Tag: flea market

Bang The Rusty Gong. Hail The King! – Part 2 of A Two Parter

Anyway, back in KL in the early 2000s, I discovered our own Flea Market that was naturally also a Thieves Market. It as known as Pasar Karat or Rust Market and was located at the back of Petaling Street, Chinatown. There was an obvious clue that it was a Thieves Market and it didn’t require Sherlock or Combo to decipher.

It was that many of the shoes displayed on the ground were only one half a pair. Yet there were many customers happily choosing. Maybe they lost half a pair. I was told that if a drug addict or burglar climbed over your fence and stole your shoe, there is a good chance of getting or buying it back here. Because thefts happen at night and the thieves need to unload stuff fast, Pasar Karat opened as early as 5 am to cater to such sellers. Expectedly, they don’t welcome cameras, unless you intend to sell yours. This was the only pic I had.

Many of the non stolen items were like old telephones, tap fittings and vintage radios. Many items were severely rusted, living up to the bazaar’s name.

One morning, I went with a friend at 5 am and we walked around and saw a 20″ LCD TV for sale. 20″ flat screen was a big deal then, Yes. FOL (F Our Lives). Eager to find out the price, we were told by traders to wait for The King. Only The King can set the price for everything there including a hot water shower and a rusted axe. It was so bizarre but we waited. This King must be a burly gangster type with tattoos, like any “fence” buying stolen property we speculated.

At 7 am, there was much excitement, when a scrawny Chinese guy with thin limbs came honking on a three wheeled motorcycle with a sidecar. He was shirtless and a former polio sufferer. Everyone bowed and clasped their hands against their heads. Bang a rusty gong! Royalty is here! He jumped on top of his motorcycle sidecar and picked up a Nike Air Max or similar and raised 3 fingers. It meant RM30 and there were loud oohs and ahhs from the crowd surrounding The King. He was The Man and sellers and buyers respected him. That was back in 2004. Not sure how much has changed. That famous Yuk Woo Hin Dim Sum shop where we feasted before going rust shopping is now closed.

End Of Part 2 – continued from Part 1 in previous post.

Bang The Rusty Gong. Hail The King! – Part 1 of A Two Parter

I was talking about flea markets with my friend T Muhamad IJ. In the 80s, Singapore had a charming roadside flea market near or on Sungai Road, outside the legendary Sim Lim Tower, the forerunner of Sim Lim Square.

I remember the area well because it was where Malaysian cars go to get a sun roof installed. A guy in the car accessory shop will cut a hole in your car roof with a electric jig saw and power grinders. It was mad but Malaysians loved it. Never mind, it will eventually rust like crazy and leak. As long as they can drive around Ampang Jaya or Taman TAR and let their kids stick their heads out of the roof. Style and gaya.

Eventually, the flea market in Singapore was to become the famous Thieves Market. I used to enjoy going there as one can find the rare vinyl record and other junk artifacts, if one is lucky. Can any Singaporean tell me if they are still allowed today in clinical and sterile Singapore?

I liked it because it was just outside my favourite electronics mall Sim Lim Tower. Sim Lim Tower was special because you can buy almost any electronic component or spare part (IC, resistor, capacitor, fuse, etc) and those nasty VCR spinning heads. If you dont know how to fix an appliance, there were also many shops there that sell repair or service manuals and schematics for every model sold on earth.

I also like the many ham shops there where I was fascinated by the many transceivers that cannot be sold to foreigners. I eventually became a licensed ham operator or amateur radio operator with my own call sign. There used to be many African shoppers there buying stuff by big bag loads for reselling back in their home country. I remember one guy buying a cordless phone with a 100 mile range capability (claimed specs on the display window). Common sense tells me that anything with that kind of transmitting power is illegal and can fry your brains.

End Of Part 1 – To be continued in Part 2 in next post.