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Entries in Street Peddlers' Carts (10)
Chinese New Year in Bangkok's Chinatown
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 10:36AM 
I saw this in my feed online and thought it might be interesting to go to the Bangkok Chinatown for Chinese New Year. I had never been to Chinatown on Chinese New Years in all my years in Bangkok . . . plus, the Bangkok Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of China. I took the Bangkok underground and popped out . . .
[This trip was also an opportunity to test my new camera, the Fuji X-T5, in a variety of challenging lighting conditions: bright sunlight, deep shadow, and night street photography. The X-T5 takes 40mp photos, but are posted here in only 850px on the long edge. You be the judge . . . but I am very happy with the results!]
. . . I popped out a few blocks from the center of Chinatown . . . in the middle of a huge crowd. It seems that I was not the only one with the idea.
Part of the crowd was congregating around this Chinese Temple. We found out that one of the Thai Royal Family was due to arrive there soon to pay respects. It was a big day in the Bangkok Chinatown.
I was hot and thirsty so I bought a pomegranate juice and was happy.
We cut through an alley to get to the center of the action. The whole highly decorated area was a crush of people, many of whom were foreign tourists.
The many small Chinese temples were busy with devotees leaving alms and donations and being blessed by the monks.
Every imaginable kind of 'altar toy' was for sale in gold and red. Fantastic!
This good natured monk seemed to enjoy giving water blessings to whomever stopped and donated.
We explpored deep down the beautifully decorated side streets of Bangkok's Chinatown.
Chinese New Year is a traditional time for fruit purchasing, apparently.
These ice blocks sitting in an alley looked inviting . . . as a shortcut over to the next street . . . and as a way of avoiding the crushing crowds.
Chinatown alleys always offer up surprise images, like this very old small industry.
Spotted amid the complex patterns of the alley was some kind of temple . . . let's explore . . .
Looking inside, we found this marvelous Chinese Buddhist Temple. Serendipity!
The temple inner altar was fantastically decorated.
The inner temple altar in all its phantasmagoria!
Incense pot . . .
The main altar displayed the pantheon of Chinese spiritual deities and revered monks behind glass.
The opportunities for amazing photos were endless here . . . I took many more excellent photos in there than I have posted here . . . perhaps I need an entry just for this marvelous place.
These were very low light (and smoky) conditions for photography . . . such beauty everywhere!
There were several small "side altars" around the inner chamber.
We spent quite a abit of time inside the Chinese Temple . . . and could have spent a whole day documenting this old, photogenic, spiritual space . . . but we left for the alley again and onward to the New Year celebrations about to happen.
Back out in the small alley . . . it is fun to explore for images here.
Many visual wonders to see along the alley walls . . .
We popped out on the very crowded main street leading to the performance stage . . .
Moments before the street was finally closed to auto traffic . . . and vendors and 'selfie' takers took over.
Four local ladies all dressed up for a night of celebration.
Plenty of goodies to eat . . . healthy and otherwise!
As evening approached the crowd migrated toward a "main stage" for the nighttime events.
It became almost impossible to get to the intersection where the stage was set . . . but we somehow pushed our way through.
Revellers found time to pose with traditionally dressed street photo hawkers.
We finally made it to an area behind the stage where the handlers of the dragon were waiting to do their dragon dance down the crowded avenue.
The dragon head . . . staged and ready.
We roamed the side streets looking for interesting images to capture with our cameras. We are never disappointed in Bangkok Chinatown for photogenic scenes.
A beautiful Chinatown scene . . .
These small side street restaurants would become full after the street celebrations later in the evening.
The crows were becoming a crush on the main avenue . . .
The anticipation was just killing him!!!!
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Night Arrives!
Night arrived at last . . . and we wriggled our way through this crowd to an area behind the stage where the performers were getting ready for the show.
Fantastic costumes everywhere back stage. . . .
A photographer's dream!
A wonderful array of traditional costumes.
The backstage area almost warranted its own blog entry.
New Years' revellers taking a load off their tired feet . . . and checking their phones for vital communication.
The backstage entrance light tunnel was popular.
There was no way to get close to the Dragon when it made its way out into the crowd . . . too many iPhone photographers!!!
I did manage this shot of the departing Dragon by holding my camera over my head. Amazing.
After the dragon departed we decided it was time to beat the crowds back to the underground station, and headed out . . . but still with camera in hand for the fantastic night images.
