Ramadhan Bazaar in Telipok..

Dear Readers..
A lot of people take the opportunity to make extra cash on the side in the month of Ramadhan. Some sell ready-made clothes and shawls for raya, some sell Raya cookies and some sell juadah berbuka at the Ramadhan Bazaar. While doing business is a trade that is encouraged in Islam, traders are not allowed to practice Ribah which generally means making too much profit by selling goods at very high prices.

Three days ago on the spur of the moment, me and my guy decided to buy food from the Ramadhan Bazaar at one of the housing areas in Telipok. Let’s call the housing area PJ for privacy’s sake. I was a bit disappointed for a few reasons:

1. They didn’t sell anything that was different or extra-ordinary. I think the Pasar Malam in Tuaran offers more choices than what was available there.
2. The food was overpriced!
3. The location of the Bazaar was near a rubbish dump. Eeewwww….
4. The sellers were rude.

My guy asked for plain rice. Now if you go to any of the restaurants in Tuaran, the price of plain rice is RM1 and at most would be RM1.50 with the tapau almost bursting with rice. At this Bazaar however they charged RM1.50 for slightly less then the usual amount of rice. He asked the lady to add a bit more rice. She did so and promptly charged us RM2. Walaweh! I don’t know about the price of plain rice in KK but in my opinion that’s really expensive just for 1 measly tapau of plain rice. Where’s the spirit of Ramadhan? You’re selling at a RAMADHAN BAZAAR for Heaven’s sake... Nda takut kah rezeki yg dia dapat tu nda berkat? Geez…

I decided to buy noodles with a side of sausage and I was holding 6 RM1 notes in my hand as the seller was packing my purchase. His partner was attending to another customer and suddenly we had this conversation:

Seller: Bagi sini duit ko..(Give me your money) *reaching out to take my money*

Me : *looked at him as if he’s grown a pair of horns on his head while holding my money tighter*

Seller: Sini bah sia mau tukar. Bagi sia lima satu2 ringgit ko cepat! (Come on, I want to change. Give

me five of your Rm1 notes quick!)*beckoning with his hands*

Me : *Gave him five RM1 note and received his RM5 note*

Seller: Haaaaa.. Kan senang gitu.. (Haaaaa.. Now that’s easier..)

Me : *feel violated somehow.. and a bit dazed*

Come to think of it, the “conversation” was pretty one-sided.

I don’t think I will ever, ever, go there again.. Unless I haven’t eaten for weeks and that’s the only place on Earth that has food.. Or maybe someone that I really, REALLY care about is dying and the only way I can save his or her life is if I buy and eat the food from there. Or... Well, you get my drift.. Oh well…

Anyway, I hope that your experience at Ramadhan Bazaars are better than mine. However, if you've experienced aggravation as well, feel free to share your experience with me in the comments bellow... Cheers!