You know, looking at this really tiny collection of pictures now, I wish I had been in better capacity that afternoon to gaze around more, immerse myself more, work Chonkycam more.
But that be life, where you know you should be more proactive in doing something but somehow end up not doing it much at all.
It is with very huge pity that I shall have to wait another full year before I get to take pictures of the Ramadan bazaar here at Kampong Glam again.
I should have slowed down a little, looked about a little more, and not tried to squish and squash my brain through the many sights and sounds of the bazaar.
The Kampong Glam Ramadan bazaar is said to look, and feel, its best after iftar, after sundown.
Perhaps it might have done me good had I been there at that hour, but we had just finished a lunch at Suntec City this particular Saturday afternoon and decided to take a walk down Beach Road towards the Arab Quarter, Haji Lane, and the whole Kampong Glam on its own.
The walking route along Beach Road this afternoon didn't give me that much to see- I probably wasn't paying as much attention as I ought to- but I did catch sight of this at the crossing of Beach Road and Ophir Road, so took the picture.
At first glance it might seem like there's nothing much to look at- just a fence in front of a building in front of another building.
But this fence seems to have been around for a long time.
So much so that other than the contractors themselves no one actually remembers just what it is they are building.
The building behind is significant too.
Not only has it been there a long time, not only did it once use to hold a well known furniture showroom- I can't remember its name- it too holds the offices of Diners Club, and DCS Diners Card.
This area is a literal mish-mash of buildings from different eras.
Like the one behind it, the Pan Pacific (Serviced Apartments), which will always be remembered because back in 2020 I brought a bag of groceries for my aunt who was then in mandated quarantine back after arriving into the country to help look after my grandfather.
It feels so long ago.
This afternoon crossed the road on this side heading towards Haji Lane on the opposite side, but not before I took a picture of the magnificent looking DUO diagonally opposite from where I stood.
I haven't been up before.
Maybe I have- a long time ago- to the lobby of Andaz by Hyatt- but not to the rooms, and not to much else.
It has also been a long time since I went to the Haji Lane stretch.
Maybe I did go there a couple years before, but somehow something didn't draw me back as everyone said it was supposed to.
The place is still as vibrant now, with high tables and high stools arranged here and there outside some of the drinking bars. The beer crowd's slightly quieter than it used to be, but the shoppers are still goes strong.
I can't speak much for the retail- I didn't pay much attention to the retail even last time- but there're a good number of stores offering curiosities of the whimsical vibe. There's a bit of retro here and there, if I'm not wrong, but there are those that cater to the tourist looking for a knick-knack to bring home, there are those that cater to the millennial, Gen Z who is looking for a poster or a display to buy and put up on the room wall, or those that reach out specifically to the stuffie- toy lover.
It's kind of colorful, actually.
A pity I didn't go into the stores to check out the merchandise- I really should have.
Guess I was more intrigued by the bazaar that they said was located behind Sultan Mosque between Muscat Street and Subhan Street, plus (what I think) is the whole of Kandahar Street.
We first went to the section behind Sultan Mosque.
There was a lot of food there, but what exactly there were, I now cannot remember. I think the foods here were more traditional, more cultural, less colorful than the Kandahar side. Not to mean that the foods here were of the sit-down sort, no, of course not, but (if my memory is right) they leaned towards more of a proper, more filling meal.
There were a good number of stalls selling snacks- by the box- but there were also those selling breads and pancakes and wraps of various fillings and styles.
The day was bright, and warm, so under one of the tents I ducked for a breather, which is where I took this picture.
This has probably to be the most significant shot I have from the time here this afternoon.
Somehow I managed to capture the presence of fairy lights hanging from the roof of the tent I stood under.
Somehow I managed to capture the glow of an afternoon sun glimmering on the mosque's dome roof.
And with a bit of creative angling I somehow managed to squeeze the height of the minaret into the same picture.
After this we followed our way out the row of tents, going along the line of stalls, where we eventually found ourselves on the Kandahar side outside the eastern(?) wall of the Sultan Mosque compound.
Here there were stalls selling drinks, snacks, kuehs, colorful breads, and cakes.
What precisely they were, or how many there were- that, I don't know- but I there was one drink stall offering iced beverages of the most colorful kind. This stall had lots of interesting concoctions. There were drinks with lychee, there were drinks of the latte sort, and there were drinks of the brightest blue color which I now don't remember. If I'm not wrong there was Bandung, Mango, Avocado, and a couple of soft drink concoctions.
We got a big cup of butterfly pea with lychee from this stall.
I liked the color.
Even if I tasted more of the (canned) lychee than the butterfly pea.
There was, of course, the ubiquitous stall of Thai milk tea and Thai milk green tea.
These milk tea stalls have somehow, surreptitiously, made their way into every single neighborhood bazaar, festive occasion or otherwise, and it has become a literal staple to see them there.
Then there were stalls selling all kinds of snacks and kuehs, colorful breads and cakes.
There was a stall offering kebab wraps, a stall offering pastries with fruit filling and savory filling, a stall offering fruit smoothies, and even more stalls offering fun street foods like fries with all sorts of toppings, takoyaki, Korean-style foods, Philly cheesesteak halal, and some breads and pastries in such bright colors, which, i think, came from Penang.
The one thing I didn't see were ice cream stalls.
It would not have made sense to sell ice cream here at Kandahar in the bright sunshine of the day.
Finally, at the end of the row nearing North Bridge Road, there was a Chinese-Muslim stall at one corner offering a variety of foods, including what I think were shao bing style pancakes with minced beef stuffed inside.
I should have paid closer attention to what it were the chefs were making at their stall
But I took a look at the queue of people all standing patiently in the hot sun, and decided that the Chinese that I am shouldn't interrupt them all waiting in line.