Yes, we "fought" our way back through this crowd . . . but people were good and generous with our passage.
A beautiful array of lighting above . . .
The street food vendors were doing a brisk business after dark. Here rice-cooked-in-bamboo . . . delicious!
People were out for a nice meal on the Chinatown streets tonight.
Long lines at this stall . . . it must have been good and tasty.
Preparing Northern Thailand spicy sausage . . . yum-yum!
We left the crowded main celebration avenue and walked along a parallel street . . . there was no shortage of photographically interesting things along this route.
A Thai Buddhist temple (Wat) lit up.
"Why not keep the shop open a little later tonight . . . maybe make some extra sales, what with the big crowds and all."
Why not set up a couple of card tables for those treasures you have for sale?
A real jumble sale. This one was very sad to see . . . someone was very poor. I looked for the seller, but could find nobody. I left 100 baht (US$3.oo) on the table as a donation.
This night busker had it all . . . even his own light show!
This Buddhist votive statuary shopkeeper had a brilliant way of lureing customers into their shop . . . and it worked:
I bought the Ji Gong effigy (far right, top, third from right) for my collection.
At last, a shortcut back to the MRT underground station.
Then onto a crowded MRT underground train home. [This is the ONLY person on the train NOT wearing a mask . . . an American, of course!]
I have so many wonderful memories from that evening spent among the thousands celebrating Chinese New Year in Bangkok's Chinatown. It was a visual extravaganza . . . and a photographers dream!
Loei, Chiang Khan, and the Mekong River
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 12:57PM 
Back in December 2020, just as COVID 19 was bursting on the international scene and choking Thailand's tourist industry, the Thai government came up with a brilliant scheme to give vouchers to Thai residents for discounts at Thai resorts and restaurants in 'tourist areas' to spur more 'in country' tourism by Thais. It worked . . . we took a road trip north to Loei, Chiang Khan, and the Mekong River.
Our route had us drive straight through to Loei from our home in a northern suburb of Bangkok.
The majority of the drive north to Loei was on modern, divided expressway. However, as we neared Loei the road reverted to a 2-lane country road. We were lured into this strawberry stand with the promise of delicious fruit.
They were growing their own strawberries here . . . but they were asking a very high price for them. We declined to purchase any strawberries here.
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LOEI
This is the old Loei I came to see . . .
Loei is a provincial market town in the north of Thailand. It is still "old Thailand" in Loei. I last visited here about 20 years ago . . . and yes, it has changed a great deal.
But there is still a lot of the old Thailand I know and love in Loei.
The street food in Loei is excellent . . . and the people friendly.
The old downtown of Loei still has locally-owned department stores and "supermarkets" like this one.
A street corner in downtown Loei. I love snooping around in these old Thai market towns.
We stopped in this hole-in-the-wall restaurant for delicious noodle soup.
A busy market town serving a large agricultural community.
The things you see in Thailand! Yes, it was Christmas season even in Loei, Thailand. They celebrate everything here!
We walked through the downtown and found the banks of the Loei River. The bridge led to a beautiful city park.
There was fun to be had in Loei.
I sat across the street in a hipster coffee shop while my wife shopped in a fine traditional Thai textile shop across the street.
Yes, the hipster cool coffee shop can be found throughout the entire planet . . . even in the remote old market town of Loei.
Always interesting old stuff to be found in old Thai village stores.
Our very good, and very cheap Au Place Hotel in Loei.
Just a half block away from the hotel on a rural street we found this stylish Vietnamese restaurant.
We spent a couple nights in Loei and would venture out into the countryside in search of interesting things to see. We found this amazing Buddhist Temple (Wat).
There were caves with Buddhas to explore at this wat.
There was this very beautiful marble temple on the wat grounds.
The marble temple was very interesting inside.
Marvelous light and reflection inside the marble wat.
We found this marvelous restaurant for our dinner on the second night in Loei.
The "elephant restaurant' interior dining area.
We had a fine meal in this old wooden room with traditional spirit masks hanging around.
Back at our hotel . . . they had the grounds lit up like a carnival!!!
The next morning we said good-bye to Loei and hit the road for then short drive north to the town of Chiang Khan along the Mekong River.
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CHIANG KHAN
We stopped at a riverside resort as soon as we arrived at the river . . . and this was out first view of the mighty Mekong River.
We quickly found our charming old wooden guest house.
Our guest house was right on a kind of 'walking street' through the riverside village. The Mekong River is directly behind the row of houses and shops to the left.
Chiang Khan is a lovely and funky old Thai town with interesting shops and bike rentals.
With both front and rear doors open, you can look right through this hostel to the river behind it.
The many shops lining the walking street had ample supplies of local handicrafts to meet the tourist demand.
A guest house with street side 'beer chairs' . . . perfect for people watching. I couldn't help but notice the Brew Dog Punk IPA bottle . . . from Aberdeen, Scotland, my former residence.
Such an interesting and photogenic little town.
Some shops hung fabric against the harsh afternoon sun.
Each shop-front seems to have its own personality, and the photographs are like portraits.
Beautiful local, high quality traditional textiles.
There were also many shops selling the usual array of souvenir 'touristwear.'
There is no shortage of restaurants and places to buy good, expensive coffee.
I love photographing these old wooden shops . . . anywhere in the world . . . but Chiang Khan had hundreds of them, and all with amazing shapes, features, colors, and textures.
A beautiful shop-front portrait. The harsh afternoon sunlight actually enhances this photo by accentuating the wood grain and colors.
Another fabulous paneled storefront with Chinese lanterns. Lovely.
Just so much to see, notice, and photograph in this sweet little riverside town.
There was also some very nice chalk public art here and there.
Sweet chalk street art.
A very inviting bakery . . . delicious too!
Thai aesthetics are always fascinating and gorgeous. It's all in the details. Here, a detail of the interior of our guesthouse.
When walking around such these richly aesthetic places with a camera in hand, I am prone to take these kinds of "still life" photographs: pleasing arrangements of objects in fascinating light.
Another "still life" of an old art gallery.
A very old wall revealing ancient building techniques.
Wooden wall with broom and ash tray.
Chalk graffiti on old panel shop doors . . . there is a story here.
Old panel shop doors reflected in a stainless steel table. Nice. These "still life" photo opportunities were endless in Chiang Khan.
A very nice tuk-tuk, although I never saw anybody riding in one . . . everybody walked around the little town.
We were getting tired and sore walking around the sweet town . . . deciding what to do next . . .
Massage! That's what's next!! The massage shop owner was very kind.
a 2 1/2 hour Thai massage will cure whatever ails you, that's for sure! This street side massage room was so beautiful. Just breathtaking!
We spent part of our days walking along a path next to the Mekong River.
Looking across the Mekong toward the 'wild side' of Laos.
Riverboat ferry both local people and tourists up and down the river.
Mekong River boats at the ready.
A fisherman going home. Surprisingly, I did not see very many fishermen out on the river.
The fiew upriver toward the smoky Lao hills from Chiang Khan.
When the sun set we headed to the night market street.
CHIANG KHAN by NIGHT
As the light faded, and the heat dissipated, it seemed that every Thai tourist in town left their guesthouse and headed to the main walking street.
The darker it got, the bigger the crowd under the colorful, and fading sky.
At last the sun had fully set.
Many of the shops, restaurants, and bars that were closed in the afternoon opened for the throngs that came out at night. This craft beer joint was a welcome stop for me.
The interior of the craft beer hall.
The Thai hippies who ran the craft beer hall had a fantastic collection of beers and ales to choose from.
The town became even more photogenic at night. BBQ beef street hawkers.
The many stalls set up along the night street became a 'night market' - a favorite of Thai people and visitors to Thailand. There was a wide variety of things for sale. Nuts! I love nuts!
All the night market visitors brought their appetites . . . and were rewarded with a wide variety of delicious Thai specialties to eat.
Street performers in their traditional 'hill tribe' costumes entertained the gathered crowds.
My favorite street performer was this young busker playing electrified traditional old Thai music in a homemade outfit. Cool.
We enjoyed out nights walking along the Chiang Khan night market street.
After two nights in Chiang Khan we woke up early and said good-bye to the river and headed south.
Khon Kaen
We were about 30 minutes out of Chiang Khan and decided to take a different route home to Bangkok. Neither of us had ever been to Khon Kaen . . . so why not?
We didn't do too much sightseeing . . . just drove around town . . . found a great restaurant on Google . . . and found this magnificent wat to go in . . .
We were very glad we went inside.
There are many different altars in the large inner space . . . each with a group of people paying respects.
