Monday, May 26, 2008

Batu Ferringhi's Sidewalk Bazaar

A friend of mine read this blog yesterday and he is actually live in Penang. He called me an suggested to me to write about Batu Ferinnghi Side Walk Bazaar. So here we goes another tourist attraction in Malaysia for you..

Batu Ferringh is a haven for a string of world-class resorts including rows of specialty restaurants and shops. Business is often brisk here, and one particular business that's currently thriving and attracting the tourist mass is the sidewalk bazaar that's held every evening.

As the sun sets, the sidewalks facing the Batu Ferringhi road become cluttered with makeshift stalls. The string of stalls stretch all the way from Shangri-la's Rasa Sayang Hotel to the Casuarina Hotel, offering tourists a variety of cheap merchandise especially of the 'bootleg' sort.

While there's a wide assortment of 'Penang' handicrafts, there's an even bigger selection of imitation goods ranging from designer apparel, leather bags, watches to CDs, VCDs and computer games.

Nearly every stall has them and the prices are more or less the same from stall to stall. You can try haggling but it's always wiser to compare prices first before buying. In that way you'll know you're getting a good deal or not.

For those who prefer to shop in a less congested setting (minus the hurly-burly sales talk) will find a handful of curio shops nearby more suited to their taste. These shops mostly offer handicraft souvenirs at nett but affordable prices.

The stalls operate from about 6.00pm to 12.00am daily.