Naka Market
The whole of yesterday was spent snorkeling in Phi Phi island. But this morning, we left Krabi and took the hour-long boat ride to Phuket. We decide to explore the island by visiting the famous Naka Market.
We arrive by tuk tuk at 3pm, too late for lunch and too early for dinner. Nevertheless, we persist in eating our Thai favourites – pork leg rice, pad thai, fish cakes and sugar cane drink.
Clockwise: Golden sweet corn, colourful shades, sugar cane drinks, knick knacks and trinklets
The market gets busier and busier towards the evening, with a good mix of locals and tourists. Sis finds a second-hand vintage clothing stall, I find much-needed hair accessories. The eclectic mix of goods and services sold at the market is endless – from tattoo parlours to fried insects, to T-shirts with random English words that don’t mean anything.
We decide that food in Penang is cheaper, and not because we have been paying farang (foreigner in Thai) prices throughout the trip. With a general spicy-sour taste, we also come to the conclusion that Thai food is pretty much homogenous, and that we miss the variety of Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking that makes Malaysian cuisine.
Later during the night, it decides to rain heavily, leaving us stranded underneath the zinc rooftops and having to order another pad thai while waiting. A random man from the street takes us back to the hotel for 400 baht in his private car, and we pay him because we just want to leave.
Wan Phing Lim 