This is my entry for #marketfriday hosted by very supportive and compassionate @dswigle. Monsoon rain still poured down quite often in the north-east of Thailand making all the fields and trees very green. But frequent rain has made customers too lazy to come out walking in local market in Nongkhai. By this time, most vendors could recognised me and started to ask why I have not been shopping there for a long time. The market seemed more quiet than usual. However, there has not been a single case of the new coronavirus for over six months. So, lots of people have become relaxed about wearing masks. They would wear masks when going into big shopping stores.
The flowers stalls in front of the market seemed to have fewer flowers on display on a rainy day.
I always like to enter the market from the south entrance as there would always be more space for parking and it is nice to be greeted by lots of flowers. This end of the market is where customers could sit down and enjoy their breakfast. There are over twenty food and snack stalls, coffee shops, Thai sweets including typical Vietnamese food to entice locals and tourists.
This is my favorite vegetarian snack stall selling steamed rice pie with mushroom and vegetables stuffing. You could have both kinds of stuffing in a box at around 20 cents. The steamed tapioca has slightly sweetened beans stuffing. The mushroom stuffing is the best!
Some villagers have set up temporary stalls to sell their home grown fruits such as lines, sour tamarins for cooking, some medicinal wild berries, star fruits and Thai olives. I wonder if I should set up a casual stall selling my produce in the future.
Vendors could rent a stall for a day to sell their goods. So it is usual to see fruit stall next to knives and sandals! It’s always an entertaining experience walking around this old market. But I always avoid the meat and poultry sections as vendors display large chunks of meat on their stalls. It is quite different from shopping ready packed meat in modern supermarket.
This is the best home-made tofu in town. These are freshly made early in the morning so there is limited supply. This vendor also makes very nice spring rolls and fried tofu. There is another tofu stall selling a different kind of much denser and harder tofu. The two vendors are from the same family but each goes on separate paths.
Fisherwomen selling their catch from the river and ponds. Fresh fish could be found early in the morning and get sold out in a few hours.
The north side of the market is always very busy and full of motorcycles.
สัปดาห์ก่อนเราได้ไปเดินเที่ยวที่ตลาดในหนองคาย หน้าฝนทำให้ตลาดค่อนข้างเงียบเหงา คนขี้เกียจออกมาเดินเล่นในตลาด เราสังเกตเห็นว่าคนบางตาไปมาก และร้านขายอาหารเช้าหลายร้านไม่มาขายแล้ว ช่วงล็อกดาวน์ทำให้เศรษฐกิจซึมยาวหลายเดือน แต่ยังดีที่นี่ไม่มีคนป่วยด้วยโควิทเลย ชาวบ้านก็ค่อนข้างจะผ่อนคลายลงไปบ้าง หลายคนก็ไม่ใส่หน้ากากแล้ว นอกจากว่าต้องไปเข้าห้างใหญ่ที่ติดแอร์ เราชอบไปเข้าทางทิศใต้ของตลาด เพราะมีที่จอดรถเยอะและไม่ค่อยมีคนมากนัก ตอนนี้เราเดินตลาดสบายขึ้นเพราะมีการทำหลังคากันฝนสูงมาก อากาศก็โปร่งดี เราจะไม่เดินผ่านส่วนที่มีเขียงขายเนื้อสัตว์เด็ดขาด แค่ได้กลิ่นคาวฉุนมากโชยมากับลม เราก็แย่แล้วทำให้ไม่เข้าใจว่าคนอื่นเดินเข้าไปซื้อเนื้อสัตว์ได้อย่างไร เราจึงชอบดูพวกผักผลไม้และขนมกินเล่นมากกว่า
หลังจากเดินดูดอกไม้แล้ว เราจะไปดูร้านขายขนมหวานและของกินเล่น เพื่อสั่งไว้ว่าอยากได้อะไรกี่กล่อง แล้วต่อด้วยร้านขายเต้าหู้ที่สดและไม่มีสารกันบูด ร้านนี้เป็นร้านประจำและเราก็ชอบเต้าหู้ทอดของเขาด้วย ตลาดนี้มีปลาสดขายทุกวัน เพราะจะมีคนจับปลาในแม่นํ้ามานั่งขายทุกเช้า แต่เราขอบร้านขายเห็ดเพราะเห็ดมาใหม่ๆ ขายดีมาก มีคนมาแย่งกันซื้อแต่เข้า ถ้าไปสายก็อดซื้อแน่ เราแปลกใจที่คนอีสานชอบกินเห็ดมาก บางคนก็เก็บผลไม้ในสวนมาใส่จานขายจานละ20 บาท ทำให้เราคิดว่าอีกหน่อยเราอาจจะเอาผลไม้ที่บ้านมาขายบ้าง
