You can learn an enormous amount about a place by what is being sold in its market. You can find out what fruits are in season and whether the people prefer cheese to yogurt. You'll see that the mountain tribespeople hold safety pins in high esteem but seem to have no use for zippers...
I usually take an entire morning to cruise through the markets after I arrive in a country (or city). It gives me a feel for the place, let's me know what I'll be eating for the foreseeable future, allows me to interact with locals... and it's fun.
SURVIVAL TIPS
 | If you have a guide, let him bargain for you. The price will come down dramatically (see bargaining) |
| The market in Vietnam is a place for social interaction - exchanging gossip, courtship, business deals. This is particularly true of the mountain tribespeople weekend markets. |
| The market is a fantastic place to take photos. |
| If you are going to be in the same place for a while, try to develop a relationship with one particular vendor. She will quickly come to recognize you, smile, and save you your favorite foods. |
| Marketplaces are the hunting grounds of pickpockets, particularly children. Do not carry a lot of stuff around your neck and be very aware of your money. I leave everything behind when I'm going to the market except my camera (which I carry slung around my neck with one hand tucked under the lens) and a few dollars. Those bulging waist-belt money carriers are just asking to be slit from below and emptied. |
| I always eat in the marketplace. Yes, I sometimes get diarrhea. I think it's worth it. |
Back to "Life in Vietnam"
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"There wasn't much happening at the marketplace this late in the afternoon. The best sugarcane sticks had long ago disappeared in the hands of eagle-eyed children with stumpy brown teeth. Bread was on the verge of going stale and in another hour would drop to half price. The resident pig had spent the morning dragging his fifty-kilo belly from stall to stall in search of scraps and now snored monotonously in one corner. It was too early to spectate the slow-motion slugging matches that occasionally erupted from the nearby drinking dens once the sun went down." Excerpt from Hitchhiking Vietnam
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