thieves' market @ sungei road

of all the flea markets in singapore, the oldest one is the thieves' market at sungei road. so called because in the olden days, thieves would often come here to dispose of their stolen ware. while there may be no more stolen ware to be found here, the stalls continue to be set up in a haphazard manner, as it is not an organised affair and no licence is needed. while things may be cheap, more likely than not they are broken and they need to be repaired.

sungei road has probably been around for a long time. the only other place in singapore that has similar activities is at mohd ali lane near club street. in fact, the activities do not take place only in sungei road itself but also in the vicinity, namely weld road, pitt street, pasar lane and larut road.

you can see lots of old things, a good place to go if you are hunting for a bargain and hoping to find a bit of the past that you miss. last sunday, when i was there, i saw irons - those that use charcoal - lined up for sale. used shoes are priced at $10. i suppose if you bargain, you may be able to get them for less. foreign workers go there to buy old clothes, especially jeans.

in the past, you hardly see women or ladies at sungei road. just like, you do not see them along the back lanes of desker road. these days, quite a number of them accompany their spouses or boyfriends to browse at the open-air market. i even saw one woman stallholder selling trinkets next to a makeshift stall selling adult vcds.

the thieves' market is open 7 days a week, from about 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. it is especially busy on weekends. on saturdays and sundays, certain sections of the roads are closed creating a pedestrian mall where food and drink stalls are set up to cater to the throngs of browsers and shoppers.