A Must-Visit Place In Georgetown

By Sakini Mohd Said PENANG (Malaysia), Feb 21 (Bernama) -- A visit to the "Pearl of the Orient" (northern state of Penang) is considered incomplete by many without a trip to the Chowrasta market in Georgetown. Those making a visit to Georgetown who announce beforehand that they will visit this market can expect a deluge of orders from relatives and friends back home. What is so special at the market? Traditionally, Chowrasta market sells perishable goods such as fish and vegetables. It is also well known for delicacies from the northern states of the Peninsula. The Chowrasta market is also famous to tourists as the place where one can buy pickled fruits, known as asam and jeruk in Malay. The three-storey Chowrasta market is an old structure with peeling paintwork, but the sight of the crowd there will draw first-time visitors to Georgetown to pay the marketplace a must-see visit. The word Chowrasta, taken from Urdu, means the “junction of four.” This is apt, as the market is strategically located at the junction of four main streets, Jalan Penang, Jalan Chowrasta, Jalan Kuala Kangsar and Lebuh Tamil. The Georgetown Municipal Council built this market in 1890 and had it refurbished in 1961. PICKLED FRUITS When an officemate returns after making a trip to the north of the Peninsula, bringing along pickled fruits as goodies, a guess that the colleague has gone to the Chowrasta market is far from wrong. At the market, a shopper can look for any type of pickled tropical fruits, including salak (snake fruit), papaya, nutmeg , mango and even cherry. All of these pickled fruits are available on the ground level of the market. "Every time I visit Penang, this is the place where I buy the pickled fruits. The fruits are fresh and the pickle is not so sweet. "If I buy the pickles somewhere else, the (taste of) the pickles is not the same," says Siti Fatimah Ali from Perak, who recently spent a week-long holiday in Penang. The pickles offered to the public are in bulk form, where buyers need only to make their choice and have their pickles weighed before being sealed in plastic packs. The pickles are sold cheap, at RM5 for a packet. There are those already available in packs, according to varieties or mixed. Smaller packets are offered three for RM10. (US$1=RM3.017) Usually if the visitors wish to take home these pickles as gifts for relatives and friends, they will opt for the smaller packets as these are easy to carry and store. BOOKS AT A WET MARKET? Apart from groceries and garments, this market also serves as the place where one can get hold of second-hand books. Various genres and titles are available. Located at the section on the far end of the first floor, thousands of books await book aficionados. This section of the market can be considered a book haven for book lovers. Who would guess that in this rundown building exists a sort of book supermarket? A dealer in secondhand books there, Abdul Samad, said: "Even though the first floor is much quieter when compared to the ground level, this is also a must-visit place for the visitors. Here you can buy a book for as cheap as RM1, and the most expensive is RM100." Abdul Samad, who has been operating the secondhand book stall at Chowrasta market for more than 22 years, said the business there is far more encouraging than that in second-hand book stores along the streets in Georgetown. ALMOST SURE There are about 100,000 books at Abdul Samad’s store. The books are arranged in orderly fashion according to genres to enable book fans to easily search for what they are looking for. "A visitor will not return empty-handed as there is almost a sure chance that the person may get what he is are looking for." He explained the market is the place where one looks for books that are no longer in print and difficult to find elsewhere. "Books such as those on the history of Malaya and old literature are difficult to find now, but books of these genres do have their own fans. "There are those who come here looking for books on Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa and Hikayat Hang Tuah, which are difficult to find elsewhere. "We do sell such books but sometimes the buyers came here to look for other titles, but they happen to come across other books that they do not hesitate to buy," he said. There are five second-hand book dealers, including Abdul Samad, at the Chowrasta market. Their shops are located next to one another and this makes it easy for book fans to move from one shop to another looking for the book of their choice. CHEAP The beauty of shopping at Chowrasta market is that, not only is the price of goods offered are cheap, but shoppers can ask for a lower price by bargaining. If a shopper cannot find what he wants at the market, then there are no worries as a few steps away from the market is located the Penang Bazaar, which is also known as the cheap-sale zone. The lane in Penang Bazaar is narrow and hot but this do not prevent the tourists, both local and foreign, from exploring this area. Visitors to this lane should not waste the opportunity to sample the fastastic cucur udang (prawn fritters) at the stall operated by Nasaruddin Abu Karim. This stall can attract some 100 customers a day. The food is cheap, only RM2 a plate. The lane also offers cendol, mee goreng mamak and laksa. -- BERNAMA Malaysia