Post-Christmas Post

With another successful family Christmas behind us it was time to get on with the year. So on Boxing Day Michael and I decided to stick to tradition, and go shopping. After waiting what felt like an eternity for the bus to Quatre Bornes (and politely refusing a lift from a stranger in dirty white van) we were on our way to the market!
Now the market in Quatre Bornes isn’t exactly Boxing Day Sales at Chadstone, but it was bustling. Upon arrival we immediately set about eating everything within sight – often a dangerous task where street vendors run wild, but we rose to the challenge. There was a Dholl Puri/Farata van swamped by a seemingly healthy clientele. I went to investigate while Michael inspected a nearby fireworks stall. After that I headed over to a similarly crowded Alouda stall, to grab myself a cup of this sweet milky goodness. I was a little surprised to note that my milk contained a small amount of noodles. This is apparently normal and didn’t bother anyone else, so I continued drinking while Michael decided between buying a one foot tall roman candle or a roll of 30 000 fire crackers.
After buying both we headed deeper into the market. The stalls were mostly clothes, t-shirts, shorts, caps, and a lot of Calvin Klein undies going cheap. Also fish. But the fish section, though fresh, was small, smelly and had precious few fish left by 2pm. There were some dogs there too. I mean city dogs just hanging around, not dogs for eating. This isn’t Vietnam.
I should explain – when we went to Vietnam last year we ate at a lot of restaurants, the price was right so we thought “why not?” We noticed that a lot of menus featured dishes containing what the English translation, and many waiters, assured us was pork. But we were suspicious, as the Vietnamese word for this “pork” was chien, which is the French word for dog. After the whole French Indochina affair there was a lot of French influence in Vietnam, (in some parts more than others); which, I fear, may include the language. Alas poor Fido, I knew him Medium-Well.