Hari Raya Aidilfitri Geylang Serai!

"Salam Aidilfitri"

Road scene

It's going to be Hari Raya in 3 days' time!! So I took this chance to check out Geylang Serai for some cultural exposure.

I haven't been to this part of Singapore during this period for I think... (in fact) as long as I have lived(!). I always skipped the trips when my friends organised them because Geylang Serai seems soo far away... ... but tonight I went. Because I want to see.

I tried to entice either of my brothers to accompany me but to no avail. Haiz...

So, I went alone.

Stalls scene

The entire Geylang Serai is covered with huge bazaar tents that houses many stalls selling Hari Raya related goods from clothing to food stuff to home decor.

Baju Kebayas

I found that the Kebayas have an allure about them. Something about the poise and beauty of the woman in the traditional costume.

Shimmering accessories

The place had no lack of glimmers...

Buying clothes

The strong spotlights some stalls cast on themselves (probably to brighten up the stall and attract customers) made the whole stall look like a stage! Look at all the elaborate costumes.

Buying snacks for the festival

All those goodies... too bad I'm broke and growing fat :(

Extravagent home decor

I was walking through stalls and stalls of baju baju (clothes) and suddenly this came to sight. It was a pleasant change. Anw, this is really really authentic Malay decor right?

Interesting Chinese influence on the Baju Kebaya

And guess who's selling these? (ans: yeah, a chinese woman)

Carpet stall with price-fall signs

I felt so proud when I saw this scene. My basic Malay came to use and I actually understood what they were writing! " We will wrap up! Price fall!" "We want to wrap up! Price fall!"

Stall owner and his mat

Some stall owners bring their own mats and transform the stall into a homely environment. Some of them sat on the mat to have dinner together.

This stall owner was bare-footed.

Curtains and curtains

This particular tent had layers after layers of curtains and it made the whole experience so surreal. I felt like I was in an enchanted land. There was also a tinge of excitement because of the partial visibility of the following stretch, creating the sort of mysterious feel.

Henna artist

She asked the young girl if she was happy about her henna. The girl smiled and nodded. It was such a cosy scene!

Sandals stall

woah.

Man with loudspeaker

Wanted to portray the sound inside the bazaar so that you can hear it too :)

Spiderman!

How can there be no toys for the children??

Shoe with patterns

These pattern seriously run throughout the whole Geylang Serai. Everything is so richly decorated with patterns!

Girl waiting to try her shoes

The children must be happy and excited about Hari Raya =) I used to be so happy whenever it was Chinese New Year too.

The time was getting late as I wandered about. And so, I went home lor.

Would you like to share with us about Hari Raya or Geylang Serai? Email us at singaporeseeing @ gmail.com or simply write us a comment!