Tiong Bahru Wet Market

Today was my first experience going to a 'wet market' here in Singapore. It is very famous and called the Tiong Bahru Wet Market (Teee-yong Buh ROOH). I am amazed daily by what I see. I am sure at some point it will just be another day, but I am relishing the fact that I learn so much every time I enter this new world.

The wet market is similar to our French Market in the French Quarter. The wet market is very clean, much larger, spread out and not nearly as crowded as our New Orleans French Market. 

Pam has her favorite shops, so she knew just where to go. I did not shop there as we have a mini fridge, and I was not ready to carry all that loot AND my camera. Yes, Steph, you will see I used auto - I cheated. 

The first shop Pam went to was for veggies. She walked up and the as soon as the veggie man saw here he gave her big smile and handed her a basket - he knows she buys a lot of veggies! He was very friendly and let me take his picture.

 

No, I don't know what those veggies are either - oh wait! I see broccoli and the freshest cauliflower ever!

He had the biggest green beans I have ever seen - nearly 2 feet long! Those are normal sized corn cobs...

 

He had fresh, and I mean REALLY fresh, peanuts:

 

Heck, the leaves are not even wilted!

Then Pam picked our her eggs - chicken ones I hope :-) Who really knows though? See the date on them? I was happy they were not the tiny quail eggs in the background. Asians must love these - they are sold everywhere! Heck, they are not even bite sized eggs. You can get any color of egg imaginable. I have never seen such a selection.

 

  

Oh, and oops, I know now to keep my egg containers for refills.

Then we went by the fruit stand. Do you even recognize half of the fruits? Isn't it a beautiful display though? If I only had a fridge big enough to keep the fruit - it would be FULL!

 

Anyone want a banana?

 

Here is another display of food:

 

Pam finally gave me the clue to buying a chicken. You tell the kind man you want two nice chickens and to please clean them. Then you turn your head while he does the dirty work. (Man, that chopping knife was sharp!) Yes, I peeked. Heck, I had to in case I came up with another "Fred". Trust me, it ain't pretty, but he sure was quick.

 

And when he asks you if you want the feet? Just kindly say "no, thankyou, sir." Even when he tries to assure you "crunchy feet GOOD-lah!"

Finally, Pam went shopping for flowers. I wish I had taken a picture of the bouquet of flowers she bought for $11!!! She had at least a dozen stems of orchids alone! 
 

Finally, every day I am here I realize how spoiled I am in America and how blessed I am to have life so easy. All of the fruit and veggies did not magically appear on the pretty displays. 

Everywhere you look, there are hard working people putting it all together for us to toss in our shopping bags. I have never seen as many people work as hard as they do here. They are always working, willing to bargin for the sale, always smiling, but what I love the most is they are very friendly and helpful.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying we do not work hard in America, but we don't have the strict discipline they have - and must have to survive. We have a laid back approach to life. Here, everything is serious; work, money, make happy and work, more work, and work. They don't owe me anything, but they make me realize how lucky I am to be able to enjoy what they offer so generously in their services.
 

Thanks again, Pam, for another wonderful learning experience. What would I do without you?