Things you don't see every day.

I am on a bit of an enforced roll now.  I had planned a ride up the coast today but Mac has disappeared with Hazel on the bike so I am a bit stranded here.  Well, might as well make the most of it.

I had heard about a crazy market in a place called Malatapay, a few miles distant along the National Highway, so I decided to take a ride out and have a look.  This only happens on a Wednesday and starts really early.  I don't start early, but when I got here about 1100 hours it was still going on pretty actively.

Malatapay market, livestock section.

Most markets in the Philippines are fairly regulated and normally housed in municipal buildings with defined units but this is what I imagine markets must have been like here in centuries past, without the vehicles obviously.  Again, I will let a tip from my VT page  explain the thing.

"I had visited this place on anther day of the week and thought it was some sort of ghost village but it was just all the stalls lying unused for six days a week. People come from miles around to patronise this place as the traffic congestion and general mayhem on the National Highway attests and you can literally buy anything here from a safety pin to a water buffalo, if that is what you need.

Look at this beauty.

Whilst it looks fairly anarchic on first sight, it is actually very well ordered. The livestock section is in one place (to the right half way down from the highway), all the cutlers are in one place, all the clothes vendors lumped together etc. It vaguely reminded me of the old medieaval European system where this was practiced and now is commemorated in street names.

Local livestock transport.

In relation to the image above, I have to say that some of the transportation conditions of the livestock bought are possibly offensive to some of the more delicate visitors but that is the way it is.

Smaller scale local livestock transport.

I did meet a few other Westerners but not many and you really do get a good flavour of local life here, it is such good fun. You do need to get there pretty early as it is winding down by about midday. I believe it starts around sunrise.

Pots and pans stall.

Beng Asia, you will never go hungry and there are numerous food stalls, although I didn't eat there myself."

As many knives as you will ever need.

Obviously, I have interspersed a few other comments into my narrative here, if you have checked my VT page. 

It was just another great day out.  I seem to have so many of them here.  This was only the start of it so it seems like an appropriate place to break, I went on to see some more amazing places.  I know people have complained to me before that I write huge long posts that they have to wade through, so I'll try to make them more manageable.  You have got a steaming road to come!

Stay tuned.