Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Kuala Lumpur - The Gardens Shopping Centre

The Gardens Shopping Centre is the new and glamourous sister to the popular Mid Valley Megamall - the biggest shopping centre in Malaysia, if not South-East Asia. The Gardens is much smaller, and aimed at the higher end of the market. The tenant mix is all upscale, with Robinsons Departmental Store from Singapore as the anchor. The rest of the shops are mostly boutiques, jewellry stores and restaurants/ cafes. As part of this development, there is also an office block, condominium block and a 5 star Gardens Hotel.

The shops are arranged along the central linear atrium, providing good visibility to all levels. This shopping centre is probably the nicest in Malaysia in terms of design, with many interesting design touches such as the sail-like screens shielding the skylight, and dramatic arrangement of the pedestrian bridges which criss-cross the atrium. The food and drinks outlets on the roof deck are not completed yet. When finished, they should offer something different in KL.

Kuala Lumpur - Pavilion Shopping Centre

Kuala Lumpur is a real shopping paradise. There are probably more shopping centres here per capita then many bigger cities. Those who have visited KL will know that shopping is the favourite pastime here. 

One of the latest shopping centres to crop up in KL is the Pavilion at Jalan Bukit Bintang. A nice old landmark - the Bukit Bintang Girls' School had to be demolished to make way for this behemoth. Depending on your point of view, it was either a sacrilege or a brilliant move.

There is no doubt that The Pavilion is one of the swankiest shopping centres in KL at the moment. It has all the major luxury brands, plus some lesser known labels. The location is one of KL's prime, and the range of tenants is impressive. Inside it is modern, spacious, bright and really comfortable. It can get a bit cold on a cool day.

The Bukit Bintang entrance to The Pavilion at night.

The atrium at the heart of the shopping centre.

The corridors are very spacious and offer great views to every floor.

If you are a foodie, you'll probably head straight to the basement. There is a great collection of food outlets,  a foodcourt, and a gourmet supermarket.

If the choices at the basement are not enough, there is also a food street on the ground floor with restaurants and cafes spread over several levels.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Madame Tussauds Museum - Most Popular London Attractions

Marie Tussaud (her real name is Marie Grosholtz) was born in Strasbourg, France in 1761. She learned her craft from Dr. Philippe Curtius, a physician who also happens to be very skilled in making wax models.Tussaud’s first wax work was that of Voltaire – the famous French Enlightenment writer who supported social reform during his time and who frequently criticized the Catholic Church. Tussauds made this wax work in 1777. One of her first set of wax works was made during the French Revolution - she made “death masks” of the victims of the violence during that time.Madame Tussauds did not move to its current location until 1884. In 1925, a huge fire destroyed most of the wax works of the collection. Good thing the molds survived the disaster and all those destroyed were remade.

The wax museum is now one of the major tourist attractions of London. The success has been so overwhelming that Tussauds opened branches in other parts of the globe. There are now a total of seven Madame Tussauds. With the Madame Tussauds London being the primal and therefore the principal branch, six more Madame Tussauds are found in each of these cities: Amsterdam, Las Vegas, New York City, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Washington DC. The newest branch in Berlin is open. And next year, there will be another one in Hollywood. All of the other branches have their own exclusive wax works.The London branch, as I said earlier, is one of the biggest attractions in the city – garnering nearly 3 million visitors per year.

susan sarandondavid & victoria beckham jennifer lopez
saddam husseinMahatma Gandhi tom cruisethe beatles
sean connery
david & victoria beckham napoleonmichael jacksonqueen elizabeth ii and prince phillipsylvester stallone
Hitler & Churchill
fidel castro
princess diana 1 oprah winfrey jennifer lopez
elvisalfred hitchcockjohn f kennedyjessica simpsonBrad Pitt & angelina jolie
tom cruise
will smith & salma hayek
nicolas cage
brad pittking henry viiibill clinton
Brad Pitt & angelina jolie
abraham lincolnmorgan freeman

The London branch, as I said earlier, is one of the biggest attractions in the city – garnering nearly 3 million visitors per year.Arguably the most popular gallery in the museum is the Garden Party exhibit – where visitors can have their pictures taken alongside almost real wax works of world famous actors and singers.

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