Markets – Ullan Adventures

Myeongdong Night Market

Kirsten / July 18, 2019

One of our favorite things to do when we travel is visit night markets. They are a great place to try different foods and drinks, to see what interesting things are for sale, and to people watch.

We went to the Myeongdong night market our first full day in Seoul and loved it so much we went back the next day. We spent a good 2 hours there the first night and probably longer the 2nd night.

First up was getting the kids some of the favorite night market treats – watermelon smoothie and grilled corn on the cob for Beckett and fried potatoes on a stick for Mara. These were both some of the kids’ favorites in Thailand and other places we’ve visited.

Grilled corn on the cob – on a stick of course

There was also plenty of other eating as we walked around: dehydrated strawberries that the kids fought over, crepes, and other random things that looked good.

Nutella crepe – another one of our favorite night market treats

It was really crowded in some spots, but in some spots it wasn’t so bad.

Strangely, it seemed that every 3rd actual store was selling face masks. We were able to pick up a few for free as they handed them out when you went into the store, and Mara ended up buying a few more to take home.

And then I spotted a “Lush” store. I love “Lush” products, and it turns out the kids now do too! We spent a LONG time in the store trying different products and picking out our favorites. They’re so ridiculously expensive, but we still let the kids pick out a few things to bring home. Mara loved them so much that I bought her more for her birthday later!

The second night, we got a traditional Korean BBQ at one of the restaurants near the night market. It was delicious, although Beckett wasn’t a fan.

To make it up to Beckett, we let him get a watermelon milk ice treat he’d been eyeing up while the rest of us got cake slices and cupcakes to enjoy back at the room.

In addition to all the eating, there were some fun sights around:

All told, the night market was one of our favorite activities in Seoul!

Riga, Latvia

Kirsten / September 18, 2018

We took a bus from Vilnius to Riga (cheap, about 9 Euro!) that took 4 1/2 hours and arrived around 1:30pm.

Our first order of business was walking about 10 minutes from the bus station into the Old Town and getting into our Airbnb.

After lunch it was time to explore Old Town Riga. We first saw the Cat House which has 2 cats perched on its turrets. There is a funny story that the owner was refused entrance to the Guild across the street, so he put the cats with their butts facing the Guild. They were eventually turned to face outward, though.

From there we headed to the Swedish Gate, Riga Castle, then the Three Brothers. The Three Brothers are 3 houses that are the oldest houses in Riga. The oldest was built in the 15th century and the newest completed in the 17th century.

We then headed back into town to the famous House of Blackheads. The House of Blackheads was built in the 14th century for unmarried merchants when they came to Riga.

After doing some laundry at the apartment, we headed out to dinner. This time we found a Latvian restaurant with outdoor seating where we got to try some more new foods. We started by trying the local liqueur, Black Balzam,which was fairly nasty . We got an appetizer of black eyed peas with ham, Chuck got the pork knuckle, and I got a local casserole that was just ok.

The next morning we headed out of the Old Town past The Freedom Monument and to the Nativity of Christ Cathedral. Unfortunately there was a service going on, so we weren’t able to go inside.

From there, we made the mistake of walking to the Art Nouveau section of town. We didn’t have a map and were going on my memory and we ended up wandering forever until we found another tourist who gave us directions. We were pretty over it by that p0int so after a quick look around, we found a taxi dropping off other tourists and took it back to the Airbnb.

Art Nouveau buildings from the early 1900s

That afternoon, we headed to the Central Market, which is Europe’s largest market and is partly housed in old Zeppelin hangars.

Chuck even tried Kvass, which is a beer-like drink made from dark rye bread, yeast, sugar, raisins, and water. It’s only lightly alcoholic, less than 1% if I recall. Not really that tasty, though probably still better than Bud.

We then walked south of the market to the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum. Unfortunately it was randomly closed that day so we weren’t able to tour the museum.

We stopped back by the market for some dessert before heading back to Old Town.

Dessert complete it was time to head out for a drink. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we found an outdoor bar in one of the squares for a beer and a cider then we meandered thru the Old Town.

There were so many flowers all over the city. We were surprised as it was mid-September.

For dinner, we went to Folkklubs, which is an underground restaurant. It was packed, but we managed to snag 2 seats at the bar as someone was leaving. The place seemed filled with locals and later in the evening there were musicians playing while people did traditional dances.

Cielavina – meringue with nuts layered with chocolate ganache, forrest berry sauce, and whipped cream. Delicious!

The next morning it was time to head back to the bus station for our 4 hour ride to Tallinn, Estonia.

Europe Markets Turkey

Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

Kirsten / May 26, 2014

Enjoying apple, cinnamon and mint tea plus treats in the Grand Bazaar

One of the things all of us were most looking forward to in Istanbul was visiting and shopping in the Grand Bazaar. So much so, that we went to visit it as soon as we arrived in Istanbul. Maybe it’s because we’d been to Marrakech just a couple of months before and we’d been in Turkey for a month, but we found it a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still neat to see. And the history and scale of it is pretty cool.

But at the end of the day, it came off like a gigantic tourist-only market selling only touristy things. Sure there are cool lamps and beautiful tea sets, rugs and scarves, silver and jewelry. But it didn’t feel or look authentic and there wasn’t nearly as much stuff I was dying to buy as I expected.

That said, we did wander through it at least 3 times. And Mara did buy an awesome pair of “Turkish slippers” – unfortunately the picture came out very fuzzy.

Fuzzy picture of Mara and her fun slippers

One thing we did enjoy was the free samples of Turkish Delight from the various shops.

The whole wall was full of various flavors of Turkish Delight

We so enjoyed having tea and treats at this little stall that we went back twice. We ordered 3 teas: Beck got the apple tea, Mara got the cinnamon tea and Chuck and I split a mint tea. They were all delicious and we bought some tea from a stand afterwards to bring back to the States with us.

Aside from Mara’s slippers and the tea, the kids each bought a keychain for their keychain collection and I bought myself a little “Genie lamp”. Overall it was much easier on our wallet than we were expecting.

Here are some pictures of the Grand Bazaar:

Here are some pictures of the various items for sale:

Video Mara shot:

Turkey

6 Days in Istanbul

Kirsten / May 26, 2014

We flew up to Istanbul after spending about a month in Fethiye, Turkey. This was one of the last stops before our year of traveling was up and the kids were kind of over traveling by this point. So while Chuck and I were amazed by the various sites around Istanbul, the kids, especially Beckett, weren’t very enamored with the city.

We still managed to have fun while taking in the big ticket sites like Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi, the Grand Bazaar, and the Basilica Cisterns.

We rented an apartment in the Sultanahmet District which is the old city and where the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi, etc. are located. This meant we were walking distance to all those sites and could even hear the Blue Mosque’s calls to prayer from our apartment. The apartment was a true find – 2 bedrooms, room to spread out, and a great location for an amazing price.

View from our apartment:

Walking around was an interesting experience. There were so many stray dogs and cats that we starting having a daily dog and cat count. I think one day we were up to 40 stray cats!

Streets in Sultanahmet:

Fresh squeezed orange juice carts were found all along the streets. Delicious!

A few times we strolled to the waterfront area. This was lined with restaurants and always had a ton of people. We’d also walk across the bridge to the other side. This was almost always lined with lots of fishermen.

Under the bridge is filled with restaurants which we ate at once or twice.

One of the days we went to the famous Spice Bazaar. It was a similar but different experience from the Grand Bazaar.

We spent most of our time in Sultanahmet which is on the European side, so one day we took the ferry over to the Asian side of Istanbul. It was fun to get out on the Bosphorus Strait and visit a different section of town. There was a big protest happening when we arrived, but it remained peaceful. We spent a few hours wandering around, eating pastries, and checking it out before we took the ferry back to Europe.

We also caught up with Chuck’s friend Erman for dinner and drinks on this rooftop cafe that had amazing views.

We were lucky enough to catch some sunsets too.

Here are some other pictures from our time in Istanbul:

Chuck photobombing Mara in the Blue Mosque

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Europe Markets Turkey

Markets in Fethiye, Turkey: A Photo Tour

Kirsten / April 27, 2014

One of our favorite things to do here in Fethiye is going to the weekly markets. There is a Sunday market near Calis Beach which is more geared to tourists although you will see some locals there. And then there is the Tuesday market in Fethiye which is almost all locals.

