Our quest today was the quaint and eclectic shop of Peter Hoe Beyond. Finding it was part of the challenge. The shop actually does not have a sign…all we knew is it was tucked away in China Town on the second floor of a non-descript building. When we heard this there was no stopping us…we were going to find it.

Still wheeling from the flu, or whatever it is I have, Heidi drove us to the train station. And I must say she did quite well for her first time…much better than my first encounter with the KL traffic. After a quick ride on the LRT, we crossed a couple of streets and there on a corner was a little shop called Peter Hoe Evolution….this is a sister store of Peter Hoe Beyond. So we cheated. We browsed around PH Evolution and before leaving asked directions for PH Beyond. Glad we did. Walked down the street, passed the MayBank, took a right at the light, went to the bookstore, took the next door to the right…across from the Buddhist Temple. Perfect directions but we didn’t believe the door next to the bookstore was correct. There was a guard inside and we asked and sure enough, “just go up the stairs to the second floor. When someone says the second floor here, it is like the third floor back home….the bottom floor is the ground floor, then the first floor, second floor, etc. To make matters even more confusing, the building we live in was built by a Chinese company so the number four is not used as it is considered unlucky (kind of like 13) So we are on floor 13A, not the fourteenth floor. Anyway, back to Peter Hoe. The building is in the old Lee Rubber Building. After climbing the two flights we entered some double doors and we were there…Peter Hoe Beyond. It is sort of a Pier One on steroids…tons of items for the home. Everything is bursting with color…pillows, lamps, linens, knick-knacks, picture frames, fountains, etc., etc. We were only going to look but two picture frames, 8 batik napkins, one table cloth and three candle holders made their way into our basket. Before paying, we visited the little cafe in the far corner. People are seated at these great old tables, some set against silk cushioned benches. We ordered what we believe to be the best quiche we’ve ever eaten along with a fresh salad..just the right amount of vinaigrette….followed up with a slice of white chocolate cheesecake. We added the cost of our meal right onto our purchase and we exited the store a bit heavier but felt like two conquering explorers.

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Since we were in Chinatown we decided to explore further and made our way to Petaling Street. This is probably the most visited street in all of Kuala Lumpur…if you want a bargain you come here. Stall after stall crowd both sides of the street…vendors hawking purses, watches, sunglasses, CDs, shirts…as well as flower stands, fruit, vegetables….very easy to overload your senses here. I cannot tell you how many times Heidi was propositioned to purchase a purse….Prada, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Michael Kors…..at least that is what the label said. A little way in I spied a narrow alley and I could see vendors…Heidi wouldn’t go as it smelled a bit, well, more than a bit. It was a wet market…there were fish being cut up, meat being chopped, chicken for sale including all the chicken parts, vegetables, fruit…the alley seemed to go forever but I didn’t want to leave Heidi too long with all the vendors…who knows how many purses she might pick up. Truly an amazing sight.

Now we must confess to you…Heidi did buy a purse. She was in need of a smaller bag and we saw this stand of leather Mont Blanc purses. The vendor said he would give it to us for a steal…only 160 ringgits (about $50.00) We countered with 100. He came down to 140. We stuck at 100. He came down to 120. We held our ground. He then tried to get us with the proof of the lighter….took out his lighter, lit the flame and ran it across the purse to prove there were no plastics, that it was genuine leather….definitely worth 110 ringgits. We weren’t impressed and showed him a small scuff mark on the strap…we lowered our price to 90 ringgit. We were ready to walk away but at the last minute he felt we were good people and he would give it to us for 95 ringgit ($30.00) SOLD!!! Heidi now has a “genuine” Mont Blanc purse that retails for $2260.00 in NYC. Too funny!!!

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As far as China Towns go, the KL China Town is not that large…nothing like San Francisco, NYC, Vancouver BC China Towns…but it is so condensed, so much in such a small place…and fun, fun, fun!