Road-Side Stalls and Street Markets, Bagan, Myanmar

Burmese woman sitting in front of large bags of rice, Market, Bagan Myanmar

Rice Seller
Another day in Southeast Asia, another market… another opportunity to meet and photograph the people.

“Same, same… but different.”

This common Thai expression is one that perfectly sums up my perception of markets in Southeast Asia: they are the “same”, in that they are all densely packed environments full of colours, people, sounds, smells and (usually) oppressive heat. Often wet and uneven underfoot, they are a warren of activity that can be overwhelming for the visitor.

And, they are all “different”. Whether the difference is subtle or distinctive, each has a local flavour: the layout of the stalls, the faces of the people, the goods on sale. While some feature edible insects (e.g. Morning Markets and Bugs for Lunch, Cambodia), others specialise in flowers (e.g. Pyin Oo Lwin Flower Markets, Myanmar; Fragrant Flowers … Battambang Market, Cambodia). You can buy talismans (e.g. Golden Treasures of the Old City ~ Bangkok) or money: shaped into trees (e.g. Morning Markets ~ Attapeu, Laos) or butterflies (e.g. Three Markets ~ Three Countries (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos: Golden Triangle)) – and you can usually find plenty of local meat and produce (e.g. Another Morning Market ~ Mandalay, Myanmar).

Photographically, they are a challenge: the light is almost always tricky, with streaks of bright sunshine contrasting starkly with dark, shaded corners. Shade-cloths in ghastly green and bilious yellow cast unwelcome hues across the faces of the customers and vendors.

Markets – I love them!

As testing as the conditions might be, southeast asian markets are a rich source of photographic – especially portrait – material (e.g. Portraits ~ Bago Local Market and The People of Shwezigon Pagoda, Myanmar).

One morning on my trip around Myanmar – two years ago now – with Photographer Karl Grobl and local guide Mr MM, we stopped at two local markets. I’ve checked my notes, and beyond knowing that we were in the Bagan area somewhere, I have no idea which markets we were in. But, as is the case with most markets I have visited, the faces were open and the people were willing to be photographed.

Burmese man Distilling Whiskey, Bagan Myanmar

Distilling Whiskey
The first “market” we stopped at was little more than an elaborate bamboo shelter. Some local crafts and coconut products were on sale, but the main purpose seemed to be the distillation and sale of local whiskey.

Burmese Man in a longhi with a metal pot, Bagan

Man with Metal Pot
The whiskey maker in his longhi proudly shows us one of the local pots.

Whiskey-Medicine Bottles
The whiskey is bottled with some sort of dried wood, and used medicinally.

Taste-Testing Local Whiskey
You can sample the wares before you buy.

Whisky Vendor
I passed up the taste-test: it was not yet ten o’clock in the morning, and the day was already searing hot and bright. Even a small shot of local brew would probably have finished me off!

Man with Straw Flower
Grasses are woven into flowers, insects and birds for sale.

Straw Flowers

Girl Eating Breakfast
Families live and work together. While the whiskey is cooking, a young girl eats her rice.

Burmese Girl

Cow at the Mill
Just outside, in a spot of dappled shade, an older man supervises a bovine-operated millstone.

Man and his Cow
The old man is happy to be photographed; the cow, a little less so.

Our next stop was at a “city” market, nestled into the Bagan streets. A much more structured complex, with brick walls and roofing of wood, woven bamboo and plastic sheeting, this market with its large bags of rice and other grains piled high, targets bulk-buyers.

Selling Grain
The buying and selling of grain is a serious business.

Checking the Rice
Purchasers check the quality of the products carefully…

Negotiating
… and haggle over prices and quantities before recording sales.

Bags of Rice

Rice Sellers
Women smile at me as the deals are entered into the books.

Apothecary
In a shop full of arcane herbs, a man stands ready with his scales.

Market Portrait
A typical burmese woman: thanaka powder on her face, flowers in her hair, and a big smile for the visitor.

Man in the Tomatoes
Wearing his white shirt and longhi, with traces of Betel nut around his mouth, a typical burmese man gives a smile for the camera.