The Flea Market
Lorong Kulit
Ben van Wijnen

Lorong Kulit is a flea market. A market, usually held outdoors, where antiques, used household goods, and curios are sold. The Lorong Kulit flea market had its humble beginnings in late 1992 when the municipal council cleared out the secondhand goods dealers from Rope Walk, located off Penang Road in the town centre, where they had been trading by the roadside since the 1970s.
Lorong Kulit is located a few kilometers away from the center and is located next to the former football stadium of Penang (Stadium Bandaraya). Today, the professional football club has a beautiful new stadium on the mainland. You will pass the stadium, when you drive to the ferry from Pulau Aman (a very beautiful island with no traffic of cars).
Penang's flea market at Lorong Kulit has gained quite a hiphop reputation among Malaysians and tourists alike. Formerly at Rope Walk it is for now next to City Stadium. Electric stuff, watches, shoes, second-hand goods, antique, well, try a good bargain. Dealers show their goods on a carpet on the street or at stalls.

Lorong Kulit did have  a reputation of being a thieves' market. For the record, there occasionally are stolen goods in Lorong Kulit, but they look no different from other used goods on sale. Case in point: those who lost their shoes after a visit at the mosques might be surprised to come across their pair on the flea market of Lorong Kulit. When I first encountered the flea market, Eastern Europeans sold stuff from the Russian army (night vision goggles) and watches and perfume from Bulgari. As soon as an agent showed up at the flea market, they gathered their things together and disappeared with the northern sun. It maybe a true Thieves Market once, but today you may also acquire the goods in a legal way. It is just fun to try and find you some bric-a-brac or excellent finds. The flea market is openfrom 8am to 2pm every day, except when it rains. Sunday is the best day to go, because there are more stalls. But..... it's also very busy.

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You can browse for krises, old irons, old stamps, coins and notes, baba and nonya baskets, plates and spoons, porcelain, old watches, clocks, swords, Buddha statues. Here, you can find stuff from electrical goods, clothes, textiles and food to second-hand items collected from all over the island. Some of these have turned out to be real treasures, according to several collectors who have been lucky with their finds as you only pay a fraction of what you’d otherwise pay in an antique shop. The market, right opposite the main entrance of the Stadium Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, next to a food court and some fruit stalls. You can reach Lorong by bus nr 201 from Weld Quay or Komtar. Another option is going by taxi.

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