By Gan Ling Kai
GEYLANG was in a bit of a slump.
The authorities had clamped down on illegal activities including vice and gambling.
On June 11, police ended an island-wide operation which also involved Geylang.
More than 160 people were arrested for vice-related activities.
Business in the infamous red-light district slowed to a crawl.
Then came the World Cup, which Geylang's businesses claimed has revived their fortunes.
Indeed, running the 5Cs in the area have benefited the most from the football fever, they said.
Cheap hotels
Business for these properties has picked up - whether they are the smaller Hotel 6 and Hotel Darlene or the bigger chains such as Fragrance Hotel and Hotel 81.
Mr Chu Poh Yong, the 42-year-old general manager of Hotel 81 chain, said: "Business has increased because guests in four of our 11 branches in Geylang can watch the World Cup on cable TV in their rooms."
But the scene at the other seven branches, also in Geylang but without World Cup extras, has been "normal".
Mr William Sim, 57, the executive director of the Fragrance Group, linked the influx of guests to CommunicAsia2010, a trade fair held at Singapore Expo from June 15 to 18.
"We have more customers because of the exhibition. (Tourists) may stay in our hotels at Geylang because the rates are lower here."
Budget hotels - which mostly offer a transit rate of $20 for two hours and a night's stay at about $70 - are not the only ones seeing a spike in business in Geylang.
Clubs
Clubs that screen the World Cup get more business than those that don't.
But No Name Karaoke at Lorong 27 went a step further to make sure that customers flocked to them.
The hostesses don jerseys of the international and English football teams, with short skirts and shorts to match.
Mr Stanley Chua, 39, the receptionist at the club, told The New Paper on Sunday that the club's 16 rooms offer live TV coverage of the World Cup.
He said that the set-up cost "a few thousands of dollars".
Jerseys for the 20 Chinese girls were sponsored by a beer company, he added.
Business has improved, he said. In the past, there were about 100 customers each night.
Now, there are about 10 per cent more, he said.
"Customers find the girls' uniform refreshing," said Mr Chua.
Three other nightclubs nearby said business has declined for them: That's right, none of them screen the World Cup.
Mr Pua Ah Huat, a counter staff at Paramount Music Lounge, said earnings have dropped by nearly 20 per cent since the tournament kicked off.
"The football fans won't come here. There's no screening," said Mr Pua, in his 40s.
Coffee shops
Screening the World Cup - or not - affects coffee shops too.
Takings have gone down at popular Eminent Frog Porridge, located at a Lorong 19 coffee shop.
Its owner, Mr Jeffery Lu, 33, reckons it's partly because the coffee shop doesn't screen the World Cup matches.
"In the past, we sold about 200 frogs daily. Now it has dropped by about 30 per cent.
"Our operating hours (5pm to 4am daily) clash with the timings of the matches," said Mr Lu.
Cafe 512, which screens the matches, said business is better now but declined to give numbers.
Supervisor Zhang Guo Xian, 25, said that customers must spend at least $8 on food and drinks to occupy the tables nearest to its three TV sets.
Call girls
The football matches kick off at 7.30pm, 10pm or 2.30am on most days till July 12.
Pimps make their move in between the matches.
The New Paper on Sunday witnessed a pimp offering his catalogue of 11 Thai women to customers at a coffee shop in Lorong 10.
It took him only a few minutes to snag a deal.
There were women walking the streets too.
Shasa, a 19-year-old from Malaysia, said four men approached her in four hours outside a coffee shop at Lorong 23 on Wednesday night.
The fair-skinned girl, who usually plies her trade in Chinatown, said: "I came to Geylang because of the World Cup."
Convenience stores
Three out of the four stores we approached in the area said that sales has spiked, thanks to the once-in-four-years event.
7-Eleven dominates the Geylang convenience store scene with 13 outlets.
Mr Mohd Noor, 25, who works in one of the outlets at Lorong 19, said that about 100 customers patronise the store from 7pm to 3am daily.
That's about 20 per cent more than before, he said.
"They are mainly here to buy beer and snacks. One guy on (Tuesday night) even spent more than $170 at one go. That's rare.
"In the past, we can take a breather on occasion, but there's no time for that now," he added.
But a 7-Eleven spokesman said that it's too soon to confirm the World Cup's impact on sales.
So what is it about Geylang?
"Geylang is the place to watch the world go by.
"Here, you can see the beautiful and the ugly. Nothing is pretentious," said Mr Tan, 60, a semi-retired businessman, who hangs out in coffee shops and KTV lounges there with his retiree friends.
Mr SP Tan, a customer in another coffee shop, put it more bluntly.
The 52-year-old salesman of used computers said that Geylang has all three of his favourite things:
"I'm here to watch football, drink beer and to look at women."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
