Jonker Street closure
As it happens, I was in Melaka over the weekend - 'twas a most pleasant trip despite the hazy conditions. Not to mention a wee bout of stomach upset... my own fault, think I shouldn't have eaten the rice ball that fell on the table. :P yeah, extreme cheapskate, me. Don't want to waste food!
Anyway, it's in the news that the new Chief Minister of Melaka wants to stop the weekend night market at Jonker St. where the road (and by lanes) are closed to traffic on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. He says it's a trial for 1 month to help alleviate traffic...
Of course, both sides of the political divide have gone to town on this - DAP saying that this is typical UMNO petty style to punish the Chinese while pro-BN blogs are crowing "serve you right" or to that effect - it was a lot ruder, of course, I've toned it down 'cos I'm classy that way, you see? hehe
Ok, so my take on the Jonker Walk market is that it's pretty ok.. nothing great, really but if the tourists like it, why close it? My personal preference for a good night market is that the street food has to be good and lots of variety but there wasn't much of it in Melaka, mostly just stalls selling knick-knacks. On the other hand, minimal food stalls ensures that the place is pretty clean - you know how Malaysian markets can get...
So back to the closure, the thing is that it is for a month - I suspect it has something to do with the upcoming fasting month but don't see how it is related. Also, on traffic congestion, we didn't face any traffic problems even though it was a Friday evening and Friday traffic in KL is a bloody nightmare, not so in Melaka.. so the justification to have the street reopened doesn't seem to hold much water.
As usual, the best way should be to compromise - why not close the street on Friday and Saturday only. Sunday night is probably a bust anyway because the local & Singaporean tourists would have started heading home that afternoon. So keep it to 2 nights instead of 3 la... why create such a stink about it? Both sides also stupid one... sheesh...
Anyway, it's in the news that the new Chief Minister of Melaka wants to stop the weekend night market at Jonker St. where the road (and by lanes) are closed to traffic on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. He says it's a trial for 1 month to help alleviate traffic...
Of course, both sides of the political divide have gone to town on this - DAP saying that this is typical UMNO petty style to punish the Chinese while pro-BN blogs are crowing "serve you right" or to that effect - it was a lot ruder, of course, I've toned it down 'cos I'm classy that way, you see? hehe
Ok, so my take on the Jonker Walk market is that it's pretty ok.. nothing great, really but if the tourists like it, why close it? My personal preference for a good night market is that the street food has to be good and lots of variety but there wasn't much of it in Melaka, mostly just stalls selling knick-knacks. On the other hand, minimal food stalls ensures that the place is pretty clean - you know how Malaysian markets can get...
So back to the closure, the thing is that it is for a month - I suspect it has something to do with the upcoming fasting month but don't see how it is related. Also, on traffic congestion, we didn't face any traffic problems even though it was a Friday evening and Friday traffic in KL is a bloody nightmare, not so in Melaka.. so the justification to have the street reopened doesn't seem to hold much water.
As usual, the best way should be to compromise - why not close the street on Friday and Saturday only. Sunday night is probably a bust anyway because the local & Singaporean tourists would have started heading home that afternoon. So keep it to 2 nights instead of 3 la... why create such a stink about it? Both sides also stupid one... sheesh...
Comments