Perks on Earth

The Kota Kinabalu street markets are one of my most treasured memories from my first solo trip to Sabah Borneo in 2018; the concoction of noises, sights and smells, a sensory overload which is happily stored in my memory. Coming to Thailand, I had heard so much about similar night markets, Dara and I were quick to head to Phuket Old town to immerse ourselves in their well known weekend night street markets. 

We were in for a special treat as this past 10 days has seen the celebration of the Vegetarian festival on Phuket, also called the ‘Nine Emperor Gods Festival, which involves a 10 day period where devotees give up all meat and strong flavour in solidarity with those members of their faith which enter deep trances and perform brutal self-harm acts. These 10 days involve parades where devotees gather at all the Chinese shrines in Phuket, where there some members enter a trance which leads them to pierce their cheeks with sharp objects. following this act, they head to the streets, while onlookers dressed in all white cheer. Personally, I found the idea of witnessing this event slightly too barbaric, but being in Phuket during this time was a real treat, the buss of the festival emanating throughout the island.

On stumbling through Phuket Old Town we were suddenly swallowed into the street where the festival takes place, submerged in chaos with smiles stretching across our faces. Street vendors sold all kinds of amazing foods, mainly Chinese cuisine but we saw stalls from around the world. Stopping where we saw a chaotic and long line, we sampled amazing red bean stuffed pancakes, which were being prepared from scratch by a long line of cooks behind the stall. The mix of smells is one which I will remember for a long time – sweet pancakes, fragrant curries, and the occasional onslaught of the pungent (and not in a good way) Durian fruit. People scurried the street, most of whom were dressed all in white, an we had to duck and side step our way forwards down the street. As quickly as we had been engulfed in the busy street, we were spat out the other side, looking at each-other and laughing, pinching myself as to what we had just stumbled into. 

The Phuket Weekend night market, which was the market we had been seeking, takes place on the famous Thalang road, offering street food, second hand clothes, handmade goods, and just about anything else you can imagine! We strolled down the street browsing the stalls, listening to the performers, and taking in all we could. We treated ourselves to the BEST dumplings I have ever tried, and I picked up my very own sarong to replace my mums sarong from 1994, which is sadly now torn from wear. Though I would like to say I practiced my haggling, Dara definitely took centre stage in that front, making the vendors laugh as he negotiated, throwing in his (not very) extensive Thai. Thalang road was beautiful to witness and embrace, and though slightly on the chaotic side, a tame experience compared to the sensory overload the vegetarian festival had treated us to. 

Safe to say we’ll be attending as many night markets as we can in the coming months- the street food bucket list has begun!