonely Planet’s Top Tip Explore: Lake Gardens, Visit KL (p226) runs a free Brickfields & Bangsar guided walking tour of The Lake Gardens were created in the late 19th century Brickfields every Saturday, as an urban retreat for the colonial Brits to escape the starting from Vivekananda hurly burly of downtown. Recently renamed the Tun Ab- Ashram at 9am and lasting dul Razak Heritage Park after ’s second prime around 2½ hours. You can minister, this lush, landscaped area continues to act as just turn up, but advance KL’s green relaxation zone and includes three museums, booking is recommended. six themed parks and other monuments and sights. Following devastating fires in the late 19th century, KL’s colonial administration decreed that bricks would hence- 5 Best Places forth be used to construct the city’s buildings. The area to Eat where they were manufactured became known as Brick- ¨¨Robson Heights (p106) fields. Many Indian labourers, mainly Tamils from south- ¨¨Rebung (p107) ern India and Sri Lanka, settled here, giving the area its ¨¨Lucky Gardens (p108) still-predominant Indian atmosphere – that’s why it’s KL’s official . However, in this ethnically diverse ¨¨Sri Nirwana Maju (p107) ’burb you’ll also find a Chinese temple and various Chris- ¨ ¨Wondermama (p107) tian churches alongside the Hindu and Buddhist shrines. For reviews, see p105 A All are overshadowed by the skyscrapers of KL Sentral, the Lake Gardens, Brickfie Gardens, Lake city’s transportation hub around which several new shop- ping complexes and offices towers have sprouted. 6 Best Places To the south ripple the green hills that are home to to Drink KL’s main Chinese Cemetery as well as the spectacular Thean Hou Temple and the old Istana Negara. North of ¨¨MAI Bar (p109) here is Bangsar, a century ago a rubber plantation, now ¨¨Hit & Mrs (p108) an upscale residential area of luxury bungalows and ¨¨Plan b (p109) condominiums. Its commercial hub, Bangsar Baru, is ¨¨Ril’s Bangsar (p109) one of KL’s most pleasant places to eat and shop. ¨¨Coffea Coffee (p109) For reviews, see p109 A l

ds & Ban & ds Local Life ¨Tugu Drum Circle (http://tugudrumcircle.blogspot 7 Best for .com) Bang out a beat with the drum circle, who Fashion meet beneath the National Monument (p102) every g ¨ Sunday eve. sar ¨Never Follow Suit (p110) ¨ ¨¨Seethrough Concept Market life Go grocery shopping and enjoy great

.(Store (p110) hawker food at the Bangsar Sunday Market (p106  ¨ ¨¨17A Select Store (p110) Creative mall Check out the varied weekend events and gallery showings at Publika (p111). ¨¨Nurita Harith (p110) ¨¨Publika (p111) For reviews, see p110 A Getting There & Away ¨Train, monorail and LRT KL Sentral, the city’s transport hub, is close to both Brickfields and the Lake Gardens; Bangsar is one stop southwest on the LRT. ¨Walking The Lake Gardens can easily be accessed by foot from Chinatown. ¨Bus The KL Hop-On-Hop-Off bus stops at Masjid Negara, KL Bird Park, the National Monument and the National Museum. ¨Bicycle Pedal around the Lake Gardens area with a rental bike from KL By Cycle (p99).