five day floating market

after crossing inle lake

the first thing we did was explore the

five day floating market.

this particular market is located 

somewhere different on the lake

every day of the week.

we had a lot of fun

wandering through the many little alley ways,

finding something small to snack on,

and visiting with locals that knew english very well.

at every booth we were requested to "just looking",

so we spent over an hour visiting nearly every booth,

seeing the unique and intricately handmade goods at the market.

we then got back into the boat and were taken to visit

the workshops where all of these goods were actually made,

in little huts on stilts on the outskirts of the lake...

( more on that next time, for now just some shots form the five day market)

-e

approaching the floating market

these were called "market bags" and EVERYONE had one

this little shop was fascinating with all the local fishermen inspecting, choosing, and bargaining for new paddles

something familiar in a world of unfamiliar things

the famous myanmar betel nut being made into little bits for chewing

the "streets" of the market (the roofs pictured here are just a little over 5 feet tall so the entire time at this market we were crouching and trying not to whack our heads)

mandalay :: zegyo market

after some quality time in yangon

steven and i took another overnight bus

to mandalay.

we were quite nervous and had a hard time sleeping

but after a while we realized

overnight buses in myanmar are worlds better then those in thailand.

expect for the burmese music videos playing at full volume

the entire night...

the first thing we did when we got to mandalay

was check out the zegyo market.

this market is where locals and tourists

go for everything.

there are food stalls, jewelers, fabric shops, herbal remedies, and everything in between. 

we spent a good half day here

taking in the sights, smells, and flavors of mandalay...

-e

there are just a couple bikes and scooters in this town...

walking around the streets of myanmar you'd think this country was terribly violent with blood splattered everywhere. you'd soon realize that this is spit from people who chew betel nut.

soi 38 night market

we somehow got lucky and

ended up staying at this great hostel in bangkok.

one of the best features was the fact that it was located

on the same street as the soi 38 night market. 

after 5pm half of the block gets crowded with street 

vendors selling incredible food and drink.

we ate here every night for three days and we never regretted it...

-e

i'll never get sick of mangos

duck and dumpling soup

duck over rice with chinese cabbage

mango with coconut sticky rice. i ate this... several times...

the lady who is smiling recognized me and would start preparing one every time she saw me!