After a few boring, but busy weeks teaching class and marking exams and tutorials, I finally had the opportunity to escape the daily routine. My boss asked me to make a trip to KL to meet the representatives from a European university. Since I was in the market for a new camera, I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to visit Low Yat Plaza for some serious shopping.
Low Yat Plaza is the premier shopping mall for electronics in Malaysia. It is so popular that it has its own online forum for people who want to discuss the latest tech issues and electronic gadgets.
Low Yat is located near the Imbi Plaza stop on the KL Monorail system. It
consists of several floors of electronics, with cameras on the bottom few floors, cell phones in the middle floors, and computers on the top floors. My colleagues, especially the computer science lecturers, all use Low Yat for their shopping needs, and we often go together on our rare visits to the capital city.
I was in the market for a new camera, and I found what I was looking for at a price a bit lower than that in my hometown (which also has limited selection). These two friendly Malay shop assistants were quite helpful, partly because I could chit-chat with them in Malay. In fact, one told me that it was "cute" hearing me, a white guy, speak Malay. I suppose the bulk of the orang putih they meet cannot use Malay and the salesmen have to use English, which isn't the most popular language in the world. (Most used by necessity, not choice.)
Whatever the case, Low Yat is the place to visit in KL if you want the largest selection of electronics, but do not expect the prices to be much lower than elsewhere. There is a myth that abounds amongst the backpacker crowd that Asia is the place for cheap electronics, but that is mostly untrue. Expect to pay about the same price. The internet has made it too easy to compare prices and order from the retailer (e.g. Amazon.com) with the lowest prices.
Low Yat Plaza is the premier shopping mall for electronics in Malaysia. It is so popular that it has its own online forum for people who want to discuss the latest tech issues and electronic gadgets.
Low Yat is located near the Imbi Plaza stop on the KL Monorail system. It
consists of several floors of electronics, with cameras on the bottom few floors, cell phones in the middle floors, and computers on the top floors. My colleagues, especially the computer science lecturers, all use Low Yat for their shopping needs, and we often go together on our rare visits to the capital city.I was in the market for a new camera, and I found what I was looking for at a price a bit lower than that in my hometown (which also has limited selection). These two friendly Malay shop assistants were quite helpful, partly because I could chit-chat with them in Malay. In fact, one told me that it was "cute" hearing me, a white guy, speak Malay. I suppose the bulk of the orang putih they meet cannot use Malay and the salesmen have to use English, which isn't the most popular language in the world. (Most used by necessity, not choice.)
Whatever the case, Low Yat is the place to visit in KL if you want the largest selection of electronics, but do not expect the prices to be much lower than elsewhere. There is a myth that abounds amongst the backpacker crowd that Asia is the place for cheap electronics, but that is mostly untrue. Expect to pay about the same price. The internet has made it too easy to compare prices and order from the retailer (e.g. Amazon.com) with the lowest prices.
You can bargain them done quite a bit, although I found a phone cheaper at BB Plaza which is next to Low Yat
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