Old Markets are tourist attraction - The List

Old markets have become one of the attraction for independent travellers and self-guided holiday-makers. Old markets in the city are seen as a first place of cultural contact for foreign visitors therefore an very important asset a city must preserve and protect from negative impact of modernisation in order to be continuously benefited from tourism. These are some of the information taken from guide books (Lonely Planet and Rough Guide) as well as travel magazines.

P.S. This post is live with new examples to be added at any time. Please do bookmark so you'll be updated to this expending list.

Bazaar Baru Market (Kuala Lumpur)
This lively market sells clothes, toys, buckets, stationery, noodles, spices, fresh meat and live, flapping catfish, as well as a staggering array of weird and wonderful tropical fruit. Overweight cats loiter around the wet market looking for scraps, and locals struggle through the narrow aisles with huge bags of shopping. Just wondering round is a heady, sensory experience, particularly for the sense of smell. (Lonely Planet)

Pudu Market (Kuala Lumpur)
Pudu Market is KL's biggest wet and dry market. It's a frenetic place, full of squawking chickens, frantic shoppers and porters forcing their way through the crowds with outrageous loads.....Arrive early in the morning to experience the market at its most lively and pungent. You can recover the sensory overload at the attached hawker court. (Lonely Planet)

Queen Victoria Market (Melbourne)
Opened in the 1870s, Queen Victoria Market remains one of the best loved of Melbourne's institutions. Its collection of huge, decorative open-sided sheds and high-roofed halls is fronted along Victoria Street by restored shops, their original awnings held up with decorative iron posts. Although undeniably quaint and tourist-friendly, the market is a boisterous, down-to-earth affair where you can buy practically anything from new and secondhand clothes to fresh fish at bargain prices. Stallholders and shoppers seem just as diverse as the goods on offer: Vietnamese, Italian and Greek greengrocers pile their colourful produce high and vie for your attention, while the huge variety of deliciously smelly cheeses effortlessly draws customers to the old-fashioned deli hall. (Rough Guides)

Images of Sarawak

See links below to see individual photo uploaded at Flickr:
1. hornbill, 2. Tranquility, 3. Trail to Pa' Lungan, 4. Sarawak Culture, 5. sungai sarawak, 6. Rafflesia Flower, 7. in the rainforest of malaysia, 8. Iban children, 9. IMG_4669 - cropped, 10. Mulu, Borneo

Kuching - tourism perspective #1

Below are some of the phrases taken from "The official Kuching guide 2007" prepared by Wayne Tarman & Mike Reed, sponsored by Sarawak Tourism Board.

"Like all towns and cities in Borneo, the focal point of Kuching, and the reason for its existence, is the river. Hiring a “sampan” to meander slowly up and down the Sarawak River is the best way to get your first impression of Kuching, and a real bargain. It’s good during the day, bliss at sunset and a truly one-off experience at night. From the river you will see picturesque Malay villages (kampungs), a golden-domed mosque, a Victorian fort, a whole street of 19th century Chinese shophouses and an imposing wooden-roofed palace, all set against a background of distant mountains."

"The Waterfront offers excellent views of the Astana, Fort Margherita and the Malay kampungs which line the north bank of the river, but at night-time it really comes alive; it seems like half of Kuching is out meeting friends, watching a show, or just taking the air. "

Obviously, the quality of the city can be summed up as follow:

• the villages (kampung) line the north bank of the river, opposite the city centre.
• the river as the primary icon of the city
• waterway transport - the sampan (small wooden boat)
• picturesque setting made up from these features - distant mountains, historic buildings, villages, sunset and the river.

So the question I want everyone to ask is the modern development as shown in this post - the oversized State Assembly building, arced pedestrian bridge and wide boulevards to replace the forested water edge, villages and the surrounds of the historic sites appropriate ?