thai market

I hopped off the ferry at a random location downriver,

and landed in the middle of a local market. 

perfection.  not a tourist in site.

the thai markets are a full sensory experience. 

space is tight, people are everywhere, there are foods of all kinds, and everything is for sale.

all of your senses are engaged:

people are squeezing by one another like squirming sardines,

smells of all kinds waft through the air from freshly cooked treats,

the produce alone is a visual feast of differing colors, shapes and sizes,

there is a constant hum, of busyness and the tonal thai language at your ears,

and, if you dare, and you SHOULD,

a myriad of flavors awaits to the delight of your curious taste buds:

   

edamame on steroids?

(those are over a foot long!)

im guessing these came from the river…

ไม่ขอบคุณ

translated: no, thanks.

just imagine.

each of those little river dwellers were pressed and then hung to dry.

and they’re tiny!  no more than a few inches long.

wondering how they press them? 

here’s how:

if theres one thing that thai people love to do, its SMILE.

this country has some of the warmest people I’ve ever met.

huge smiles that seem to come from the depths of their souls, 

offering up a genuinely warm spirit.

the good news… it’s infectious:

 

this guy was selling the only other US export, besides myself,

that I saw my entire time in thailand!

  

and finally the long corridor of stalls ended,

and there I was back out on another busy bangkok street: