One day last week, Lori and I rode our bikes to the local market at 6:15 am. I wasn’t quite up for going at 4:30 am, when we could have watched everyone set up by candlelight, but it was pretty interesting even once it was in full swing. Hundreds of food vendors convene along the highway and in a labyrinth of side streets and dirt paths, laying down straw mats or setting up makeshift tables and spreading out a variety of food to sell. Along the edge of the highway, dozens of women spread out displays of produce: piles of eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, garlic, squash, cabbage, carrots, banana blossoms, tomatoes, chilies, onions, bushels of cilantro, water lily root, galangal, and all sorts of other unidentifiable greens. Weaving their way between all these vendors, shoppers on foot
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