Mustafa Mustafa Dont Worry Mustafa !

In my earlier post titled “Cooler Coach Run”, I had mentioned Mustafa Shopping Complex, where the only 24 hour Money exchange counter is available at Singapore, barring star hotels, which provide the same service albeit at not so attractive exchange rates, I am told Mustafa, offers one of the best exchange rates in Singapore.

Two things stand out at when you enter the mouth of Serangoon Road. One is the Bustling Crowd and about 500 meters down the road, on the Right Hand side, Serangoon Plaza, emblazoned with the Sign board, Mohammed Mustafa & Shamsudeen Co Pte Ltd., Festooned with colored Neon, screaming for attention. And rising majestically, like a behemoth surrounded by its minion (plenty of 24 hours food outlets) stands a building, which is a cross between a shop house and a high rise, that’s Houses Mustafa.

There are many entrances to Mustafa, the most popular one is on Syed Alwi Road, where a steady stream of Shoppers go in and out 24/7, 52 weeks and 365 days a year. It’s a fantastic place to People watch, if you are into that kind of thing. The clientele is mainly Indian, Bangladeshi , Sri Lankan and/or from the Indian Sub-continent.

Researching on this blog post, I trudged the internet for some inspiration and was surprised to find over 69 pages of Google references to Mustafa Singapore! and 893,000 Entries ! Then I realized what a gargantuan, task I have undertaken, so many people have written about this 24 hour Mega Mall.

As far as i know the only thing you cannot get in Mustafa is a Haircut!! And I wonder how long that would be. You can get everything from Grocery the Hi Fi Music Systems, from Milk Duds to Diamonds, from Fast Food to Visa Processing and Airline tickets, From Toothpicks to Jewellery!! You can even get a Massage! In Mustafa! Check out the high pressure water massager gizmo !!

A few inside facts about Mustafa – (Disclaimer) may or may not be true since I heard these a from friend of a friend !

Let’s look at a sample case scenario. Wife is employed as a nurse in Singapore, husband is a qualified software engineer (as half the educated populace in India are)! They have been married over a year, and separated due to work spot and their families are wondering was it any good to have taken a BAHU, (a daughter-in-law) who is working in Singapore , while the Son is in India….What do you do? You take a Visit Visa to Singapore, once you are here, you apply for a Dependent Pass, if your wife is a PR or has the eligibility to support you with a Dependent Pass, then Head to Mustafa’s Personnel department, where 9 out of 10, you are sure to land a job in the sprawling Mega Mall!

Being a Qualified Software Engineer, you wouldn’t stick around to make a career out of Mustafa, serving the aisles or in inventory or in accounts, you keep trying until you land a plum job in some software company. Mustafa is the stepping stone to the Singapore Dream to many an Indian/Bangladeshi who is chasing the same. Also works well for wives of Software Engineers who are already here on Employment Permits and as PR.

There are just 2 things that is the bane of Mustafa,

Customer Service – do not expect customer service from Software engineers, looking to jump out of Mustafa at any given moment or for that matter a housewife, who did not expect to come to Singapore to work the aisles of Mustafa.

Presentation – do not expect a orchard road boutique presentation, the best of brand are in heaps and dumps – just check out the Ready made garments section.

All said and done, it is still the favorite place for me to shop at 2 AM in the morning, and get everything under the sun …I mean the moon (at this ungodly hour it has to be the moon!) under one roof. Well Except may be just one thing, I won’t be able to get is the Haircut!

The Cooler Coach Run !

Landing at Singapore – by Coach
Time 6.00 AM

Date: Sometime in 2003

Location: The HDB Block opposite Golden Mile Complex

My back was sore, sitting for 6 hours in a threadbare seat of a so-called "Coach” (a euphemism for a Freezer box on wheels, with funny smelly seats) that plies between Kualalumpur and Singapore. I was based in Malaysia at the time and my Boss had suggested, i make a business trip to Singapore by "Coach" due to the fact at that point of time the KL-SIN Route by Aircraft was the sole Domain of SIA and MAS! and a one way Air fare was SGD 300+ ! while by "Coach" it was SGD 30.00

My Bladder was full, thanks to the ice water spewing, Alaska weather challenging "Air Con" of the "Coach", which was directly on top of my head, throughout the 6 hour journey. I was hungry as a whale, as i groggily, got off the bus to encounter an enormous hulk of a building. Totally confused I tried to get me to my bearings, Bleary eyed and Groggy, the first thing I was looking for was a Toilet!

