Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur is not as popular among Kuala Lumpur tourists as the Bukit Bintang. But the street has a few charming attractions for visitors and cheap hotels within walking distance to the train station. This article will let you know what to expect when you go around the area next time you are in town.

1. Jalan TAR Night Market

Night market is a foreign concept to most overseas tourist -- especially to those coming from countries like Australia where shops are closed before 6 pm.

Like the rest of South East Asian countries, Kuala Lumpur city folks shops from the wee hours of the morning until 9 pm everyday. Many flock to the air-conditioned malls but those looking for authentic hawker food floods the night markets.

Set up temporary on the Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman street, colorful umbrellas start to fill up the street from 3 pm, congesting it with all sorts of goods. You will learn more about the people and the culture of Kuala Lumpur when you visit a night market than by going into malls or craftshops around the city.

Hawkers sell local delicacies, tropical fruits and traditional cookies -- shouting and attracting customers with all sorts of tricks and offers, just to sell their goods. Unfortunately, the market is only opened on Saturday night to make sure that Kuala Lumpur is not jammed packed because of the crowd.

2. Masjid India

Near the Jalan TAR is the Masjid India area. The area has actually been renamed to Jalan Melayu but the old name stucks. To navigate around Kuala Lumpur, it is better to use this common name rather than the new name to make it less confusing to local city folks.

This is a place where you will find cheaper Kuala Lumpur accomodation that in Bukit Bintang. You will also get easy access to the train stations ( there are 2 nearby stations - Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek) to get anywhere in the city.

The Masjid India area is also a great place to sample the Malay culture -- street shops set up here mostly sell Muslim shawls and Malay dresses along with Indian jewelleries.

It is not the quietest street in Kuala Lumpur though -- since the street has been opened to traders like ones in the Chinatown. It is also not cleanest since pigeons are everywhere and street massage man peddle their service by the street from the morning till night.

The Jalan TAR street is not attractive if what you want to see are colonial or historical buildings. But if you want to taste the culture the Malays, this is the place to visit. This place allows you to see traditional clothes of the Malays as well as sample the best authentic Malay food in Kuala Lumpur.