Local markets

The small, roofed shacks stand so close together that they form a makeshift covered market. The walkways between the stalls are so narrow that two people can barely pass each other. Here are hundreds of stalls and finding one's way around is next to impossible, despite the whole area being of a limited size. Around this central market, improvised stalls – often just a woman selling vegetables under a colourful parasol – spill into the surrounding streets. Labé is the capital of the Fouta Djallon region and, as such, the city's market is the biggest of its kind. It's a mecca for foodies that overflows with food stuff and fresh produce, much of which is completely foreign to Western visitors. White balls of something that could be cheese, but certainly doesn't taste like it, tubs of homemade peanut butter and large bottles of spicy brown groundnut sauce. Also found in the market are weird fruits like baobab fruits, miraclefruits, breadfruits, and much more.

The biggest town in Guinea's south-east is something of a dead-end for anyone not travelling to Liberia. For Guineans, however, the town is best known for its large market which reputably is the best place in the country to buy cloth. Especially sought after is the colourful prints and indigo gara cloth from Liberia and local orange-and-black "mud cloth". The market is also a place for excellent deals on cotton and other less traditional fabrics. If you are willing to wait around for a couple of days, the town's hundreds of tailors will be happy to turn your cloths into everything from suits to traditional dresses. To get the most out of the market, it's essential to time a visit with Wednesdays, which is market day. Should this fail, it's easy to spend a few days in the surrounding area, particularly around Mount Nimba.

Once a week, larger villages all around Guinea are invaded by the inhabitants of the surrounding hamlets. The invaders are welcomed, as they significantly enhance the local markets, which, for the rest of the week, can be somewhat absent of life. The best days to experience these markets seem to be Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. However, market days differ from village to village. Travelling around rural Guinea for a few days will almost guarantee that you run into one of these markets at some point. Not only does the invading villagers bring fresh produce to town from their farms, but it is also their chance to invest in more specialised items like clothing or accessories. Finally, these are markets social events. Old friends catch up. Clothes are compared. Family members living far apart reunite. Markets are usually most intense during the afternoons when most participants have arrived from their outlying villages.

The central market in Georgetown, also known as Stabroek Market, covers about 7,000 m² and must be one of the largest covered markets in all of South America. The building itself is a bit of an architectural gem built in 1881 with an iconic clock tower. The outside is a chaotic mayhem of minibuses and street vendors, and it doesn’t get any less crowded inside. The huge market is divided into distinct areas: meats, fish, fruits and vegetable, clothes, and jewelry. As it goes all the way down to the waterfront, it doubles as ferry terminal for boats going up and down the Demerara river. Stabroek Market can feel a bit rowdy and untidy, and even though people are friendly, it's probably best to watch out for pickpockets and such.

The market area in downtown Port-au-Prince is dominated by the red iron structure known as the Iron Market (Marché en Fer). The building with its twin halls, clock tower, and four minarates was originally constructed in France in the late 19-century and intended as the main train station in Cairo, but for some strange reason ended up in Haiti. It was heavily destroyed during the earthquake, but got quickly rebuilt. The northern hall has a strange mixed of crafts, art, tacky souvenirs... and voodoo stuff, like small dolls with needles in.

Tomohon town lies between two volcanoes at the altitude of around 800 m. Due to the fertile soil and the temperate climate, the local market is flooded with spices, fruits, and vegetables - but it's not the only thing the market is known for. The meat section is a slaughter house full of local specialties, like wild boars, rats, civets (or are they cats), bats (pictured), snakes, and dogs. There are blood everywhere and often bits of meat fly off the fast cutting knives. Most of the animal are already dead, but dogs are sometimes kept alive in cages until sold. They are then killed with a knock to the head, blow torched, and chopped into pieces suited for a shopping bag – it's not a sight for the fainthearted. The stall owners are friendly and don't mind a curious traveller, but leave your opinion about animal rights at home.

Muang Sing used to be the biggest opium market in the Golden Triangle. Today, you can still be offered some of the black stuff in the street, but the new market is now for other stuff, like live frogs on a string, fried insects and rice wine by the bucket. Ethnic tribes come in from the surrounding hills to buy and sell their goods, making the morning market a colorful event and a great opportunity to mingle with so many different tribes at once. People from H'mong, Lao Lu, Thai Dam and Akha are among the usual crowds, but you need some practice to tell them all apart.

Don't let the bustling market area outside Central Market distract you for a visit inside the giant halls, for it's absolute fabulous. Just the building itself is worth a visit. The roof is constructed of five huge, used zeppelin hangars, giving the indoor market an very airy fell. Each hall deals with one kind of food products like meat, fruit, dairy, fish and pastries. It's all fresh stuff, straight from the farms, making the neighbouring supermarket's range looks a bit sad. It can get packed and vendors can seem a bit reserved even unfriendly at first, but it's possible to get a smile from them.

Disliking Bamako is easy. It's a lot harder to dislike the city's many authentic markets. The streets around the Grand Marché are some of the most chaotic in the entire city, but inside the chaos have somehow been structured. Even more rewarding is the Artisan's Market to the northeast. Silversmiths, carpenters and leather workers are here busy hammering, sawing and sewing in their designated squares. There's relatively little pressure to buy their wears, and the feeling of watching the raw materials take form is strangely satisfying. To the north of here, things turn more foreign. The marked for traditional medicine is not just full of herbs, dried plants and other such remedies curing everything from hangovers to impotence. More morbid is the dried animal skins; especially from snakes and iguanas, but also from antelopes and lions. Most scary are the piles of dried heads, who'd neatly parted way with the desert dogs' bodies.

A ride outside Nouakchott is a huge camel market. There are a few fenced areas near the road, but as you venture behind the buildings you find the proper camel market, which is massive. There seems to be a small gun auction too, where vintage riffel change hands.
You can walk around and take pictures of the camels as you like, but the blue daraas wearing men are not too keen on getting photographed.