Up bright and early time for my daily morning walk to Talad Tessaban this is my favourite time of the day when the world is just waking up…its about 6km there and back but a lovely walk and it clears away the cobwebs…smile…

The sun was taking its time this morning and then it was there so over the road I crossed to walk in the shade…What did I get today? Some lovely fresh coconut and other vegetables my favourite snake beans, fresh mint and coriander and of course peppercorns …I just love fresh peppercorns they make a lovely sauce.

I love the early morning market it is so vibrant and busy there are lots of lovely fresh produce…Today I bought some lovely fresh prawns some hand-picked crab ( so much easier than picking out the crab claws) and an Issan dish called Mok pla siw which means various small fish. they are cooked on a BBQ wrapped in a banana leaf with chilli, Thai basil and spring onion…Then eaten with sticky rice either on its own or as an accompaniment to other dishes…

What other goodies did I buy? A whole coconut for hubby as he likes to munch on fresh coconut… a whole one lasts him about 5/6 days…and some beautiful freshly made coconut milk for a curry…freshly made curry paste and even the prawns the lady cleans for me, crab freshly picked …my kind of market…

The betel leaves and the fruit are for Tik’s mum …This is an age-old tradition that old people do here..although it is actually against the law…A blind eye is turned so if you are visiting here and see someone with very red lips and teeth it is the betel leaves and nuts which they chew/smoke …It is illegal as it makes you a tad high so they will also probably have a calm faraway look…But it is big business here…

I just love the choice and the different foods I see every time I go…Lots of fish…Thais love fish of all sorts steamed, BBQ, smoked or as pla… and many smiling faces all trying to sell me their wares one-stop shopping at its best you can buy almost anything here… if you love browsing you would love it anyway back to food shopping and not forgetting the rice and man farang ( potatoes) which I needed…

That’s all for my trip down the market today… lots of fresh food for a few days…

I hope you enjoyed my local shopping trip today and you will most probably recognise a few of the vegetables some of which are eaten all over the world others which are not an Aladins cave full of fresh goodies.

Enjoy your weekend, be happy and mindful and laugh a lot xx