Saigon Street Scenes

Saigon, or rather Ho Chi Minh City as it is called now, is a wonderful place for observing street life. It is a vibrant Asia city where many activities occur on the street from peddling goods to preparation and eating of a multitude of foods. Many years ago the bicycle was the king here but this has now been replaced by the motorcycle which predominates the traffic in the city. On Sundays people simply cruise the streets on the motorbikes and it is a real challenge to actually cross the road given the density of the bike traffic. The trick is to slowly, but positively, walk out into the street and the bikes will part and move around you ..... that theory has held up for me so far!!

Flea Market

During the Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) celebrations in Amsterdam you can see many people selling items on the streets. This lady had staked out a good location on one of the bridges over a canal and was trying to sell a large array of clothing. I liked her comfortable cross-legged pose set off nicely with the cigarette in her hand.

Koninginnedag is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt ("free market" or flea market), at which many Dutch sell their secondhand items. It is also an opportunity for "orange madness" or oranjegekte, for the national colour, when the normally straight-laced Dutch let down their hair, often dyed orange for the occasion.

Pasar Malam

Pasar malam is an Malay and Indonesian word that literally means night market, "pasar" being related to "bazaar" in Persian. A pasar malam is a street market in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia that opens in the evening, usually in residential neighbourhoods.

It brings together a collection of stalls that usually sell goods such as fruits, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, shoes, alarm clocks, and ornaments at cheap or at least reasonable prices. Pirated DVDs, CDs and computer software are often sold at a pasar malam. A pasar malam often takes place only one to a few days of the week, as the traders rotate around different neighbourhoods on different days of the week. Haggling over prices is a common practice at such markets.

Pasar Malam are often differentiated by ethnicity. A Malay pasar malam will often contain stalls selling Islamic books, kopiah hats, sarongs and other Malay specialty items. Chinese pasar malam may sell Mah Jong sets, incense, joss sticks, joss paper and various Chinese prayer supplies. Indian pasar malam may contain Hindu prayer supplies

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Yummy Yam

Another image from the back streets of the Old City in Shanghai showing the yam (or sweet potato) seller in action.

Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae). These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania. There are many cultivars of yam.

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) has traditionally been referred to as a yam in parts of the United States and Canada, but it is not part of the Dioscoreaceae family.

Although it is unclear which came first, the word yam is related to Portuguese inhame or Spanish ñame, which both ultimately derive from the Wolof word nyam, meaning "to sample" or "taste"; in other African languages it can also mean "to eat", e.g. yamyam and doya in Hausa or "to chew" in Dholuo language of the Luo of Kenya and Northern Tanzania.

There are over 100 ethnic groups and languages in Nigeria, and each has different language names for Yam, "Isu" is the Yoruba translation or "Iyan" when it has been prepared to be consumed as a main course for dinner. The yam is a versatile vegetable which has various derivative products after process, it can be barbecued; roasted; fried; grilled; boiled; smoked and when grated it is processed into a dessert recipe. Yams are the staple crop of the Igbo people of Nigeria, in their language it is known as ji, and they commemorate it by having yam festivals known as Iri-ji or Iwa-Ji depending on the dialect.

Yam tubers can grow up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and weigh up to 70 kg (154 lb).

The vegetable has a rough skin which is difficult to peel, but which softens after heating. The skins vary in color from dark brown to light pink. The majority of the vegetable is composed of a much softer substance known as the "meat". This substance ranges in color from white or yellow to purple or pink in ripe yams.

Yams are a primary agricultural commodity in West Africa and New Guinea. They were first cultivated in Africa and Asia about 8000 B.C. Due to their abundance and consequently, their importance to survival, the yam was highly regarded in Nigerian ceremonial culture and used as a vegetable offered during blessings.

Yams are still important for survival in these regions. The tubers can be stored up to six months without refrigeration, which makes them a valuable resource for the yearly period of food scarcity at the beginning of the wet season.

Yams are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Palpifer sordida.

The Fruit Seller

A colourful array of local fruits being sold in the local market in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. This was midday on a very hot day so the lighting conditions were difficult. By ducking under the awning over the stall I managed to capture this image with the light dappling through the straw roof onto the lady's outfit.

The Markt

The Markt ("Market Square") of Bruges is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 hectare. Some historical highlights around the square include the 12th-century belfry and the Provincial Court (originally the Waterhall, which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building that from 1850 served as provincial court and after a fire in 1878 was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1887. In the center of the market stands the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck.

In 1995 the market was completely renovated. Parking in the square was removed and the area became mostly traffic-free, thus being more celebration friendly. The renovated market was reopened in 1996 with a concert by Helmut Lotti.

Around the Markt are numerous restaurants, cafes and bars where you can sit and take in the sights of the many historic medieval buildings and sample some of the Belgian food and beer.

Siem Reap Sausages

The New Market (Phsar Leu Thom Thmei) in Siem Reap, Cambodia is a great place to explore and see a wide variety of fresh meats and vegetables.  The word Phsar means Market, Leu means Upper, Thom mean Large and Thmei means New. Now this market is very popular and crowded. It is located about 2 km from Siem Reap, on the right side of National Road #6 when travelling from west to east.

Meat Market

There are two meanings for "meat market":

1. a market where meat is sold
2. a place for a casual sexual encounter

.... now .... why did you click on this link!!

This photo was taken at the Old Market in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I love the uncanny stare from the pig's head and the sharpened cleaver at the ready for the next bit of meat butchering.

Cambodian Hairdressing Salon

Right in the middle of the New Market in Siem Reap I came across this hairdressing salon. So as well as doing your daily or weekly shopping you could stop by and get your hair done. How convenient.

Katoey at the Chiang Rai Night Market

This could be a photo in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro during carnival time ... but it's actually a couple of katoey (or lady boys) at the night market in Chiang Rai, Thailand making their way flamboyantly through the crowds after their cabaret show on the stage.

Hold up in Chiang Rai Night Market

I was standing in the night market in Chiang Rai, patiently waiting on my wife who was shopping in some trinket shop when i turned to see a guy holding up a woman at gunpoint. I also quickly realised that the woman was selling a collection of wooden toy guns and this customer was just playing the fool with one of her products, as you can see from the expressions of the onlookers.

Butcher's Breaktime

This butcher in the market in Siem Reap, Cambodia had a unique technique for taking a break during the busy day .... a hammock strung over the meat table! Simple, ingenious ... but perhaps not particularly hygienic.

Two Pigs Heads

Shot this image of two pigs heads at the old market in Siem Reap, Cambodia where you can buy a huge range of fresh meat, vegetables, spices as well as many local handicrafts.

Steve McCurry's "Afghan Girl" Spotted in Chiang Rai

They sometimes say that you know you are a success when your product is mimicked, copied or cloned but for the first time I saw this taken to a new level during a trip to Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand. As I wandered through the night market in Chiang Rai I couldn't help but notice an artist's work displayed on one of the roadside stalls with an all-too-familiar image. 

Steve McCurry's iconic image of Sharbat Gula, the "Afghan Girl", is world famous since it's first publication on the front cover of National Geographic Magazine in June 1985 (shown below for reference) and is the "most recognized photograph" in the history of the National Geographic Magazine. I am actually proud to say I have my own copy of this photograph purchased from the Steve McCurry Studio which is displayed in my photo studio.

Original Photograph ©Steve McCurry

The very next day during another outing to the upper stretches of the Kok River we had lunch in a simple riverside hut after an elephant trek and in this small, simple restaurant they were also selling local handicrafts and some paintings. Imagine my surprise when yet again Steve McCurry's "Afghan Girl" popped up .... this time in a rather more hideous form as you can see.