Bamboo season and Secret Pals!!

Firstly - let me send a shout out to my Secret Pal who sent me a package last week! It arrived (Your item was delivered at 11:23 am on March 23, 2005 <- www.usps.com) at my office 1 day after I left for this 3 week trip away! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Thanks a million and I'll give you another BIG THANKS when I get home (April 12th) and crack that puppy open! Only one question -- there isn't anything that should be refridgerated etc in there is there...it'll be on my desk for the next 3 weeks! (We once had this smell in my office at Christmas and found out too late that a customer had sent a frozen ham (unmarked-duh) to a sales agent who happened to be traveling.)
NOTE: As always, if you right-click on the photo and go to properties you can cut & paste the address of the photo into a new window for a larger view!

Knitus-maximus
Here we see a female of the species knitus-maximus in her natural habitat, on the move heading to the fabrics market in Canton, China, with sticks in hand toiling away at the famed "Chic Petite" on a shock-less van.

Please note the delicate angle of how she holds the needles, poised to stab at any preditor who dares get in the way of her finishing 3" before she arrives at her final destination!

Notice also that she's bundled up because the damned air conditioning was blasting subzero temps at 7:45am!

OK, OK - enough third person (I hate it when people do that!)

They have been cleaning up the fabrics market a lot. When I first started coming, 5 years ago, you'd have to dash as lunch was ending because everyone threw their lunch trash out into the street for it to be swept up at days end...thankfully that is changing and they are frowning on this method.
To the top right you see see how the market looks today - - I was able to snap this in a rare "streets near empty moment".
To the bottom right you see the new building they have built to house this market.
Looks beautiful right? It was built by the government to give the market a better look etc...but after it was built the fabric stalls were told that although rent would be the same, they would now have to pay management fees, cleaning fees etc...
Since these stalls have such small margins to begin with, the building has remained empty so far. It is said that they will be forced out of their current spots and into this building within a year...this will mean an increase in the price of fabric for sure. ALso, if it's like the other buildings that have been erected, there will be no ventilation system, exchanged for large "no smoking" signs which are promptly ignored by all...and there aren't ever opening windows.
"Yes sir, that's one breathing mask for the red-head please!"

When lunch time hits, you hear it before you see it...
How?
This...
Various lunch vendors carrying lunch in a pot and a bag of styrofoam containers to ladle it out into...some with a pot on each end of a pole that is carried across their back...each walking the aisles hollering out the name of the dish in their pot.
I would like to try it some time, but the folks I'm with are scared that I'd get sick (not that I've gotten sick from other food here...other than that little msg allergy of course.)
Not that I'm complaining though as we most always head to the Cow and Bridge (fabulous Thai food) after the market...see more on that later.

What are these?
It sits about 7" wide and 5" tall and was at both the left-hand and right-hand entrances to a stall carrying a multitude of fabrics. Nobody in my party knew, so we asked! They are guardians to protect the store and keep ghosts from entering to disturb things. Neat. However - they also seemed to keep sense from entering as the way this stall was run, I can't see anyone being able to buy from them.

It's bamboo season!!! Aren't you excited? First, you look over the batch of available bamboo and select a suitable stick of this tastey treat! Then? Then the seller takes her very large razor peeler and hacks away the skin, a very arobic activity, to allow you to chomp away on this treat all afternoon -- a new take on the all-day sucker!

After spending the morning dodging bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, trikes, cars and vans of all shapes and sizes while popping in and out of a zillion stalls looking for that perfect fabric for next season (as well as a few fabrics for shirts and skirt for spring for me)... we left for a late lunch (after an all-to-early breakfast) at the Cow and Bridge.
Just a few photos...


Ooooooooooooooooh - Thai lunch time...and since there were two - yes TWO virgin Thai cuisine folks in our party...and since we know the owner ( a sister of a sister-in-law...) the dishes came out of every corner... NOTE: this photo doesn't show the 4 dishes that followed.

Whoever said Asian contries don't have yummy desserts hasn't met the owner of the Cow and Bridge -- dessert master supreme!
The Evil Sorbet (left photo)...look at this - I couldn't do this again if I tried!
When looking at my photos, the top scoop has an evil grin on it...
maybe it's because it's the BEST SORBET I've ever had -- top scoop is mango, bottom is banana. Dairy-free and no sugar added.
YUMMY (and not to heavy after eatting my fill and your fill at lunch!) It's accompanied by a slice of mango (it's mango season!) and a chocolate stick. Yes, dark chocolate and mango is quite good!
To the right is a very unique dessert...it's a clear wide noodle, cold, in a chilled strawberry soup with whole berry chunks floating on top. The taste - yummy...the texture...well...you don't want me to describe the texture of the noodles...it's a very un-Western texture that takes a lot of getting used to...in fact I could only get thru 3 bites of the noodle before going back to my sorbet. Sometimes it's tough being a textural eater...but I can handle it!

That brings me to now...where I sit at the factory about to get back to work at 10pm...long days I tell ya!
Happy Easter all!