To market, to market....

We decided early on that a trip to the local market was a "must do" in our attempt to show the kids the real Philippines. Not the airconditioned, sanitised, and chauffer-driven Philippines but real, everyday life. It may seem a bit hypocritical since, admittedly, we grew up in this airconditioned, sanitised, chauffer-driven Philippines. However I have vivid memories as an 8-year old tagging along to the wet market with my mother. I've also done my fair share of traversing the Manila public transport system during those good old Uni days (and I'm not talking about taxis or airconditioned shuttle buses) - probably to my parents' horror had they known what 'far-flung' places I reached on my own. Especially since I was once 'grounded' for two weeks after I got caught taking a jeepney on my own to get to the local shopping centre to hang out with friends. OK... so I was 13. Different story. Anyway, these are just some of the things our kids will never get to experience growing up in suburban Sydney so we wanted to give them a glimpse of it.

First step... catch a jeepney to the local Alabang-Muntinlupa public market. It had been 6 years since our last visit (and who knows how long since the last jeepney ride), so I was out of practice and had no idea how much a ride cost. I quietly watched how much money other passengers were passing forward to the jeepney driver, waiting to see how much change was coming back. Next problem....where on earth do we get off? I had no idea where this jeepney was going, nor had either of us ever been to the Alabang-Muntinlupa Public Market. We needed to make sure we got off before it headed for the highway!

The wonderful thing about being back 'home' is being able to speak the language. No matter how foreign and displaced you feel, as soon as you open your mouth and speak the local language just as well as anyone else, it makes you feel like you belong, like you have just as much right to be there as they do. So I turned to the lady sitting next to me and asked where the stop for the market was and she was kind enough to let us know when to get off - even giving us much needed instructions on where to go once we got off.

We finally arrived and spent a good part of two or so hours working our way through the maze of little alleys in the 'palengke'. The sights, colours, textures, and even the scents were well worth it.

Key ingredients for a local drink - sago (tapioca balls) and gulaman (agar-agar according to Wikipedia). Who would have known they could be so pretty lined up like this?

Dried fish in all kinds, shapes, sizes. The favourite local "tuyo" is in there somewhere, I'm sure.

Decanted bottled cooking oil.

Cooking oil by the plastic bag.

Many Filipinos purchase items in small amounts to manage cashflow. Due to the low wages, even if it makes more economical sense to buy in bulk, they simply won't do it.

Rice... glorious rice! This was a new way for Bee to see her favourite food of all time. Her eyes lit up just seeing all this.... RICE!

Some colourful sweets and treats that add to the whole 'market experience'.

Pretty market signage - could do with a good wipe though. You really CAN get everything at these markets... shoes, suitcases, meat, fish and veg... even a new 'do'! 

We spent the good part of 5 minutes just standing there watching this man carve up a whole pig. He did it so skillfully that by the end of the 5 minutes, what started out as a whole pig was now recognisable cuts of pork ready for sale.

Another gent carving up a piece of porky pig. 

Amazing how all this was just 'out there' with no refrigeration at all in 30 degree heat! We were sweating like pigs (pun intended). This was a common sight throughout the wet part of the market. By Australian (and probably other first world) standards, this market would have been closed down in two seconds. The sad reality, however, is that affordability of food becomes an issue as these stall holders would be forced to increase prices significantly to cover more expensive rents if stringent health requirements were enforced - such as hygiene and refrigeration!

So it's a chicken and egg problem that prevails. In the meantime, Filipinos develop guts of steel.

And here I am with my bag of goodies. Can't walk away from all this and not buy anything, especially when a lot of it was like a trip down food memory lane! Not to mention I got a lot of goodies for Mig's 3rd birthday party here. Couldn't think of a better place to get goodies for his Filipino-themed birthday party.