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Photo of the Day: Dalat Central Market

potd-daletcentralmarket.jpg

Dalat Central Market in Dalet, Vietnam looks like a produce lover's dreamland. Photographer Jen Maiser suggests viewing it large for the full effect.

4 Comments:

Oh my lord, that is MAGNIFICENT. I want to call a travel agent, pronto!

I travel a lot in Asia and Europe and one of my favorite things to do is to visit the local markets. I was in Budapest this summer and spent a wonderful hour roaming the stalls and tasting bits and pieces. Why don't Americans do this? Or do they and I just don't know where to find them?

More than a decade ago, when I was living in Singapore, these sort of markets used to be commonplace. It's fantastic---lots to see (and smell), you get to talk to vendors who are really passionate about their food cos' they've been doing it all their life---some of these little stores are passed on from parent to child. Imagine meeting a vendor who knew your grandma when she was a young woman shopping at the same market. You also get a sense of connection to the food you're buying. Before the avian flu in Asia, markets kept live chickens in cages and you would choose which one you wanted, and the bird would be feathered and cleaned and ready in about 1/2 hour. Sorry vegetarians.
These markets are getting pulled down to make way for modern supermarkets, and IMHO it's really a shame.

Thanks for the shout out. I loved the markets in Vietnam. I took this shot from the upstairs level, which was all prepared food booths. Probably spent 2-3 hours total just wandering this place.

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