The nightmarkets -
Pasar Malam
Ben van Wijnen
The nightmarkets (Pasar Malam)
are always very pleasant to go. In the evening it's very nice to walk along
all the stalls in search for something to take home. The salesman are
certainly not pushy. They wait until you've made your choice. And then
....... the bargaining starts. See my other page about
"bargaining"
<click>.
You'll find the nightmarkets in the city's, like
Georgetown. Sometimes
the nightmarkets move to another area of the town. So, if you want to
visit one, please call the Tourist Information or ask at the reception of
your hotel, where the night markets are held. In Kuala Lumpur you
can go to China Town. There it's always in Petaling Street.
On Penang most people are going to the nightmarket in
Batu Ferringhi .
Although there are also night markets in Georgetown (call for these the
Tourist Information). In Batu Ferringhi the nightmarket is along the main street.
When you're walking down the road, looking for a restaurant, you can have
a look at the stalls. It's not so crowded at the stalls and the salesmen
are certainly not pushy.
The salesmen are starting around 19.00 hours and they end around 23.00
hours. If it's raining there's a chance, that they won't come at all. And
when the selling is bad, then they close sometimes a little bit earlier.
They arrive in little vans, which are fully loaded with their business.
What you can buy? Cd's, dvd, clothes, T-shirts, souvenirs, paintings,
handbags, wallets, sunglasses and so on.
Of course ...... most is illegal stuff, like the watches (Rolex, Breiling),
the sunglasses (Gucci), the handbags (Prado).
The police is taking action against the illegal cd's and dvd's. I think
the copying is done in Malaysia. The selling of these illegal cd's and
dvd's is also in Batu Ferringhi. I don't know, how it works,
but................ the salesmen get a phone call, that the police is
coming in a quarter of an hour. In a few minutes they break up and the van
is loaded and of they go. Then the police arrives and find no cd or
dvd on the market. I think their informant must in or near the police
station.
