Shopping at Padang Besar

Padang Besar, Perlis

Padang Besar is actually at the Malaysia-Thailand border. Most people come here to shop for stuffs like snacks, junk food, titbits, clothes, sports wear, toys, handbags, fruits, slippers, home decor and all kinds of souvenirs. The things sold here have the Thai and Muslim influence.

A shop selling toys and pillows in Padang Besar

This was our first time stepping into Padang Besar. Basically, we reached Padang Besar shopping area by following Padang Besar signboards along the road from Kangar town. It was a Sunday, so that explained the traffic jam and the crowd around the shopping area. 

Wind chimes and home decor made of seashells

I found that this place bore the resemblance to Chowrasta market in Penang but it was much bigger. The shopping area was made up of three distinct sections: the non air-conditioned complex, rows of shops along the road to the complex and a single-storey market with Malay eating outlets. 

Plants and flowers for sale at the market 

Local fruit stalls at the market

First, we surveyed the area and looked for places to eat our lunch. We had late lunch again. There was a row of a few rice stalls and those places were packed. We stood and waited for seats. We had to share table with others. Actually, everyone there was sharing tables. We ordered two plates of chicken rice and two fresh coconuts. The fresh coconut was RM 4 each while a plate of chicken rice (with a piece of chicken) and a bowl of soup cost RM 5. Overall, we found the food here was not that cheap.

Fresh coconut and chicken rice

Next, we walked around the marketplace. There were many stalls selling nuts, titbits, junk food and crackers. We really did not know which stalls to buy from. Well, we happened to pass by a stall and a Muslim lady shopkeeper with headscarf called out to us to try her cashew nuts. Since she looked friendly, we tried the cashew nuts and they were very fragrant and crunchy. We bought a pack of salted cashew nut for RM 18 (about 500gm) and another pack of cashew nut covered with white sesame for RM 15. She also let us try the keropok (crackers). They were crunchy although she only kept them in a big plastic bag with a big clip on top. We bought some black pepper fish crackers, tapioca crackers with seaweed and also banana crackers in spices. She was selling three packets for RM 9. It was cheaper than other stalls. She offered to pack them for us.

A plethora of crackers and junk food are sold here

A word of caution when buying the crunchy crackers: do not buy the ready packs as they may have been packed some time ago and have become rancid. Another reason is they only stapled the pack and not properly sealed. This is our experience. We bought a ready pack and a newly packed of fish cracker. We found that the ready pack fish crackers were rancid and not crunchy.

The peanuts in tins are from Thailand. It is RM 5 per tin. 

The shopping complex was not air-conditioned. It was hot and we were sweating. So, we just quickly window shopped and left. Mostly, the clothes sold had long sleeves so we did not find them very suitable for Malaysia hot weather.

Clothes stalls in the Padang Besar complex

Colorful artificial flowers and home decoration

Trendy costume jewellery of different patterns to match your mood and style

Then, we walked to the rows of shops outside the complex. The things sold here were almost the same as inside the complex. I was interested in the ladies slippers. They were so colourful and cute. I finally bought a pair at RM 10. I did not bargain as I thought it was cheap.

Oh...my cute slippers.
Can you guess which one I bought?

After that, we walked back to our car which was parked along the roadside opposite the fire brigade. So, no parking fee incurred. In sum, if you have not been here, it is worth an experience. The things here are all so colourful and can be cheaper than those in Perlis' supermarkets and shops.

We then drove to our next stop, which was Gua Kelam, the famous limestone cave.

* Some food and snacks we had bought along the way. We bought them from the Gurun R&R  highway stop.

Kedah bread for RM3.50

It was still hot when we ate it. Chicken, egg and some vegetables with chilli sauce and mayonnaise in it.
Not bad...

Kerepek kaduk or betel leaf crackers. It's tasty and crunchy.

It is called sagon which is made of coconut.
A sweet treat.