All around me people were eating away with their chopsticks tucking into bowls of steaming laksa and worm like rice noodles, while I sat looking around. As a vegetarian, trying out local cuisine is a rather limited activity for me when I travel. But eating out on the streets can offer fantastic photo opportunities, especially if you have the time to sit and observe like I did. Besides it is a great way to experience local culture.
That Sunday morning was no different from any other I would imagine. Families poured in to enjoy good, fresh food, while others ate at a frantic pace as it was a busy day at Petaling street – Kuala Lumpur’s China Town.
As I looked around and an old man caught my fancy. Sitting all by himself, he looked like he was on a mission. I wondered what was running through his mind as he slurped up his noodles in a frenzy.
We were sitting behind a cendol stall at the beginning of China Town’s wet market. Old ladies helmed theirs kitchens with absolute control, chopping away and filling bowls at lightening speed. Past the food stalls, the market began. Butchers and vegetable vendors lined both sides and were busy tending to their customers. To walk through a wet market is a heightened sensory experience. I managed to look away from seeing a chicken come under a butcher’s knife, but there was no escaping the smell. I held on and walked some more holding a straight face as long as I could, but at the end of it I made a dash for the exit. Having walked through the souks and butcher streets in Fes and Marrakech, I was confident I could walk down this wet market too. But travel like life always has a surprise in store for you.
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