Street Culture @ Bukit Bintang

I spend the last two weekends immersing myself in street culture at Bukit Bintang. As any savvy KLites will tell you, Bukit Bintang is one of the most happening places here in Malaysia, especially during the night-time. It was with much apprehension, with me looking more and more like approaching a middle age crisis, that I sat down and mingled with youths more than half my age and to see for myself what's hip, what's hot, and what's 'happening.' In the space of one hour, these youths bustled and moved and entertained themselves and the on-lookers.

"Gimme ten!" Here a variation 'sepak raga' infused with a dose of futsal, played with a soccer ball, elicits snorts of derision and laughter as a penalty of a sort is doled out to one of the players. Apparently, he failed to make a proper pass to another player.

"Yeah? Watch this!" There's so much kicking around a soccer ball can do for entertainment. The more agile and nimble decides to challenge each other to a contest that appears to me as a cross between gymnastics and break-dancing.


"I want to move it, move it!" As the evening passes on, the show of acrobatic skills slowly evolves into the street shuffle. As techo-music blasts out from their cellphones, these teenagers moved to the beat and what would promise to be another entertaining and long night at Bukit Bintang.