The Traditional Market

There has been a lot of talk lately in Indonesian about the importance of traditional markets.  Apparently supermarkets have become more popular and there are campaigns to encourage people to return to the traditional market.  I decided to go to one today to do some of my vegetable shopping. As the news programs had suggested vegetables are much cheaper there than they are in the supermarket, by more than half.  Of course, if I seemed out of place at the Paris Burger (see below) then I was very much out of place in the traditional market.  Not only for being an American, but as a man, and a man dressed for office work at that, I did not belong there.  The market women were very happy to see me and all called out for me to come buy vegetables at their stand.  I made my purchases from as many different stands are possible to spread my money around.  It was easy to do, because there really wasn’t one stand that sold all the things I wanted:  cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and bananas.  I have to confess, though, to buy meat, I went to the supermarket.  The pictures are of traditional markets, but not the one I visited.  I forgot to bring my came