Very special light falling on the various Buddha images.
Pots for making donations and making wishes.
Such a pretty flower memorial altar.
This hyper-realistic wax monk was too realistic . . . and creepy.
We paid our respects here and then chatted with a monk before leaving. We knew we haddn't spent enough time in Khon Kaen and vowed to return.
We left the next morning for a 7 hour drive home.
It had been a wonderful vacation in the middle of the COVID Pandemic!
Phenomenal Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 3:05PM 
First light at Angkor Wat main complex.
6:00am and already there were thousands of tourists to catch the temples in the magic light. Most of the tourists were either French or Chinese, although I doubt there are many Chinese now that the COVD-9 virus has almost completely halted Chinese tourism.
Built 1000 years ago . . . still amazing.
The sheer expanse of temple ruins at Angkor, and the great variety of temple materials and decoration make it well worth spending many days there, as I did in January 2020.
There is so much to see in the Angkor Wat complex - many ancient sites. spread out around many square miles. Here is a small slide show sampling of the sights before we begin.
There is a main Angkor Wat temple with a grand entry across a beautiful pond.
Just inside the "entry" gate.
The interior and exterior surfaces are all nearly completely carved in panels of patterns and figures.
The many temple complexes are surrounded by high walls and often moats. All have four gates; one each facing north, south, east, and west.
Inside the the main temple grounds, tourists stop to pose among the ruins. Thank you.
Curious vendors here and there. Yes, I bought the t-shirt. Of course I did
Through and into a temple gatehouse structure.
Inside the temples there are inviting and mysterious passages everywhere.
Although headless, many of the ancient Buddha relics are still tended by local followers.
A fascinating hall of revered Buddha relics.
Interior courtyard within the temple structures.
Ruins of Angkor Wat chedis. Incredible and unique architectural style.
Interior halls and colonnades everywhere invite exploration.
Stone spires carved with elaborate patterns of adornment.
Reclaimed from the jungle that reclaimed the temple centuries ago.
A temple spire. Fascinating.
Endless passages, rooms, doors, and b locked exits. It was incredibly interesting to just wander around in this ancient place.
A space of wonder.
Rounding a corner inside the temple I came across Buddhist monks blessing devotees: Ankor Wat is still a living spiritual center.
After the blessing monks . . . back into the labyrinth of passages . . .
On and on . . . imagining the people who occupied these spaces when it was an active and populated city.
The jungle is still trying to interpose itself on the ancient temple structures.
The iconic image of Angkor Wat is the giant tree roots embracing the temple stones.
A mutual embrace . . . this tower looks as if it would fall without the support of the tree.
A wall with cascading roots. Truly awesome.
Like a limb from a giant alien animal . . . these roots are massive!
The temple in the grip of its alien overlord!
The aging walls supported. Most of the restoration work on Angkor Wat has been carries out by French and Cambodian archaeologists.
Much of the various sites remain unreconstructed.
The state of deterioration is surprisingly less than one would have thought after 1000 years . . . but they build out of stone!
My friend and I wandered for many hours through these narrow mysterious passages, always surprised with some amazing scene around every corner . . .
. . . always another scene of doors and passages . . . gorgeous . . .
. . . on and on we walked, our mouths open in amazement all the while!
Our long walks through the interior passages would occasionally lead us back outdoors.
And back outside we were greeted with more amazing ancient monumental temple structures.
Always tempted to explore in another courtyard . . . endless curiosity.
We had a car and driver each day who knew all the temples and would drive us between them. A new temple.
There were signs of vandalism and pilfering of stone figure heads.
A sweet temple sala.
In deep shade or in bright sun, the temples are a marvel of detail . . . 
One of the many extraordinary gates.
These gates were carved in exquisite detail. Cambodia is a tropical country with a considerable wet season each year, as evidenced by the moss and mold that often covered the monuments.
The harsh, almost clinical, light actually helps in these photos of the tropical encrusting of the ruins.
Such beautifully carved figures and patterns everywhere.
I loved these gates . . . 
After walking through the gates, it was sometimes a kilometer or more until you arrived at the temple complex. Sometimes there would be traditional Khmer musicians along the walk.
We spent two full days, starting before sunrise and ending after sunset, among the Angkor ruin.
The late, angled light made for some fantastic conditions for photography.
Late light and shadow on the Angkor Wat ruins.
