Place: Farmers Market (Cubao, Quezon City)
Date: 02 June 2008

This is my first time to join Photo Story Friday, and the pictures I am going to share were taken from this almost like a posh market in Cubao - the Farmers Market.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I never really intended to go to the market that day; I was actually in the area because I met up with a friend, but our meeting was cut short when she received a text message asking her to be home asap because of a medical emergency in their house. It was still kinda early, and my sister was studying just within the area, so I immediately texted my sister if we can meet and come home together.

It was so great that my sister hasn’t taken the bus yet, so she walked back to meet me. I asked her if we can just roam around the market since it was still early. Being a Hotel and Restaurant Management student, my sister agreed to the idea, so she can check for the prices of the goods.

I have always been a fan of this market. When I was still in college, I always pass by this market even though I won’t buy anything. Call me weird, but there’s something about markets that fascinates me - the smell, the noise, the ambiance - everything! Like what I have said, this is quite a posh market, because customers have the option to use push carts! Normally, market place like this don’t have the need for push carts, the customers just bring their baskets or their own carts. This market is also divided in different sections and each section is color coded! Why “almost like a posh market?” Well, it’s not as fancy as the weekend markets I have seen, but definitely, this is a place to go if you have a long list of foods to buy. Prices here (I believe) were even cheaper than those in big airconditioned supermarkets!

My sister and I didn’t want to look like freaks taking pictures of people in the market (they might think we were invading their privacy), so what we did was take each other pictures as well as take self portraits. We might look like freaks by doing that, but at least we weren’t prying with their own lives.

The fish / seafood and the meat section >>> obviously the messiest part of the market. I am so fascinated in their fish section because you can see lots of fancy fish in this section! So, if your recipe book calls for some exotic ingredient, you will surely find it here. If you’re lucky, you can even see a gigantic tuna being cut to pieces! I admit I had a hard time looking for a moment to have a picture taken because each of the vendors were asking what we were looking for and they were also trying to persuade us to buy. We were tempted to buy (who won’t be if you’re seeing lots of fresh foods), but of course, we were only there to check out the market. In the meat section, I tried three or four times to pose for pictures, and in the end, my picture had that man waving behind. Hahaha, instant celebrity?

The vegetables and fruits section >>> Located near the entrance upstairs, the vegetables and fruits are a feast to the eyes! You can really see how fresh they are, and if I had money, I will surely buy some. But then, I didn’t bring much, so I will just bring home some pictures (too bad I can’t eat it). The first picture was taken by my sister, while the other was obviously taken by myself. Like the other sections, these section also carries wide variety of foods to sell.

The market also has a flowers section outside and lots of other sections (there’s a row of bakeries and a section for other foods), but I wasn’t able to take pictures anymore because my sister was carrying a big bag of coconut meat and water from 5 coconuts (beat that), and her fingers were turning blue and purple already. It was just a short trip to the market, but we promised we will be back there because we got see some fish heads that were very cheap (but fresh) and we knew mom loved to eat sinigang na ulo-ulo (fish heads in sour broth). We just have to bring an ice box because we live far from the market, and we didn’t want the foods to go stale while traveling.

Last two shots:

I was in college for four years, and in those years, I always pass by Cubao to take my ride home, and never did I see this street sign, ever! When I saw it, I quickly asked sister to take a picture of me by it because it was such a new thing for me to see this! Well, here in the Philippines, when you say “Session Road,” it only meant one thing: the busiest road of Baguio City in Benguet (located in Northern Philippines). Who knew there was a session road in Cubao as well? Well, I didn’t know that for sure! This is what I love about roaming around — you can get to see new things you never knew existed.

Happy weekends! Thanks for stopping by my post!

*** Jenn ***