Part 3 Let's Get Wet

On we marched. And soon we were onto series of corridors away from the rows of shophouses. The Chow Kit wet market was actually smaller than I thought. It used to be bigger, but the back half - towards Menara Safuan had been cordoned off for development. A new market was recently opened in half of the space and these certainly looked more organised. It looked like the old market would be slowly phased out in the future, a sort of upgrading.

These are certainly fresh. Not the likes that you find at the supermarkets.Look at these maize. I could sink my teeth into them ....Going bananas!My fellow photographers getting stuck in as well ....Not sure how they taste like, but they sure smelt nice!You might wonder if the place had lost it charm with the relocation. Personally I felt that the charm had left the place some years back. There were a couple of reasons for this, first the generational change of the vendors, and secondly the people that made up the vendors now.

In the wet market, the majority of the stall owners were still locals, but they were of the newer breed. They do not run their own business anymore but rather letting the place out. As a result, the people manning the shops were no longer locals. They were Indonesian mainly, and as a result, the produce and the people actually coming to buy the produce were not locals anymore.

Let's be honest, I couldn't tell if they were bargains to be had here ....I was told that the fresher the fish, the clearer the eyes looked. These were certainly clear ....Hoofs anyone?Super fresh coconut milk!I remember that the meat and fishmongers were mainly Malays and the Chinese mainly sell fruits and vegetables. The Indian would mainly occupy the dry part - in shop rows - selling spices and the likes. Chow Kit used to be a one-stop centre where everything went and you could find anything there. Obviously time has changed. And I was left to reflect at the cafe at the exit of the market when I sat down to enjoy my breakfast with the other photographers. How time has changed …..