Even at breakfast time we could sense the heat of the day to come so it was decided to visit the local market during the ‘cooler’ morning conditions. This proved to be a wise decision because even by midday the temperature was around 35°C.
Orchids at our hotel
We walked the two kilometres from our hotel to the market in New Bagan. Along the way there were several offers of rides from pony cart and motor-bike hire operators; all of which we resisted and continued the walk. On one section right next to the side of the main road two men were spreading out peanuts on a large tarpaulin presumably to dry in the sun. As vehicles went past the dust created would surely settle on their peanuts.
We eventually found the market area which was behind the shops that line the main road. The market is principally a produce market with fruit, vegetables, spices, nuts, eggs, grains, meat and fish for sale and we were pleased to find the local marketeers made no effort to hassle us or cajole us into buying their wares. In fact many of them said hello and there were pleasantries exchanged.
The range of fruits and vegetables on sale was extensive and included quite a number of things we’d never seen before. There were the prickly cucumbers for sale and these were what we had as one of our lunch dishes yesterday. The avocadoes were quite different from ours with their size being two or three times the standard we have in Australia. The very colourful collections of fruits and vegetables provides a great opportunity for us to take interesting photographs.
As is the case we’ve found in other countries, the meat market is always fascinating and usually a little confronting. There being no refrigeration and the conditions being hot meant that the meat and fish odours were strong and the flies on the various meats were numerous. The blood from the butchers’ tables was allowed to drip onto the floor below and as a consequence many of the local stray dogs were enjoying this special treat. We caught one dog jumping up so he could lick scraps off one butcher’s chopping block.
Chicken meat seemed to be the most popular but there were quite a few large fish on sale too. Dried fish seemed a common item on sale as well.
We then crossed the road and bought cold fruit drinks from the same restaurant where we’d had lunch yesterday.
We then walked home taking photos on the way of stupas just across from our hotel.
A cool shower followed by a swim in the pool provided some much desired relief from the oppressive heat and then the remainder of the afternoon was taken up with us catching up on downloading and checking photographs, reading emails, sending messages and just resting.
