Wet Markets, Singapore

The term wet market alludes to poor lighting, poor air circulation, floors that are always wet and slippery. Add the smell of fresh fish, herbs, freshcut poultry, and vegetables and what else not. The wet market is a powerful place to be!

I went to the Chinese wet market in the Chinatown Complex, more by chance than by purpose. As a Westerner, I felt strange, being the only white person around as far as I could see. The crammed stalls and narrow walkways, the people yelling and talking in a (to me) indecipherable language, strange fruits and vegetables, never before seen sea creatures, scallops, mussels, squid, cuttlefish, fish heads, the smell, the slippery floor (great if you're barefooted in sandals...).
Hardly anyone spoke English here, and there was absolutely no English signage anywhere, so I had to point with my hands and fingers and use my body language to get what I wanted. When it came to telling me the price, they typed in the numbers on their calculator and showed me the price.
No way of knowing whether it was correct or not, but it seemed cheap anyway.

All in all, I enjoyed it. It was overwhelming, numbing, yet exciting, and so alive!