Sharp shadow in the Angkor Wat colonnades.
Ah! The light!
Shadows framed.
Smoky ruins in the late light.
These interiors were full of an almost magical spiritual moodiness.
Long shadows accentuated the fine detail. Almost every surface of the temples was carved.
As you might imagine, I was in photographers' heaven walking the halls and passages of Angkor Wat . . . something amazing to shoot at every turn.
A new image at each turn, at each new chamber, at each door.
A surprise ahead!
Gorgeous light along the galleries.
The aesthetics of these stone passages with their relics evokes a calm amazement.
I have always been drawn to these kinds of scenes for photography . . . there seems to be some elemental symbolics involved here . . . 
Endless stone doors and windows, light and shadow . . .
Interior doors. The Light! The shadows!
Astonishing chedi in the intersection of two long halls! The many holes in the stone walls indicate they were covered with carvings in stone or wood.
Endless curiosity . . .
Wandering the halls and passages and finding an outlet into the honey light . . . what's out there?
. . . and THIS is what was on the outside of these long stone passages!
The classic 'Jungle Reclaiming the Lost Temple' photo. Still wonderful!
Our driver brought us to another temple site, this one had an entrance guarded by a bridge guarded by stone cobras!
Frightening to peoples of that time, I would imaging.
The body of the giant stone cobra was held by a row stone statues that made up the bridge guardrail.
The heads on all of the stone bridge statues have been stolen over the years . . . they end up in museums, private collections, and "art" shops in Bangkok. Despicable.
Many of the temple complexes still have their moats.
We found only one bridge with the full compliment of guarding figures . . . and they were wonderful!
Here and there we saw small encampments of curios hawkers.
Our drive between temple sited took us through some beautiful and peaceful countryside. Some of the temples were 8-10 miles apart.
Nature here held some big surprises . . . like this complex tree bark.
Here and there, as we neared a new temple site, the road would be lined with these markers.
One of the last sites we visited had the temple structures made of a reddish stone with black volcanic rock accents. All carved, of course.
The carved details were very detailed and refined.
Upon closer inspection, I could not tell if these were fired red clay ceramics or a red sandstone . . . .
Late afternoon deep shadows on the red temple.
Many of these images, especially this one, lend themselves to printing and framing.
This temple had nearly no evidence of vandalism. Phenomenal beauty.
A magnificently carved stone door.
In the deep afternoon shadows, these statues in front of the carved temple presented an ancient, mystical image I will never forget.
Many small temple structures filled the walled enclosure surrounded by a moat.
After exploring the red temple, and taking 30-40 photographs of windows and doors, we headed down the road again.
While speeding along a rural road, we yelled to the driver to stop when we saw this small temple alongside the road . . . .
A remarkable temple in the late magic light.
Stunning bas reliefs on the columns.
One of the columns' bas relief of a dancer.
Almost every surface of this temple was incised with these marvelous patterns.
We wandered around this small temple for only 15 minutes before heading out with the driver again. I must go back!!!
Another roadside temple . . . this photograph taken out of the window of the car. No time to explore it.
Yet another photo taken from the car of a temple not explored . . . I MUST come back!
A highlight of the day was the 'discovery' of the halls of carved stone concubines at a place called the elephant race track.
Hundreds and hundreds of individuals represented in stone.
An incredible archeological find.
Great detail.
Another wall of concubines in the late sunlight.
This corner panel has stumped archaeologists for a hundred years. See if you can spot the carved stegosaurus (3rd one up from the bottom on right). . . . they didn't know about the dinosaurs at that time!
We stayed at the nearby town of Siem Reap. Although it was filling up with tourists (before the Covid-19 scare), it was a pleasant and vibrant little place with good restaurants and good shopping.
There was an extensive 'night market' stuffed with tourist curios . . . and some very nice things too.
Yes, everything an international tourist might want on a hot Cambodian night.
I bought some bracelets from this hard working guy.
We had a feeling we were not the first tourists to have visited Siem Reap. Pub Street was a lively place.
This cart reminded me of the movie Groundhog Day . . . "Hey, who wants some flapjacks?"
Lots of small street eateries. This was in the middle of the tourist season, mid-January, and it was not as crowded as I would have thought.
The modern tuk-tuk driver is hooked into the world and its events.
