Petaling Street Market

Lonely Planet review

Traders start to fill covered Jln Petaling from mid-morning until the whole street is jammed with market stalls selling everything from fake Gucci handbags and pirate DVDs to nasi lemak (coconut rice) and bunches of lychees. The market really comes into its own at night, when hordes of tourists scour the stalls for convincing fakes of brand-name clothes, perfumes, watches and luggage.

The fact that there is a police station in the middle of the market is evidence of the rather relaxed Malaysian attitude towards counterfeit goods. If you do buy fakes, the risks include poor stitching on bags, and DVDs of current releases recorded on grainy hand-held video cameras smuggled into KL's cinemas.