The kids always ask to go and they have a great time walking around and sampling the Turkish Delight, buying fresh fruits or getting some freshly grilled corn.

Here is a little overview of both markets:

Beautiful produce:

Turkish Delight everywhere – and every stand gives free samples!

Spices, spices and more spices.

There are lot of other foods for sale too such as olives, cheese, eggs, nuts, seeds, vegetables, tea and more!

In addition, you can buy shoes, bags, clothes, household items, toys, hardware, decorative items and lots more.

And lastly, one of Beckett’s favorite things: fresh grilled corn!

Africa Countries Markets Morocco

A Photo Tour of the Souks (shops) of Marrakech

Kirsten / March 9, 2014

298 — Piles of spices available everywhere

One of the must-do items when visiting Marrakech, is strolling through the souks (shops) in the Medina. There is a specific area that comprises many little streets lined with shops on either side selling everything from food to shoes to teapots to.. well anything really. Its fun to wander around and soak up the sights and smells. Of course it doesn’t come without risks though: the risk of getting run over by a motorbike, bicycle or even a donkey cart. And the risk of getting lost. But that’s half the fun!

We didn’t buy much of anything because there was no practical way to get it back to Spain then back to the USA without schlepping it all over the place. But if we were headed straight back to the States, I would’ve done some serious damage to our wallets. I particularly loved the silver teapots and the lamps! Oh, I’ll dream about those lamps!

307 — Bottom right are tagines – little pots used to cook meals that are kind of like little pot roasts (but made with any type of meat)

I loved all these teapots. I was so close to buying one but alas, I didn’t.

The clothing for sale was awesome and ranged from gorgeous dresses to belly dancer outfits.

Yummy delicious treats! The honey roasted sesame peanuts were so good.

470 — Mara with an assortment of Moroccan pastries

302 — All sorts of fruits and nuts available in bulk

There were tassel shops everywhere! No, not those kind of tassels, but the kind you use to hold back curtains.

In addition to spices, you could get things like frankincense, amber, indigo, and other natural perfume/scents. I was quite excited to see and smell real frankincense.

And of course there were rugs.

And more…

Be sure to see our other 4 posts about Marrakech

Asia Chiang Mai Markets Thailand

Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai

Kirsten / December 1, 2013

The Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai is a one of the most popular markets in all of Thailand. Its hard to describe if you’ve never been to a Thai street market before. There are knick-knacks, handicrafts, food, drinks and more but its definitely a different thing that what we have in the USA.

At first we didn’t care for the Sunday Night Market. We could barely find any food the 4 of us would eat aside from Pad Thai (there was food, but not the kind we like to eat) and we would wander around desperately hunting for food and not enjoying ourselves. However our friends Ellen and Kevin were pros at this market and told us about the massive food area inside one of the wats. Not sure if the name, but it’s on the south side of the street about 3 blocks from Tha Pae Gate. Once we met them there, our opinion of the market changed and it became one of our 2 favorite markets here. (Tip: Most wats have significant food areas, so poke your head into the other wats as well)

One of the coolest things about this market is what happens at 6pm. At 6pm every day (not just at the market), they play the National Anthem over loudspeakers. Everyone stands up from eating, remains silent through the song, bows when its over and then carries on with whatever they were doing.

We went our last Sunday in Chiang Mai and had a nice evening of gorging ourselves on all our favorites and wandering around. What follows are a glimpse into the Sunday Night Market (and really most markets here) and is our way of reminding ourselves of the street markets in Chiang Mai.

My favorite Pad Thai lady cooking it up fresh

058 — Some of the food we do not eat – Hello, bizarre white spongy meat on a stick

Beckett's favorite stand - fresh grilled corn on the cob (with generous helpings of salt, sugar and butter) — Beckett’s favorite stand – fresh grilled corn on the cob (with generous helpings of salt, sugar and butter)

"Ancient" ice cream and our favorite, Mango with Sticky Rice — “Ancient” ice cream and our favorite, Mango with Sticky Rice

Bizarre black jello substance - Bubble Tea perhaps? — Bizarre black jello substance – Bubble Tea perhaps?

