OES colonial houses

Just opposite La Vie En Rose is a row of pre-war houses with an elaborate crest on the wall that says OES and the date 1931. It’s not an abandoned building per se – you can still see sarong-clad occupants minding their business upstairs. But there’s a particular yellow door on the ground floor that disengages from its colonial identity. It’s like stumbling upon a house in a storybook, with creeping foliage, wooden shutters and motif floor tiles to give it character. In the morning, before the traffic starts, the busy Raja Chulan halts for a brief spell – it’s the best time to get your photos taken if you like something offbeat that’s still quintessentially KL.