When our family lived in France we often spent Sunday mornings exploring the neighbourhood markets, and it grew into one of my favourite things to do. So naturally, I wrote about it and  shared my experiences with you

I thought it was only fair if I also wrote about the Indonesian markets, even though I don’t normally spend my free time there. Why not, you ask? I don’t love the smell of fish. Take a look at the pictures and you’ll see what I mean.

The first market I’ll show you is a covered market, which tends to be a bit cleaner and proper than some of the others.

You can pretty much find what ever you need for Indonesian cooking here. There’s a section with dried fish, other dried goods such as rice and beans, a tofu stand, and fruits and vegetables.

Personally, I love walking down the never-ending banana aisle.

There’s never a shortage of fresh eggs.

Or fresh fish…

Now prepare yourself as I take you down the chicken aisle.  It’s about 35 degrees, no air conditioning and you’ll notice that there is no refrigeration. I literally had to watch where I was walking in fear of getting sprayed by chickens getting their heads chopped off. If you’re a vegetarian, you might want to scroll down a bit.

Normally I try to avoid getting people in my pictures, in case they don’t want their picture taken. But not here. The people working in the market were actually calling me over and asking me to take their photo as they proudly showed off their fish. 

Outside the market you’ll find a few roaming roosters and a heck of a lot more bananas.

You may also find ladies cutting pineapple or other fruit.

The alternative option to the covered market are the outdoor market stands.  What you will find there may vary. I often stop at this one, not far from my house, that is semi-covered and has nice produce that is always clean and orderly.

Other outdoor markets tend to get a bit messy when the food is on the ground, especially if it rains.

Again, I seemed to be the only one concerned about the chickens in the sweltering mid-day heat.

No matter where you go, one thing you will find is smiling Indonesian people, proud to show you whatever it is they have to offer.