Well, here I am with a bit of time on my hands, watching the financial news on television, and feeling a bit better about the economy and the future - bloody optimist! So, back to reality, or what passes for reality in China.
Now don't get me wrong, if you visit that amazing country you will find grocery superstores that put anything here in Vancouver to shame, in terms of size and product diversity, and wonderful little shops that specialize in all manner of foodstuffs. But you will also find, if you go down some of the side streets, some of the most amazing little street markets selling the staples, fresh meat and veggies, and some truly bizarre items.
These markets can be small, comprising just one enterprising farmer, or they can be quite massive, stretching for many city blocks and offering foodstuffs and almost anything a small entrepreneur can manufacture. Many are obviously well established, and you can buy almost anything you might want, fresh (read live here) or fully cleaned and dressed. And everything is purchased through the art of bartering, so do not purchase if you do not have a local in tow, or you will definitely pay way too much!
I did inquire as to whether or not the sellers of fresh and processed meats were regulated, their product inspected, and the product safe to consume. The safety aspect was confirmed, but regulation and inspection was greeted with laughter. Oh well, given recent problems around the world lately with government inspected meat sold in refrigerated display cases in air conditioned supermarkets, I wonder if buying meat in this type of market is any more risky than what we "westerners" are accustomed to?
So, you can get a bit of a feel for what can be purchased in the markets. These are the ultimate farmer's market, although I suspect that this form of food distribution is much more common than I suspect, and is the norm rather than the exception in many countries. It's just that this is the first time I had been exposed to it.
One could spend many hours walking around these stalls (although the meat stalls soon become a bit odorous), but the veggies and fruits are great. I gave the specialty booths a bit of a wide berth, as I was not particularly interested in snake, bugs, turtles, live chickens etc. etc. One thing I did notice here is that the sellers are very composed and polite. No hawking or screaming at potential buyers. Unlike the sellers who after tourists, as they can be quite verbally aggressive, and very loud indeed.
That, however, is another adventure altogether.
I have tried my hand at a bit of gardening this year. I have always liked puttering around in the back yard, but have always restricted myself to planting flowers. After all, I am not known to be a great lover of vegetables, so why bother?
My tomatoes are a bit small at this juncture, but my peas have been going great guns, and have been harvested once, and are now producing a second batch! Who would have believed this?
