I enjoy taking walks in nature. However, as I loved window shopping, I also enjoyed walking in shopping malls. In fact, on days when it rained, I will do my daily exercise in malls instead.

The iconic Pudu Prison in Kuala Lumpur gained notoriety due to the many hangings that took place there. A few years back, this prison was torn down, and now the whole prison has been redeveloped into a mixed development area known as the Bukit Bintang City Centre. As you can guess from the name, this place is located quite near the tourist belt of Bukit Bintang. One of the developments here is the Japanese-themed mall LaLaport which is developed by the Mitsui group of Japan.

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In fact, the formal name of this place is Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport which is quite a mouthful.

This is the first Lalaport in South East Asia.

Lalaport is strategically located and very easily accessible. You can take the LRT or monorail to this place.

Although this is a Japanese-themed mall, you can still buy Malaysian arts, handicrafts, and products at the Malaysia Grand Bazaar. This is a great idea as tourists will be able to get a wide range of Malaysian products in one place. Unfortunately, only a few shops were open when I visited.

I would describe Nitori as the Ikea of Japan. Here you can find a wide range of furniture and interior decor products.

This is Hojima first store in Malaysia. It sells a wide range of electrical home appliances and digital products. However, you can get furniture and furnishings here as well.

There is even a cat cafe. I did not enter the cafe as I do want to pay the entrance fee.

Pet lovers can come to this pet shop which carries a wide variety products for pets.

I was quite surprised to find a specialty shop that only sells masks. This is a grim reminder that the Covid pandemic is not totally over yet.

As expected there is a number of Japanese F&B outlets here.

Ippudo is a ramen restaurant chain. It has a number of branches in Malaysia including KL Pavillon, One Utama, and even another branch at Queensway Mall, Penang.

If you are not into ramen, you can try the Japanese Stemboat at Sha Bu-Yo.

For me, I opted for the Japanese Matcha ice cream. Some of the flavors are bitter and I am not used to the taste. I still prefer my ice cream to be sweet.

There is also a food court that all types of food including local delicacies.

The mall is actually quite empty. I estimated that only 40% of the stores are open while the balance of 60% is still closed.

I am happy to note that one of the stores that will be opening is one from my State of Sarawak which will be selling our famous Laksa.

Some of the decorations can be found in the mall.

I am saving the best for last. What I loved about this mall is the roof-top garden. The greenery and there is like an oasis in a concrete jungle. I manage to take my walk in nature after all.

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Wednesday Walk And Make Me Smile

As I am still recovering from my slipped disc, walking and swimming are my major forms of exercise. I am glad to stumble upon the Wednesday Walk community. The Wednesday Walk is a challenge started by Hive account@tattoodjay to encourage people to go for walks, take some photos and write about it. Now I can combine my two hobbies; walking and writing.