I made a wild guess that there should be one inside the Golden Mile Complex, but the problem was i was on the opposite side of the road! And there is no way i could dash across the road, to reach the complex. I lugged my heavy trolley bag up a flight of stairs crossed over the road, on an over-bridge and down the stairs again, all the time keeping an eye on my pants, lest I make a mess of myself.

Somehow I made it to the Golden Mile Complex – After finding a toilet inside the “Golden” Mile Complex, I was thankful to escape out of the building which by now was stirring up with life, I walked on down outside to the side-walk just outside the building and realized that I was carrying only Ringgit Malaysia (the currency of Malaysia) and looked for a Money Changer at that early hour. As much as I dreaded a trip back into Golden Mile Complex, I had no choice, I walked backed to the building and found 2 or 3 establishments, which displayed – Money Changer, Tukar Wang and something in Mandarin, all shutters closed!

Next door to the shuttered money changer a old Indian Muslim gentleman, was opening his newspaper and magazine shop, seeing him I hoped that, I could ask the Old gentleman for Singapore Dollars in lieu of the Ringgit I was holding, I approached him and propositioned that I give him RM (Ringgit Malaysia) for whatever Exchange rate he deemed fit, in exchange for Singapore Dollars. He looked at me as if I was out of my mind! I explained to him that I was not a frequent traveler to Singapore, and had forgotten to change the currency and since I needed to first get a taxi, to reach my Hotel Room, at the New park Hotel, which was somewhere in a Place called Little India.

He shook his head ruefully at my plight, offered no Currency, but advice. He pointed towards Jalan Sultan and said, if I follow the signboard down that road, it will lead me to a Street Called Syed Alwi Street and to place called :Mustafa, (More on Mustafa – Later) , where I can find a Money Changer which is open 24 hours ! I thanked the old man, and asked him how far it was, and he said – “Oh, it’s just down the road” maybe 5 to 10 minutes. I thanked him once again and headed off towards Jalan Sultan, I ended up walking nearly 5 kilometers, through a maze of side streets until I finally spotted Mustafa Shamsudeen and Sons Pte Ltd.

To my surprise, the place was bustling with people, 7.30 AM in the morning! I was thinking to myself, what people shop for at 7.30 AM. In any case, I was directed to Basement 2 of Mustafa where I spotted a small counter with the Money Changer Signboard. Once I finished Changing the currency, I asked the sleepy gentleman behind the counter (who I suspected must have had a sleepless night as myself) for the directions to New Park Hotel. “It is Just behind our building” he directed me. However suspecting I would have to walk another 5 kilometers, I spotted a Taxi stand outside Mustafa/Serangoon Plaza and joined the queue, which was quite long even at that early hour. As we inched, towards the end of the Taxi Queue, I asked the gentleman in front of me at the queue, where was New Park Hotel? And was stared at as if I was out of my Mind the second time, in a few hours! But by the time he could answer it was his turn to board the taxi and he boarded the taxi, still giving me that “Are you out of your mind” Look and left. Leaving me, with a “Am I out of my mind” look.

When it was my turn to board the taxi, I hefted my heavy trolley bag, which I had been trailing around since the past 2 hours, on to the boot of the car, and got into the comfy confines of the taxi, and heard a cheerful, “Hello! Good morning! Where you going to “? I threw my head back on the cushions in the back seat of the cab, and told the driver, “New Park Hotel Please”. The Driver was just sitting there, looking at me on the rearview mirror, with the same “Are you out of your mind” look. He asked me,” are you sure” ? I was reaching the end of my tether, but still managed a smile and a tired “Yes”.

He jumped out of the taxi, walked to the back of the vehicle, opened the boot and pulled out my trolley bag suitcase, dreading I must have transgressed some terrible thing, I gingerly stepped out of the taxi, he walked me 5 paces and pointed at a building, just behind Mustafa, which had a big fancy signboard announcing it was the New Park Hotel!

I walked to the hotel, presented my passport, signed the register, took the room key all in a Zombie state, I did not know how I reached the room, all I remember was the sheets were white and soft and inviting. Exhausted I hit the Sack and Slept.