Morning at the Farmers Market

 April 23, 2026

Good morning Friends and Family, 

This morning I went to the farmers market about 3 blocks from my apartment.  Of course, the 7-11, the farmers market and Tops are ALL on the other side of a busy 4-lane city street and there is a divider so I have to walk along the street (no sidewalk) until I can cross it and then loop back down to go to the desired location.  I've mentioned that you must have your head on a swivel when walking here and I do; however, I was not expecting someone to back into me.  Quickly said- I'm fine, not even a bruise.  I was passing the front of a bank and walked past a car with a driver parked parallel to the bank on the street.  I edged around the car and was walking behind it, when HE PUT IT IN REVERSE!!  Fortunately, he did not gun it.  Now, I probably scared the dickens out of him as I hit the trunk of his car with a hard slap of my hand and hollered "Hey".  I briefly saw his face and he looked pretty terrified.  I gave him a wave and kept going. Geesh- I didn't think I had to swivel my head 360 degrees but after this morning- looks like it. 

Yesterday, I described the farmers market as probably 2 city blocks in size.  Well, I walked around the circumfrence of it this morning and it is most definitely closer to 3.  Plus, there are a multitude of shops surrounding the outside perimeter with parking lots and  narrow streets connecting this enclave with the larger, busier road. 

I did get a late start and it was closer to 9AM when I went but I decided that today, I was going to buy a bit of this and that, knowing I will unlikely eat it all before it goes bad but it provides me a different kind of culinary experience. Why don't I just walk you through the pictures that I took today. Some are not close up as I do not purchase something at each "shop" and it seems disrespectful to take close up pictures and not purchase anything. 

 Truck delivering eggs. NO refrigeration. 

I thought this clever.  There were about 12 handwashing stations along the openings to the outside streets but no towels.

 

Raw meat is in its own section of the building with glass doors.  While not "cold", it is certainly cooler and all the workers were using gloves. As for replacing the gloves after touching the counters? Don't know. They sell meats of all kinds and that includes a great deal of organ meats. 

Below are just two of the many cooked fish shops.  The one on the left had 3 steamed fish in a basket, ready for pick up and enjoyment at 100 Baht= ~$3.00!  I purchased one of the grilled fish on the right. One fish was 60 Baht= ~ $0.85. Though it was not lunch time when I returned to the apartment, I decided the fish may not wait, even with refrigeration, so I had fish for a mid-morning snack! There were bones, but easy to pick out  The meat was light and flaky. Needed a bit more seasoning, but definitely good. 

 

Next up, vegetables.  They had this lovely looking display of cooked corn of at least four different varieties.  The veggie shop on the right had so many choices including plastic bags with a variety of vegetables, like we see in the US for stir fry.  So, I picked up one of those. Later, I'm going to go to the cafe in our building and pick up some fried rice and will add the veggies, once I've cooked them with a bit of soy sauce. Though I didn't take a picture, roast sweet potatoes are a HUGE deal over here.  They look like Japanese sweet potatoes, a bit longer and more narrow than their chunky US cousins. 

Pork belly!  This shop specializes in pork and its where I got the pork belly last week.  They cook the pork belly on hooks inside these very large clay pots.  The seasoning and smell are wonderful. 

 

There are multiple shops that specialize in spices and others in sweets.  Below left is picture of one such spice shop.  Most of the spices ranged from $0.50 to $3.00.  Very affordable. The air was heady with the scents. I keep reminding myself of my luggage weight or I'd be coming home with spices!  The sweets were quite lovely and artistic. Again, took a pass as I am not much of a sweets person but I certainly appreciate the effort that goes into these creations. 

For these last three pictures, I'm leaving them rather large so that you can catch all the details. While there are multiple hot-food counters, this lady was doing a bang up business.  I had to wait for two people to be served and there are four others behind me at 9:30AM.  Just look at ALLLL the various dishes and salads.  What time did she get up to prepare all of this?  They do not pre-make, freeze and warm up foods over here.  Everything is made fresh. I decided to give it a go with one of the dishes.  For some Thai dishes, the spice factor is just too much for me. There is not enough Pepcid and Tums to keep my throat and stomach from feeling like I've cast them into a pit of fire.  So, look at just below, in the front, 3rd dish from the right. It looked like large meatballs swimming in a tomato base gravy with carrots, onion and pineapple.  I decided to give it a go. All in all, there were several dishes I am up for trying.  A very industrious woman.  Will have the meatball dish later today.  Fingers crossed! 

 

So here is my "haul" for the morning (below). I find pricing interesting.  Hence I share how much I spend on things. Starting at the top, going clockwise. 

Large grilled fish= $0.85

Tortilla chips with sweet chili sauce= $0.61

Meatball "soup"= $1.23

Chicken skewers (2 grilled w/ spices & 1 looks like "buffalo")= $1.00

Fried pork dumplings (I held up 3 fingers, meaning 3 dumplings, but I gather she thought that I meant 30 Baht's worth.  I wound up with 12 fried amazingly flaky and delicate pork dumlings)= $1.00

Roast pork belly= $2.15

Bag of "stir fry" vegetables= $0.85

And in the middle of the picture; Fried chicken wings (2)= $1.23

TOTAL= $6.77

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the "tour". 

Until the next entry.....

Stepping Off the Sidewalk..... Into New Adventures

Karen

Disclaimer: The content of my writing strictly represents my personal views and not those of the University of Florida, the U.S. government, the Department of State, or partner organizations.