What I experienced this morning is actually something I’ve experienced quite often. The staff said that the meat man comes in the morning. Some said VERY early, around 5:15 a.m., when it’s still dark, others said around 6:30 a.m. I had arranged to meet a boatwoman at the gate that closes off the canal at 7:30 a.m. To be there early and in the expectation that the meat man might not arrive quite so early after all, I sat down on the street with a stool at 6:00 a.m. There wasn’t much going on, but the book was great! Around 6:30, the first employee rolled up. When asked if the meat man was already there, he said that he was at the dock and would take me there!
Once there, it became clear that it wasn’t this man who was there, but the woman with her vegetables in the boat – YES! It took place right next to the ferry landing stage, which of course caused a lot of smirking. There were waves, the boat was moving… phew, I’m not sure if it worked. I’m going to leave a little more meat around it to react to the movement of the boat.
After that, I walked to the gate with the big question of whether this date would work out.
On the way, I had one of the stuffed baguettes that are very well known here and can of course compete with those from France. There were different fillings, I probably got the one with bacon…. 😊. The sunrise atmosphere at the gate helped while I was waiting.
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At 7:30 a.m. sharp, the same woman from an hour ago rowed around the corner. Great! Once again, she was very patient. But… after the Polaroid and all the change, etc., her boat had of course moved in the current here too.
Back at the homestay, I was able to photograph two scooter drivers selling goods, the meat man who didn’t come at 5:15 a.m. but around 9:00 a.m., and a woman selling delicious yeast bread.
Right outside the door of this area, vendors drive by every minute, sometimes with little, sometimes with a lot of goods – wonderful!
Then breakfast, showers, and suddenly Ben came to my hut and said, Anja, there’s a woman with a boat, do you want to come, come quickly, she’s waiting. I grab my suitcase, he grabs his scooter, and we race to the woman at high speed. Ben directs her, I set up. At the markets where I’ve photographed before, it was always stressful because people wanted to sell, there was a lot of movement between the stalls, and here, on top of all that, the stall itself moves. Hopefully that’s not too much of a factor. Anyway, picture in the box.
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I’m happy that we’re getting started. I take a break in the midday heat, but soon we’ll continue with the rolling stalls. The morning and evening light is a dream!
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