Pancake/Crepes with banana drizzled with chocolate syrup

Dessert! Banana pancake with chocolate syrup and a young coconut. Delish!

Another corn vendor. Another one of Beckett's favorite places. — Another corn vendor. Another one of Beckett’s favorite places.

Drink vendor – I can’t even tell you how many coconuts we drank while in Thailand

One night we got the kids’ portraits done. Unfortunately, they didn’t come out very well and didn’t look like either kid. Oh well.

Asia Chiang Mai Thailand

Buffalo Market

Kirsten / November 29, 2013

Near the end of our time in Chiang Mai, we went to the Buffalo Market, which is down near Hang Dong. It’s a local’s market that does indeed sell buffalo amongst other colorful things. It was definitely interesting. ….

Some of the items for sale:

Ducklings. Sadly some of them were dyed multiple colors :( — Ducklings. Sadly some of them were dyed multiple colors 🙁

Sadly there were even cock fights going on

Some of the food for sale:

Looked like fried baby birds on a stick. Gross!

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Asia Chiang Mai Markets Thailand

Warorot Market

Kirsten / October 23, 2013

Warorat Market (and the surrounding area) is some of the craziest market action I’ve ever seen. Stalls are packed in everywhere and everyone seems to have 1,000 items for sale.

Photos of the Warorat indoor market

Flower Market

Fruit Stands

Various Merchandise Stands

Food Stands

Asia Chiang Mai Markets Thailand

Turtle Market

Kirsten / October 18, 2013

There is a market on Canal Road near our house that pops up on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. Its a locals market and it gets so crowded that its hard to get by on Canal Road and they have a traffic cop directing traffic and pedestrians.

Chuck stopped by once and was the only foreigner there. He was so amused by the market that he took all of us there later. We have no idea what the market is called, however, we refer to it as Turtle Market because they sell live turtles (amongt other things) there.

Some of the awesome things we saw for sale: live turtles, live snakes, live eels, and live frogs. Fighting beetles. Every part of an animal butchered and laid out, often covered with flies. And of course the usual things like premade food, vegetables, fruit, clothing and snacks.

The market is located at Wat Tong Kai, just south of the intersection of Canal Road and Night Safari Road, about 15 minutes from the old city. 18.737701,98.931153

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Asia Markets Myanmar Thailand World Travels

Border Crossing – Mae Sai, Thailand to Tachileik, Myanmar

Kirsten / August 11, 2013

Upon arriving in Mae Sai, Thailand, we hit the literal end-of-the-road. Here is where Thailand ends and across a little river is Myanmar (formerly Burma).

After parking, finding a bathroom (not the easiest feat) and wandering a few blocks, we were at the border crossing.

First up is leaving Thailand. You go on the left side of the road, get stamped out by Thailand immigration, and off you go across the bridge to Myanmar.

Once you get to Myanmar, you cross to the right side, and enter a little room to get your visa and entry stamp into Myanmar. We wanted to actually enter Myanmar and shop in the little market there, so we got our stamps, had our picture taken, paid a fee, and off we went into Myanmar. For the day shopping trip, you leave your passports with the Myanmar officials. Feels weird, but it’s ok – they just walk them to the other side and you pick them up on your way out.

Myanmar was more rustic that I expected. As a whole country, I knew it was less developed than most of Thailand, but I figured the border would be very similar as lots of Thais hop over every day to shop. I also expected the market to be bigger and more obvious but it really wasn’t. We only spent about 1 hour there and only bought Mara a little ring.

Beware – they drive on the right side, so if you’re used to left-hand traffic in Thailand, this is different.

Tachileik, Myanmar:

After we were done, it was back to the Myanmar border to get our passports, get our exit stamp and walk back over to Thailand.

Mae Sai River between Myanmar and Thailand — Ruak River between Myanmar and Thailand

Once back on the Thailand side, we filled out the necessary paperwork, got our pictures taken again, and got stamped back into Thailand. Woohoo, we’re legal for another 60 days!

From the border, it was a quest for some lunch, seeing a random elephant walking down the street, then back to our car and off for the Golden Triangle!