One of the best ways to know the local people is to visit the wet market as early as 5.30 in the morning and mingle with them. These hardworking farmers and vegetable sellers are up and about in this market as early as 3 a.m. Most of the vegetable sellers belong to the Minorities Peoples of China.
It is nice to wake up early and welcome the world at the start of its day!! And you can also whistle..."What a lovely morning.." or sing like Elisa Doolittle (My Fair Lady)....
The gourd (boo) here is slender like cucumber. There are many shapes of gourds here. (In fact one minority tribe worships the Gourd Goddess as many gourds have the shape of a female body - read my future posting on this).
So early in the morning no wonder this lady is yawning away. It is invigorating to meet up with local tribal people who bring their vegetables to this market for sale. You can see how wonderful it is for them to earn cash which promise them a better future when they have saved up enough!!
Buying vegetables from a small cart. To me it is always a joy to be part of this kind of buying and selling - a good bargain for the early morning woman - who will then go home to cook a nice meal for the family with love and greater hopes for the future. Life can't be better in places similar to this.
Lovely young green pumpkins and chillies....When one can pick and choose to one's heart's content the freshes of vegetables - life - God and Man are
More young pumpkins and bamboo shoots. July is the bamboo shoot season in Yunnan..but actually there are so many kinds of bamboos in China that they are available throughout the year. In Winter you have Winter Bamboo etc.
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| Pumpkin flowerss are favourites here and you can just have a pumpkin flower omelette for lunch or a soup with the omelette slices in it.. |
San Yaw (Mountain Medicine) or Ubi Belaya as it is called in Brunei and Northern Sarawak is plentiful here. It is sliced and boiled in soup...and is very nourishing for our bodies.It is always served in a plate ready for a hot pot meal in Yunnan.
Mou Tou - or Edamame...very good for our health if eaten in moderation. Just boil in salty water. No oil is needed and it is a meal by itself. Edamame is also called young green soy bean.
As I walked away from an invigorating tour of the vegetable market I continued to reflect on how hard working these women were. There were so few men around. Could they still be sleeping? Or are they smoking somewhere in the corner?
Perhaps more women are better in business than their men folks.
6 comments:
5.30am? Is that very early?
men maybe in the big city working in a contruction site !
The market is already open at 3.00. So going there about 5.30 is good. In fact all the purchasing officers / owners of the eating stalls and restaurants are already there to make good bargains!!
I am no ordinary tourist!!
Anonymous...I am sure they are doing something worth while.... But I heard from the locals here most married couples work together.
San Yaw (Mountain Medicine) or Ubi Belaya is it the DAI SHU or big "potato?
No Ann..it is a special potato...you can get them in special packets in the Chinese drug stores and they are white slender pieces - very biscuit like. They taste nice in hot pots. (only in China though).
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