The individual unit of the flat is very small. I was told that the units have two configuration – single and double bedroom types. From the outside, it looks pretty small. And from what I recall the last time I visited my friend decades ago, it was really small. The ground floor folks “extended” their units by building additional substructures, as you can see in the diagram below.
There are so many things that the people do with the substructures, ranging from shops to parking lots… to… central kitchen! Not really central kitchen but a bigger kitchen for those hawker stalls next to the main road.
Kitchen!Prep area
I do not want to imagine what will happen if a fire breaks out, but it definitely looks like a major fire hazard to me.
I’ve been to many places in the world but to be honest, I’ve not explored my own backyard. I spent most of my childhood in Keramat, a predominantly Malay area.
Today after visiting my mum, I decided to make a stop and visit Flat Keramat. It’s a gem. I should spend more time here to do street shoots. I believe there are so many backstories that I can cover.
The flats are bunch of low-cost development by PKNS (Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor) or state-owned development company. I believe the flats were built during the late 70s, not very far from when I moved to Keramat.
The following photo shows the flats. As you can see, the flats are not far from the city. In fact, it is probably about 15 mins to town! There are a total of 18 blocks altogether.
Low Cost Housing that’s not far from the city
There are so many photo opportunities here, especially in black and white. Today’s trip was just a recce trip for a bigger trip that I plan. Since I come over to Keramat almost every single week, it is very convenient for me to visit this place. In fact, I can park at my parent’s house and walk over here. Not far.
That’s tiny little towers are Petronas Tower.
As usual – hang out with the locals. These are 17 year old kids who told me some of the stories in neighborhood. I will certainly pop by again next week – whenever I have time. In fact they did tell me about the silat and Muay Thai classes that’s held on Tuesday.
Some photos of the public housing in Chow Kit. This is in front of then South East Asia hotel, a place where my dad work. I still remember coming to this part of the world and go for some grocery shopping in Co-op super market. There is also this “shopping mall” called Keramat Supermarket. This was back then in the 1980s.
“Roti Man” is a term that is used for the person who sells bread on a motorcycle. Back when I was young, this was the highlight of the day. The “Roti Man” will ride his bike along my neighborhood and kids will just surround him.
Back then, I believe most of the bread was sold thru this channel. We did not have any 7-11 and the most convenient place to buy from these guys. In fact, they probably sell the freshest bread.
Nowadays, most bread are sent to the sundry shops and convenience stores like 7-11 and FamilyMart.
While going around Flat Badak at the back of Pudu, I discovered the place where the “Roti Man” gathers to pick up their supplies. Here are the two photos to describe the scene.
My photo library is filled with bunch of treasure which has not been unearthed. Many of the photos that I shot, ended up to be on the hard disk because I am just too lazy to process them.
The think about digital photography is that you will need to work on the photos that you shoot afterwards in order to get those really pretty photos. Unlike those film days, the work that you do is limited to the creative handy work in the darkroom. With technology, that work itself can be pushed to a very high limit – which is your creative brain power (and your technical skills).
The photo above is shot at the behind of Flat Badak.
