“WET” MARKETS are in the news in 2020, thanks to the Pangolin Kiss, Bat Flu, or Covid-19. Really though, your local big city produce market is a wet market, if it sells carrots or chicken legs or peas and pork.
One of my favourite destinations in a town or village are its markets. From a single dusty street, to a mini-city, markets are the window to the soul of a town.
In Bogra, Bangladesh, the market spills out into the street and along the railway line.
A woman's meagre offerings in Bogra, Bangladesh.
Okra, beans, pumpkin, potato, tomato, in Bogra, Bangladesh.
Squid in an Athens market.
A large island between Bali and Timor, Flores sees fewer tourists than it deserves.
Food stalls in a market, somewhere on Flores, Indonesia.
A dusty market in Harar, Ethiopia sells car parts and other metal goods.
In the east of Ethiopia towards Somaliland, Harar is a bustling city reminiscent of the Arab world.
A flash of red in the browns of the market in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Hitching out of Khalai Khum, Tajikistan, drivers were all head to "market", so we decided we should have a look. The border bridge to Afghanistan opens once a week for trade.
Is he buying? Or selling? Or just carrying for someone else?
We stumbled upon this border market in Tajikistan, where Afghans are allowed to cross weekly.
Central Asia has some of the best bazaars in the world, where you can get lost in dreams of yesteryear. Not one of the most famous, but the bazaar in Tajikistan's Istaravshan packed in plenty of action.
Istaravshan won't win prettiest bazaar award, but its crowded aisle are full of silk road treats, from blacksmiths making knives, to grilled kebabs, and fresh and dried fruits.
The outer reaches of another huge silk road bazaar, in Osh, Kyrgyzstan.
China exports far more to Kyrgyzstan than it imports. Some conatiners go back empty, others are left behind. Many have been used to construct the Osh Bazaar.
Goats and sheep for sale at Karakol, Kyrgyzstan's Sunday livestock market.
Karakol Sunday market again.
No polystyrene or cling-wrap in the town bazaar, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. Smaller than many we visited, it was full of sights and tastes, like Uyghur noodle dishes.
An old lady waits patiently for a buyer for her cows. Karakol, Kyrgyzstan.
A young hot head revs his horse, showing its (and his) prowess off to potential buyers, at the Sunday livestock market, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan.
A woman chews betel as she works, Pakse, Laos.
Savvankhet is a medium sized town in the lower half of Laos, on the Mekong river.
Shoulder to shoulder food stalls at an outdoor hawker market in Penang, Malaysia, one of the country's best eating destinations.
Tabacco for sale at the Kota Belud tamu. Horses and other livestock are also popular buys. Even the odd foreigner has bought a horse for his travels across Malaysian Borneo!
Kota Belud is a small town in Sabah, Malaysia, which hosts a large weekly "tamu" market, drawing colourful types from the surrounding countryside.
Sometimes the market comes to a beach near you. Fruit seller doing the rounds in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A small stall holder in a southern town in Sri Lanka.
The wet and slippery floor of a fish market on the beautiful southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Dusk bathes Nizwa's old souq in soft light.
In the carpet section of an old silk road era bazaar, in Yazd, Iran.
A variety of spices and teas in the scorching hot Uzbekistan town of Termez.
Looking down on the main bazaar in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
The circular meat and dairy section of Tashkent's Chorsu Bazaar.
Margilon, just outside Fergan in Uzbekistan, has one of the great silk road bazaars. All manner of produce is for sale, like the "kurt" (curd) which is rolled into balls for the nomad's snack.
Margilon also boasts a large textile section, selling from traditional silk to Chinese blankets and knock-off Nikee.
Factory made sweets compete with locally made nougat and other sweets at Margilon, which is a photographer's delight.
There were so many melons of different variety at Margilon, we had traders give them to us, pointing at their piles of fruit as if to say, "you think I'll miss one?"
Traders, buyers and porters hustling through the Olympic Market in 1993, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
A street market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the 90s.
In the provincial Cambodian town of Pursat, Mum and son keep an eye on the locally produced tobacco.
A market in Siem reap, Cambodia sells medicines. Unlicenced pharmacies are a problem when incorrect advice leads to drug resistan strains. Fake and expired medicine also an issue.