Bustling S'pore bazaar provides last hurrah for Ramadhan shoppers
Bustling S'pore bazaar provides last hurrah for Ramadhan shoppers
When the sun has set and the breaking of the fast has been
observed, the only destination worth visiting in Singapore during
Ramadhan -- if you wish to spend an entire evening indulging in
shopping while basking under bright street lights -- is none
other than the legendary bazaar at Geylang Serai.
Welcome to the eastern part of Singapore, inhabited
predominantly by the country's Malay community, where the festive
atmosphere and activities during the holy month will make
tourists and visitors from neighboring Islam-majority countries
feel at home.
The bazaar stretches from the Tanjong Katong Complex to the
end of Joo Chiat Road, and strings of lights and rows of big
tents are ready to serve shoppers for exactly one month. The
bazaar comes to life at th beginning of the holy month of
Ramadhan and is abuzz until the early morning of Idul Fitri,
which is locally known as Hari Raya Puasa.
For people who find conversing in the Malay language or Bahasa
Indonesia much more comfortable than speaking English, the bazaar
is indeed a haven for getting a good bargain -- instead of taking
the trouble to carry a calculator around, merely to show a
negotiating price.
Even if bargaining over traditional clothing like sarongs,
songkok or handmade handbags is not one's cup of tea, it is hard
not to stroll along the big tents of Geylang Serai without being
tempted to savor a variety of Malay delicacies.
From light snacks, like a packet containing 5 sticks of
keropok lekor (fish crackers) that goes for S$1, to the ever
popular Burger Ramly -- a Malaysian brand -- with fish or beef
burgers for under $3, the list goes on endlessly until we find
ourselves walking unknowingly along the pathway toward the Paya
Lebar MRT station -- the nearest MRT station to the bazaar.
Most locals and frequent visitors to Singapore will control
their shopping urges until the very last day of the bazaar, right
up to the wee hours of the morning of Hari Raya. By around 3 a.m.
on the celebrated day, the prices of most goods will be slashed
by as much as 70 percent from their starting prices at the
beginning of the fasting month.
Some families even prefer to set aside decorating their homes
until Hari Raya, since the price of a bouquet of flowers will
fall from $15 per basket to merely $5, even $3. And with $50, a
happy shopper will carry home not only one, but two sets of baju
kurung (Malay traditional clothes) with additional accessories to
boot.
Obviously, not every item on sale will suffer such a generous
cut, and most of those items that are not considered part of the
Hari Raya shopping list will keep their fixed prices.
After all, one might always be able to buy a video CD (VCD) of
Indonesian and Malaysian films for $10 at any time, and a hookah
pipe for shisha (Middle-Eastern smoking) will still be available
everywhere for more or less the same price.
Sadly, however, the Ramadhan shopping celebration this year
will be the last to be held in the Geylang Serai area, as it is
about to be torn down to make way for renovations. It is hardly
any wonder, then, that the lighting decoration is much more
dazzling -- as some local residents say -- the last flowering
before its fall.
And Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs George Yeo himself
actually officiated a street procession at the beginning of the
bazaar this year, something that had never been done in previous
years.
The quest of finding an amazing and complete shopping
experience with touches of Muslim-Malay tradition will surely
begin following Hari Ray -- at least until the next Ramadhan
comes to pass. -- Nauval Yazid