KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — It was only a decade ago that an extended Hari Raya Aidilfitri weekend would have been the quietest and least crowded time in Kuala Lumpur.

But if the bustling scenes at some of the city’s tourist hotspots yesterday are anything to go by, that is no longer the case — especially as people throw off the shackles of three years of pandemic restrictions.

The Bukit Bintang MRT station at noon, for example, was a hive of activity with hundreds making full use of the strategically located hub within KL’s Golden Triangle.

"It was the same last year. This station has been crowded from morning to night.

"Most people approach us for directions, so I think they are sightseeing on a public holiday,” said Siti Nor Atikah who works at the station’s customer service counter.

Leaving the station via the exit closest to the Jalan Bukit Bintang intersection revealed busy pavements packed with people making their way to the shopping strip’s landmark malls of Lot 10, Fahrenheit88, The Starhill and Pavilion KL.

The photogenic crystal fountain at the main entrance of Pavilion KL proved particularly popular with visitors keen to snap a visual keepsake.

Malay Mail chatted with migrant workers from Bangladesh, Baharam, 27, and Rana, 21, who said they were taking advantage of their extra day off to go sightseeing in KL.

"This is not our first time here. We rested over the weekend and visited our friend’s house for Hari Raya.

"Rarely do we get Monday off, so we travelled by LRT from Subang Jaya, and then changed trains to the MRT at Pasar Seni to have a nice time together,” he said.

Educator Gim Teoh said his trip to Bukit Bintang with his family was an impromptu one.

"We are here just to do a little sightseeing and window shopping. We didn’t make specific plans to come here. But since it’s a public holiday, my wife and I discussed what we should do.

"We decided to hop on the train from Taman Equine MRT station and here we are,” said the 37-year-old from Seri Kembangan.

Some might have liked the hustle and bustle of the shopping mall on a long weekend, but others preferred discovering underwater creatures in more tranquil surroundings — as was the case just a kilometre away at Aquaria KLCC.

During Malay Mail’s visit at around 2.30pm, there was a queue of approximately 50 families at the entrance of the state-of-the-art facility beneath Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Farid, a staff member who was assigned crowd control, said each family had to wait 30 minutes before entering to ensure a pleasant experience for all.

The 50-acre urban sanctuary of KLCC Park on Aquaria’s doorstep also saw its fair share of visitors who were just happy to hang out.

Malay Mail came across Mahasin, a 33-year-old from Bangladesh, sitting by Symphony Lake with his friends who said they had decided to catch up over the long weekend.

Meanwhile, several metres away, a man in his 60s, who wanted to be known as Barry, was taking photos of the park.

"Today, I wanted to take some photographs of the environment and all the people around,” said the Cheras resident who had been at the park for two hours honing his skills.

Malay Mail also caught up with a trio of siblings in their red Baju Melayu as they posed at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers.

"We celebrated Raya in Johor and returned to KL yesterday. We wanted to take pictures with our outfits in front of the Twin Towers because it is an iconic attraction,” they said.

Petaling Street and Dataran Merdeka were similarly crowded, with out-of-towners keen to do a spot of shopping and sightseeing.

Housewife Lilis Arianie Zainal, 29, together with her husband and two kids, made sure they travelled early to Petaling Street Market from their hometown in Rawang.

"Since we just celebrated Raya in our hometown, we wanted to take the kids out for jalan-jalan (walkabout) as they didn’t want to sit at home.

"Look, they have new shoes and bags,” she said, while posing happily with her children’s purchases.

Couple Yeok Tzong and Claire Leong, both 26, said they were part of a group of four from Johor.

The couple told Malay Mail it was a norm for them to travel to different states during the Aidilfitri holidays.

"This year we decided to spend it in KL, so I brought my family to Petaling Street. We expected it to be quiet, but there are so many people,” said Tzong, as he waited in line at the area’s popular air mata kuching drink stall.

Similarly, a group of students from Taylor’s University, Shaktira, 25, and Iqsha, 18, said they had no idea it would be so crowded in Petaling Street on the third day of Aidilfitri.

"We thought since it is still Raya holidays, there would not be many people, but we were wrong. The place might be packed, but the crowd is still bearable,” said Shaktira.

Central Market was relatively quiet by comparison as most vendors were still closed for the Aidilfitri festivities.

Abdul Rafik Othman, who hails from Muar, said he had returned to his hometown, with nine others, on Wednesday to celebrate before returning to KL on Saturday.

"I wanted to spend time with my wife’s family, which is why we returned to KL too. I took them all out for jalan-jalan since they have never been to this area,” Abdul Rafik said.

Two 23-year-old students from Universiti Selangor, Silah Rahman and Puteri Annur, said they were taking pictures in their Raya outfits as they did not have the time earlier.

"We were busy yesterday, celebrating Raya and visiting relatives. So, we decided to come here today to take ‘outfit of the day’ pictures with our friends for Instagram,” said Silah.

At Dataran Merdeka, 37-year-old Anusiah Naidu Mohnaraju said she was there with her family because they had visited Petaling Street earlier and decided to walk over.

"I came with my family, nieces, and nephews, to explore the area. We were in Petaling Street earlier for lunch and shopping, so we decided to walk to Dataran Merdeka to pass our time,” she said.