Riverside

I headed into New Westminster’s Riverside Markets where once a variety of vibrant shops brought life to a complex similar to Grandville Markets. But most of those retailers had gone.

Grandville Island Markets

One large wrought iron building housed the markets. Fresh produce smacked me in the eye with radiant colours; jewellery sparkled from overhead lights; and the aroma of soaps wafted over me as I meandered around stalls.

Tanzania’s Fresh Food

Photo courtesy: Duniasikuzote — Wikimedia Commons

When I lived in Dar es Salaam, there were often shortages due to factory equipment breaking down or a lack of foreign exchange to import certain goods.

After nine months of abstinence, there’d be Kenyan cheese in the shops for a couple of weeks; or someone warned we should stock up on matches or toilet paper because parts for a broken piece of machinery would take months to arrive.

Foods I’d never tried (or maybe wouldn’t)

I didn’t notice any fruits or vegetables I hadn’t seen before as I wandered through Hanoi’s Old Quarter. As for meats, I didn’t want to go there, especially after walking past barbequed dog. When I approached brains or large chunks of meaty red legs, I looked the other way.

Not just banh beo

One of the joys of travelling for me is food, especially in Asia. So while I sat savouring banh beo, another Vietnamese dish, I heard four English girls order chips and cokes. I thought to myself, why are they bothering to leave England if not to try something new?

Hoi An’s market

 

I stepped inside yet another yellow building where I’d never been amongst so many people.  Along with shoppers who were obviously buying for the following day’s Tet feast, I crawled at a snail’s pace.

Mui Ne Markets

A wander early in the morning meant shade on one side of the road before the heat set in but the traffic was already seething up the main drag.