Sunday Market

Hubby and I went to the Sunday Market last week. I haven't been there in ages. I remember when we were small, we used to call it the Dirty Market, because it was so wet and stinky, especially at the fish and meat section. That's why we left the kids at grandpa and grandma's house. I was sure they would not appreciate the trip! They'd much rather go to the air-conditioned supermarket where everything is safely sealed in plastic and animals have already been chopped up into the more familiar bite-sized pieces!

Just yesterday my sis told me that she also went to another market at Petanak and brought Alaena, her no.2 along. She's 4yrs old and a real lady, that one. She loves wearing her fake plastic high heels, accessories and pretty dresses. She also helps herself to her mum's make-up and her dad's hair gel. Anyway, when they got to the pork section at the market, she started making gagging sounds and looked about to vomit! Everyone was laughing at her and her mum was thoroughly embarrassed!

Anyways, hubby and I were at the market looking for fresh seafood. He likes those smallish fishes that you fry or grill. We managed to get some super fresh fish and some okay prawns. Just being at the market is an experience. I like going through the jungle produce sections and checking out the strange fruits and ferns on sale. I think the children would like the plants and pets section. There are puppies and rabbits, fish and birds. It's also not that dirty there.

I remember buying chicks and ducklings from the market when I was small. I don't know what happened to them. When we were children, with 6 of us kids, the house was sometimes like a zoo! We've had all sorts of animals passing through. Mum and dad must've been very patient and nurturing, allowing us our pets of choice and letting them reproduce uncontrollably! Big sis once brought back a piglet which she fell in love with during a trip to our then kakak's (house maid) kampung. It grew quite big, until one day granpa slaughtered it!

Sis no.3 loved fishes and was in charge of the aquariums. She has since then managed to find a husband who is 'fish crazy'ier than her. And their house now has fish in every corner, in every type of water receptacle imaginable.

The rabbits were mine. I loved feeding them and watching them wash their faces. I always thought they were such convenient pets, with hard, usually dry, pellet-like poo, cleaning up after them was easy. I still remember the morning before school, when I found Sara's mangled body on the ground. She'd escaped from her cage and the dogs got to her!

I don't know where the cats came from, and I lost count of the number of batches of puppies and kittens we went through. Now cat poo is by far the stinkiest of all poos... no actually, duck poo is seriously stinky too! Puppies were the cutest. I can't remember it, but my sisters tell me that one pooped on my head while I was playing with it. When she got home from work, mum was surprised that I had actually taken my bath early that day.

Little brother was responsible for the smelly duck dynasty out back. It started with a pair of cute ducklings from the same Sunday Market. After a while they were not that cute anymore. Then they started laying eggs! He asked dad how the eggs came about, and dad just said, "magic". Trust dads to give just that type of answer. When they reproduced and grew bigger, mum started giving them away to family and friends. So, when people came over, he would take a chair out to the garden and sit, guarding his precious ducks!

Well anyway, the Sunday Maket in fact opens on Saturday and closes on Sunday. So by Sunday afternoon, you might get to bargain a bit. However, both of us are not very good in the art of bargaining. My mum was a real pro at that. We definitely need more practise. Will bring the kids along on the next trip!