Our driver insisted that we all go out to the lake and take a boat on the water to see the sunset. We were sure it was just a tourist trap, but we relented. There were hundreds of small boats full of tourists. We got one and headed out.
The ride out to the lake was spectacular. We were very happy we had taken the trip.
We passed through a floating village along the way. The boatman told us that this village moves with the rising and falling of the lake.
We stopped off at one of the floating shacks.
The boatman said these villagers were very poor. He asked if we would like to make a donation of rice to the local floating school. We were happy to help. For a few dollars we bought four sacks of rice and delivered them to this school:
This is the floating school. We stopped here to unload the rice.
There were several of these large sunset viewing rafts out a mile or so from the shore of the lake . . . full of tourists like us.
A beautiful trip out into the inland sea.
The villagers made their living fishing from their floating platforms.
Village shacks in the amber sunset light.
The view from our observation deck . . . boats in the setting sun.
And the sun set over our Angkor Wat vacation. A wonderful four days. If you go to see Angkor Wat, I highly recommend the sunset boat trip . . . .Istanbul: The People
Saturday, April 19, 2014 at 8:49PM 
Istanbul has lots of people, 14 million of them in Istanbul proper, with many million more in the adjacent suburbs and towns. Everybody has to make a living one way or another.
14 million people means a lot of customers . . . customers for everything, like made-on-the-spot candy.
Street clam hawker. It's a way to live.
There are literally millions of shopkeepers in Istanbul, but not all as friendly and positive as this spice shop worker. A nice guy.
This tiny pastry shop was on the corner near our hotel. We stopped there on our way back to our room every day . . . and the pastry guy remembered our favorite.
There is a row of men's clothing shops near the Egyptian Spice Market. I bought three pairs of corduroy pants and a hat from this very helpful clothier.
We were told that there weren't many tourists, and those who were in Turkey weren't spending much. What to do? Enjoy each others' company in the Grand Bazaar.
The "staff" at the Grand Bazaar were all very hungry . . . for money. I can't blame them, the overhead must be steep. This Harim supply stall was vacant. I guess the women's movement hasn't helped sales any.
We bought some scarves and a table cloth in The Grand Bazaar, but, sadly, not from this guy.
The curios hawkers weren't doing any better. Time to play with the new stock.
A fellow browser in the Grand Bazaar. O, what to buy?
The nut, dried fruit, and Turkish Delight vendors were doing alright. Imagine this is your place of employment . . . every day of your life!
This happy gentleman provided excellent service. We bought nuts, stuffed figs, and spices from him at the Egyptian Spice market.
For some reason this Spice Market photo reminds me of Singapore, "You buy, or not?"
I spoke to the owner of this stall in the Egyptian Spice market . . . he said the exactitude of the spice display meant everything for sales. He said his family had occupied this stall since 1660. 354 years of straightening spice piles.
The guy in the mirror followed us everywhere.
We walked everywhere from our Taksim Square location. I enjoyed talking to the Turks and taking their photos, when allowed.
There were throngs of people on Istiklal Avenue, a main shopping street. There were also a number of buskers and beggars too.
Istiklal Avenue was a lively place full of warm humanity. A Turkish Huck Finn.
The Byzantines hired Viking mercenaries (a big mistake) . . . and it seems there are still a few around. For a rough and tough Viking he is very careful with that cup of hot coffee. NO, I can't explain it. Taken near Beyogiu.
This old fellow had seen his fair share of this and that. Wonderful face.
Modern Turkish people, more or less.
We left on an election day . . . so the city was full of e electioneering posters and banners and flags.
Yesterday's politician.
We were going to see the Grand Palace, but the line was around the block. Good thing too; we were able to spend the morning in the adjacent Guihane Park. I saw this woman take this photo and went right over and took the same photo.
It was a beautiful day so there were many families in the park.
It was also a good day for a school trip to the park. Sweet.
This neo-hippy street band was really good. However, the guitar player became enraged that the old street person decided to join in on his penny whistle. He got up and went over and confronted the old man. A very violent scene ensued with the hippie pushing the old man around while the crowd took sides. It went from sweet odes to nature, to a classless demonstration of elitism. Disappointing.
There were many street buskers around. They were happy for me to take their photo once I had thrown some change in the case.
This man plays very sweetly.
I saw this young busker on several occasions, in different parts of town.
I gave her a good tip and she let me click away.
Not the best way to make a living in a big city.
There's that guy again. Still following me.