ทางเข้าตลาดทางทิศเหนือจะมีคนจอดรถมอเตอร์ไซด์มากมาย และมีคนเดินกันพลุกพล่าน ตลาดนี้จัดว่าเป็นตลาดที่ใหญ่มากเป็นตลาดตอนเช้า ตลาดช่วงเย็นจะไปอยู่ที่วัดธาตุซึ่งมีขนาดเล็กกว่ามากแต่มีคนเดินกันแน่น เรามีร้านประจำสำหรับซื้อไข่ไก่ ปลาทูและของแห้ง ถ้าเราหายหน้าไปสักเดือนสองเดือน เขาก็จะถามว่าหายไปนานเชียว เรามักจะได้ของแถมหรือการลดราคาเล็กๆน้อยๆจากคนขาย เขาคงกลัวเราไปอุดหนุนร้านอื่น การเดินดูตลาดนี่ก็สนุกดี ทำให้รู้ว่าที่นี่มีชาวไร่ชาวสวนมาก ฉะนั้นเรื่องอาหารการกินคงไม่ขาดแคลน ราคาก็ถูกกว่าในห้างมาก เราค่อนข้างแปลกใจที่คนพื้นๆที่นี่ทำขนมไทยๆเก่งมาก เขาบอกเราว่าถ่ายทอดมาจากรุ่นพ่อแม่ บางร้านก็เก่งด้านการอบขนมปังแบบฝรั่งเศส ส่วนอาหารเวียตนามนั้นมีขายหลายสิบร้านทีเดียว เราคิดว่าอยู่หนองคายเราคงไม่อดตายแน่นอน
I think this little town by the border is one of the best place to have a retiring home or safe house during some international conflict. The cost of living is very low, there are several good hospitals nearby, night life is very quiet as there are less than ten bars in town. But there are several flea markets selling very cheap household goods. There are upmarket restaurants opening along the river to cater for tourists and rich people. There is also a very interesting wine importer in town. This place has so many hidden secrets waiting to be discovered.
Wishing you all a very nice day.
Stay warm and cheerful!
I love going to the market with you!!! You always make it such a wonderful experience. I like the South entrance too! The most beautiful flowers as we walk in. I sure wish I could have a market like that here, with the abundance of freshness overflowing! Fresh always tastes best! I always forget the number of people that you are servicing there and when I put that in perspective, I realize that they need markets that large.
I can see where a place like this is good to either retire or seek safety. As you have not been there for six months. So, I am guessing it is a fair drive from where you live. I forgot there is a monsoon season there! I guess there is payment for your wonderful, rich land.
I cannot express to you how amazing I find your markets and how humble your people are. Such hardworking people. Thank you always for the wonderful documenting that you provide.Thank you so much for taking part in #MarketFriday. I will be taking a small break from running the challenge and will be back in November. In the meantime, feel free to collect some pictures of the markets or other places. I am not going anywhere, posting as usual, and will be back, but, for the challenge to be done right, it takes a fair amount of time.
The entire challenge has migrated from a stroll through a market to a cultural extravaganza. ! It really surprised me, but, also delights me to know how much effort people put into it. It pointed out our differences in the beginning, but, then, it really started showing how many things our cultures share. When the day is done, it shows off how human we all are and how we basically all care about our families and others. I love the experience of it all. I appreciate the love and support given to #MarketFriday! Thank you! Truly! Your participation adds a piece of your world, and I have to say, people are interested in is seeing it. This entire challenge has opened up the world to me and so many others. Thank you again for being a part of all this! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Fridays are all about the #MarketFriday Challenge! Looking to take part in it? Here is how:
How to Participate:
Go to the market! Any market will do! Food, clothing, plant, or animal, if you wish. You can go to the zoo, an art auction, and restaurants. Anywhere or anything that you pay money for any kind of service.
