i went to a pasar malam in hougang (central) a few days ago. it was the most massive one i've come across, and in good time, what with spending 2 years overseas and having not been to one since. the atmosphere was something i hadn't experience in a long time - mandarin 'helicopters', uncles and aunties looking at some buddhist monk and his terrapins that picked winning 4d numbers, ramly burgers, the seemingly neverending lines of food stalls, 'adidasler's and 'nik's, flower power tye dyed slacks and singlets - the list is endless.
what was new to me though, was the getai stage. a middle-aged auntie bellowing her lungs out along with hokkien lines i'm unfamiliar with stood in the middle of the obiang setting. her loud outfit seemed to compete with her voice. my friend told me a good getai singer can easily earn $5 000 a night. i don't know how true it is, but kudos to them for bringing halloween to the heartland masses. however, not that i was unappreciative, but i realised how much of a bubble world these people seem to be in.
these i'm familiar with - the lion dance troops! once a thing for humji young me to be scared of, i'm rather fond of the gaudy coloured, anti-evil spirit performance now. the skill and accuracy needed, i cannot fathom. being on the big(ger) side and rather clumsy, i don't think i'd balance well on 2m high poles nor am i adept enough to shread lettuce under 5 seconds. i probably wouldn't be able to contain my laughter while spreading lettuce luck either. nonetheless, the lions and their behinds never fail to arouse interest or capture the attention of by standers. complete with 'bang on the gongs' drum beats, 'hoo!'s and 'ha!'s, the lion dance is indeed a chinese spectacle not to be missed.
the omnipresent food stalls! where do i even begin. from sotong balls to tea leaf eggs and my beloved cup corn, the pasar malam has it all. greasy, i-can-see-my-reflection finger food called out to me - "buy me!" they whispered, playfully jesting at my expanding waistline. "pick me!" they all called out. dammit. so picked and bought, i did. sotong balls, cup corn, vadeh and deep fried chempedak all became part of my belly world. then i flooded them with a pseduo birds' nest drink and coconut juice. yeah balls, no noah's ark for you guys.
perhaps what i'm trying to get at is how much of old singapore i've missed. yes, i've missed the modern, fast and efficient attitude, the reflective skyscrapers, walking along orchard road and having starbucks (there isn't any in perth!); but i've also missed my hawker centres, rickety tibs buses, pasar malams, old shophouses, kopitiams and the familiarity of home. although i sit here in my westernised environment, there is a part of me that feels an affinity with (re)discovering the heartlands and untouched areas. of course, not everything is as perfect as it seems, but i feel like i'm the one that has been living in the bubble world, unaffected. i count myself lucky, yet i realise how atas i may sound as i describe these facets of singapore with a seemingly i'm-at-the-zoo-like demeanor. heh.
on a brighter note, i managed to buy $4.80 worth of biscuits (cheap, considering i bought 3 different kinds, about a total of 600g) from those fancyschmancy tin boxes - the big knee-high kinds you need a fork/spoon to ply open. i used to buy them almost daily when i was back in secondary school/jc at the market near my place. unfortunately, due to bad business sense or timing or complete madness, they (very general here...) closed it down without guaranteeing any future development. so my beautiful market is now a piece of flat green land and my neighbourhood is devoid of many amenities and new memories.
looking ahead, amsterdam beckons. thomas sent me two books which i'm gaga over - amsterdam in black and white pictures and 'a short history of tractors in ukrainian' by marina lewycka to satisfy my eastern european obsession.
it's time to make more memories in the dutch markts, pleins, kades, straats and get gezellig!
what was new to me though, was the getai stage. a middle-aged auntie bellowing her lungs out along with hokkien lines i'm unfamiliar with stood in the middle of the obiang setting. her loud outfit seemed to compete with her voice. my friend told me a good getai singer can easily earn $5 000 a night. i don't know how true it is, but kudos to them for bringing halloween to the heartland masses. however, not that i was unappreciative, but i realised how much of a bubble world these people seem to be in.
these i'm familiar with - the lion dance troops! once a thing for humji young me to be scared of, i'm rather fond of the gaudy coloured, anti-evil spirit performance now. the skill and accuracy needed, i cannot fathom. being on the big(ger) side and rather clumsy, i don't think i'd balance well on 2m high poles nor am i adept enough to shread lettuce under 5 seconds. i probably wouldn't be able to contain my laughter while spreading lettuce luck either. nonetheless, the lions and their behinds never fail to arouse interest or capture the attention of by standers. complete with 'bang on the gongs' drum beats, 'hoo!'s and 'ha!'s, the lion dance is indeed a chinese spectacle not to be missed.
the omnipresent food stalls! where do i even begin. from sotong balls to tea leaf eggs and my beloved cup corn, the pasar malam has it all. greasy, i-can-see-my-reflection finger food called out to me - "buy me!" they whispered, playfully jesting at my expanding waistline. "pick me!" they all called out. dammit. so picked and bought, i did. sotong balls, cup corn, vadeh and deep fried chempedak all became part of my belly world. then i flooded them with a pseduo birds' nest drink and coconut juice. yeah balls, no noah's ark for you guys.
perhaps what i'm trying to get at is how much of old singapore i've missed. yes, i've missed the modern, fast and efficient attitude, the reflective skyscrapers, walking along orchard road and having starbucks (there isn't any in perth!); but i've also missed my hawker centres, rickety tibs buses, pasar malams, old shophouses, kopitiams and the familiarity of home. although i sit here in my westernised environment, there is a part of me that feels an affinity with (re)discovering the heartlands and untouched areas. of course, not everything is as perfect as it seems, but i feel like i'm the one that has been living in the bubble world, unaffected. i count myself lucky, yet i realise how atas i may sound as i describe these facets of singapore with a seemingly i'm-at-the-zoo-like demeanor. heh.
on a brighter note, i managed to buy $4.80 worth of biscuits (cheap, considering i bought 3 different kinds, about a total of 600g) from those fancyschmancy tin boxes - the big knee-high kinds you need a fork/spoon to ply open. i used to buy them almost daily when i was back in secondary school/jc at the market near my place. unfortunately, due to bad business sense or timing or complete madness, they (very general here...) closed it down without guaranteeing any future development. so my beautiful market is now a piece of flat green land and my neighbourhood is devoid of many amenities and new memories.
looking ahead, amsterdam beckons. thomas sent me two books which i'm gaga over - amsterdam in black and white pictures and 'a short history of tractors in ukrainian' by marina lewycka to satisfy my eastern european obsession.
it's time to make more memories in the dutch markts, pleins, kades, straats and get gezellig!
Post a Comment