We did not meet the complete cross section of Turkish society. Mostly we met merchants and people engaged in food preparation and service . . like this flatbread maker. They had her working in the front window of a traditional Turkish restaurant . . . I guess to prove authenticity!
Another shop window bakery worker.
Of course, we frequented the kabob joints. This was our favorite, The Konak Kabob . . . we went back several times. Always delicious.
It was a very busy place. They were hard working slicing and preparing the shawarma.
The Executive Chef, Mitat Oz, at the Konak Kabob was a real showman.
Mitat happily obliged to be photographed.
An apprentice shawarma assembler at the Konak Kabob.
Day turned to night . . . the street vendors were always there. I had to walk by this guy twice a day . . . he was a hard sell. I overpaid for some oranges one day.
The shawarma slicers were out at night too.
Midnight chicken shawarma! Yum-yum!
A young Turkish couple out on a date. While my wife took a photo with their iPhone, I snapped this sweet shot.
I, for one, would NOT name my night club The Crab Bar. I would also get rid of the lurker outside the door.
OK . . . I like the effect. People were out at all hours, even though nit became quite chilly at night in late March.
Such a sad and forlorn sight this political poster made after midnight in the orange light. But the corrugation made me happy.
Istanbul: Street Peddler Cart Study
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 9:33PM 
These bread loop peddler's carts are as ubiquitous as, well, kabobs in Istanbul . . .
They are literally on every corner . . .
The carts sometimes seem like meeting places for old friends . . .
As we strolled around Istanbul for a week, I found myself drawn to photographing these peddler carts, even though I do not especially like roasted chestnuts . . .
At first I thought of them as only an interesting foreground detail in a photo frame . . . .
Then I began to see them as an inscribed pecuniary universe inhabited by the cart tender, the peddler . . .
These were mobile business dramas; personal survival was at stake . . .
I was surprised by the limited products offered by the peddlers . . .
There were corn carts, with chestnuts . . .
. . . and corn carts without chestnuts . . .
Some bread ring carts also sold water by the bottle . . . . like this thoughtful peddler . . .
Other carts sold only chestnuts, and very few at that . . .
An interesting business concept employing a cart . . . . Tea and a bowl anyone? This was one of only a few carts I saw in Istanbul that was not selling either chestnuts, bread rings, corn, or water.
But, it was when the sun began to go down that my infatuation in these Istanbul peddler carts hit a crescendo . . .
At night the peddler carts became small planets arrayed around the monuments, markets, and main streets throughout the city . . .
At night many of the carts were replenished to meet the demands of the night shoppers and party-goers . . .
The pedestrian walks at the city center draw throngs of shoppers in the evening . . .
The carts become lanterns in the night . . . to draw customers, like moths . . .
Visitors, businessmen, tourists, and locals all succumbed to the chestnuts' inescapable allure.
I wonder how these 'locations' are apportioned? Is there a licensing process with the city? . . .
This man was intensely arranging and rearranging the chestnuts on his cart in an effort, I suppose, to draw attendion to his attention-worthy fare . . .
In the realm of the night peddler cart . . .
As it got later and later in the evening, and the pedestrians thinned out, the carts stood out more and more as forlorn islands of light along the dim streets and avenues . . .
Some cart tenders packed it in and went home . . .
Some cart tenders made their decisions to call it an evening based on the day's take. I wondered if this man, with a cart still full of chestnuts, had made enough to go home yet . . .
As the evening grew later, I ventured off the main pedestrian walking streets . . .
One last customer. Who eats roasted chestnuts at midnight? . . .
Walking back to the hotel, along a bridge ramp, I encountered this lonely nut peddler and his cart . . .
Out here, along the broad boulevards with fast moving traffic and few pedestrians, there were still a few carts with their lights on. This fellow had twisted doughnuts as well as bread rings.
Yes, still customers out at midnight, going who-knows-where . . .
Lit by the red brake lights of a passing bus, this man seemed to have chosen the darkest, most out of the way location possible . . .
This was the only drink cart I saw in seven days of walking Istanbul. The presence of mayonnaise and catsup made me think that it wasn't going to be a hot drink poured into those cups . . .
Very late at night, the last corn and chestnut cart began to shut down . . .
The last hold out . . . with head hung low.
Emptied and secured for the night (next to a police stand), another day gone in the life of a street peddler cart.