Take pictures! Be creative! It’s fun!
Tell us a little bit about the market, what brought you here?
Post the picture.(s)
Don’t forget to use the MarketFriday Community #196308 to post from or hashtag it! #MarketFriday by @dswigle If you hashtag it, drop the link to your post here so I can easily find them.
As always, please remember! #MarketFriday loves you!❤️
Upped and reposted
Thank you so much for all your persistent work to support budding bloggers in this community.
I was thinking of having a break myself so that I could seriously get on with sorting out the storage room. Much work needed to be done! So, I do hope you’ll have a nice break and could accomplish your other tasks as fast as possible.
The best way to travel up to Nongkhai is by night train so I would arrive there early in the morning. It’s a nice quiet place for slow life. People still could go around the old town on bicycles! Everyone has bicycles and motorbikes. I would have to get an electric tricycle one day, perhaps!
See you in November.
Best.
delicious post. Are you teasing me on purpose?
No! This is a market not a coffee shop! You should visit some cake shops or bakery!
.. and then I'll burst!
What lovely colours in the market! Here in France you have to wear masks in shops and also in our door markets. There are big fines for those who don't.
I hope there would be some kind of herd immunity like in Sweden soon, so that people will not be easily affected by virus attack!
The cold and wet weather is not good for frying the virus in the air! Not enough strong sunshine.
Thanks for the mention.
Are lands in Nongkai expensive? How much per rai? Lands in the prime district of Luang Prabang cost a bomb. Someone tried to sell a mid-range guest house and it cost one million dollars.
Oh! Luang Phrabang’s land would be very expensive! You could only rent land in Laos, at high prices too! Foreigners are not allowed to own land in Laos and Thailand. But you could own condo units in Thailand easily!
Land in Nongkhai is getting more expensive but the adverse economic condition has left many sellers high and dry! There are many signs saying ‘land for sale’ in Nongkhai, but there are no buyers! It’s that bad!
I think Nongkhai is too far away from home for you!?! Are you thinking about yourself or for your family as a whole?! Why do you want to come living in Thailand?! Most people are by the seaside or in Chiengmai!
Cheers.
Thanks for the reminder! Yeah, I know foreigners are not allowed to own lands in many countries. I am just comparing prices all around ASEAN. Anyway, it is too politically unstable for foreigners to move to Thailand for the time-being.
The pandemic has to finish off before air travel could be back to full steam again.
But only rich tourists are allowed into Thailand starting today! They have special visa to enter Thailand for a long stay visa (9 months).
The rich always have special privileges. It will take airline industries many years to recover. Perhaps travelling could revert back to a time when only those "responsible" ones can afford to do so as certain tourists without life insurance and adequate savings committed suicide when they run out of options during the lockdown. This unpredictable pandemic caught many people off-guards in a myriad of ways.
Our thoughts determine whether we live in heaven or hell. Those believing the pandemic to be very real are often those who had lost loved ones or they have dependents and fear death. Those on the "plandemic" boat will often think along the lines of conspiracies, world domination theory and etc. Both are true. Fear of death is valid reason for seemingly cruel decisions. While the unscrupulous will always make excuses to oppress. All refuse to budge even if their actions happen to inconvenience or far from the best interest of others.
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Thank you very much for your support!
I must look for my food stuff for posting!
I wish I was at this abundant farmer's market carrying my recyclable canvas bags overflowing with fresh produce and goodies purchased along the way of the awesome visual tour you provided us!
I'd especially enjoy preparing meals using the tasty mushrooms, salty olives and fresh seafood. 🐟🍄👩🍳🦀🍡
Excellent post and photography! @kaminchan
Wow! You must be a very good cook! I would love to have you as my neighbors!! LoL
Thanks so much for your encouragement.
Have a splendid day!!