Market sights in Pacific
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Koki Market
The picturesque stilt village of Koki, at the eastern end of Ela Beach, is worth visiting if you can find a local to take you. The best way to do that is by visiting the neighbouring Koki Market, one of the oldest and, after a vast improvement in security, safest markets in the city. Fresh produce and fish straight off the boat are sold here, but even if you're not shopping for produce, it's a colourful place to watch grassroots-style PNG commerce.
Don't flash around your jewels or expensive cameras if you're alone, but if you go with a local (someone from your hotel, perhaps) then carrying a camera shouldn't be a problem. Always ask before taking someone's picture and…
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Yungaburra Markets
The Yungaburra Markets are held in town on the fourth Saturday of every month; at this time the village is besieged by people mooching among craft and food products.
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Central Market
Satisfy both obvious and obscure culinary cravings at the 250-odd stalls in Adelaide's superb Central Market. A gluten-free snag from the Gourmet Sausage Shop, a sliver of English stilton from the Smelly Cheese Shop, a tub of blueberry yoghurt from the Yoghurt Shop − you name it, it's all here. Good luck making it out without eating anything.
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Fremantle Markets
Originally opened in 1897, these colourful markets were reopened in 1975 and today draw slow-moving crowds combing over souvenirs. The fresh-produce section is a good place to stock up on snacks.
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Gilles Street Market
Kids' clothes, fashion, arts, crafts and hubbub take over an East End school grounds.
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Kuranda Original Rainforest Markets
With revamped boardwalks terraced in the rainforest and wafting incense, the original markets first opened in 1978 and are still the best place to see artists such as glass-blowers at work, pick up hemp products, and sample local produce such as honey and fruit wines.
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New Kuranda Markets
The first you come to if you're walking up from the train station; essentially just an ordinary group of shops.
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Prahran Market
The Prahran Market has been an institution for over a century and is one of the finest produce markets in the city.
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Rundle Street Market
Over in the East End, Sunday's Rundle Street Market is a string of food stalls, fashion, buskers, jewellery, arts and crafts.
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Heritage Markets
Across the road from the original markets, the heritage markets overflow with souvenirs and crafts such as ceramics, emu oil, jewellery, clothing (lots of tie-dye) and pistachio-nut figurines.
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Fishermen's Wharf Market
If you're visiting the Port on a Sunday, this waterside market has antiques, bric-a-brac and crappy collectables.
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Luganville Market
Villagers come from all over southern and eastern Santo to sell their produce at the Luganville Market, near the Sarakata Bridge.
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Auckland Fish Market
No self-respecting city with a position like this should be without a fish market. Auckland's has a boisterous early-morning auction, retail fish shops, eateries and a seafood-cooking school.
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Gleadell Street Market
Buy a bag of nuts and shuffle past the fish caravan, the spruiking stallholders and hundreds of locals laden with a week’s worth of fruit and veg. This little open-air market is a genuine community experience, and a terrific start to any Saturday.
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White River Village
Betel nut, anyone? The friendly Gilbertese settlement called White River Village about four km west of the centre is mostly famed for its betel nut market. Wooden stalls selling the much sought-after commodity are lined cheek-by-jowl along the main road.
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Market
Apart from a few churches and a handful of mildly interesting memorials, there's little to see in Gizo. Go to the market and soak up the atmosphere. Villagers from neighbouring islands (and even from the Shortland Islands) arrive each morning by boat to occupy their little stands under the shade of tall trees.
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South Melbourne Market
The market's labyrinthine interior is packed to overflowing with an eccentric collection of stalls selling everything from carpets to bok choy (Chinese greens). Its hangover-relieving dim sims are famous and sold at various cafes around Melbourne (as 'South Melbourne Market Dim Sims' no less!).
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Kokopo Market
The buzzing Kokopo market is well worth a stroll. It's best on Saturdays. Buai (betel nut) and its condiments, daka (mustard stick) and cumbung (mineral lime, which looks rather like cocaine in its little plastic wraps) account for half of the stalls, with produce, such as fruit, vegetables, smoked fish and crabs accounting for the remainder. At the rear, tobacco growers sell dried leaves; homemade cigars wrapped with sticky tape at the mouth-end sell for around K1 each.
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Sydney Fish Market
This piscatorial precinct on Blackwattle Bay shifts over 15 million kilograms of seafood annually, and has restaurants, a deli, a wine centre and an oyster bar. Chefs, locals and overfed seagulls haggle over mud crabs, Balmain bugs, lobsters and slabs of salmon. Check out the early-morning auctions on a behind-the-scenes tour, or sign up for a cooking class.
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Central Market
While Honiara won't be mistaken for Dakar, the bubbling Central Market assails your senses. The country's principal food market covers a whole block between Mendana Ave and the seafront. It has a huge selection of fresh produce, especially fruits and vegetables, that come from outlying villages along the northern coast and from Savo island. Also on sale are crafts such as Malaitan shell money, souvenir shells and jewellery. The fish market is at the back (follow your nose).
There's no bargaining, and there's no hassling to buy anything. Utter bliss.
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Noumea Market
Noumea Market sits beside the marina at Port Moselle in a cluster of round buildings with blue roofs. It has a lively multi-ethnic atmosphere and is an interesting place to wander. It sells a wide range of arts and crafts, and fresh produce including flowers, fruit and vegies, bread, cakes, olives, meat and fish. The fascinating fish market, set apart from the other buildings, sells seafood of all shapes and sizes - fish, lobsters, crabs, prawns and squid.
On Saturday and Sunday a group of local musicians playing ukuleles and other string instruments keeps shoppers entertained. The market is at its busiest early in the morning.
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Vila Market
Colourful and busy, Vila Market is open round-the-clock from early Monday through to noon on Saturday. Fruit and vegetables, flowers, firewood, jewellery, woodcarvings and souvenirs are in the care of ni-Van women wearing colourful Mother Hubbard dresses.
Prices are rock bottom: coconuts, pawpaws and huge grapefruit can start at around VT20; a generous slab of laplap is around VT150. Produce is seasonal - look for wild raspberries in September, mangoes in November and passionfruit from March to May. Benches at the back are for diners. The ladies cook interesting meals like herb-coated fish with rice, as you watch.
There's no bargaining. Prices are clearly marked and no…
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Nambawan Market & Café
Wholesome snacks, wireless internet access, ice creams, fresh-squeezed juices and a large range of handicrafts.
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Queen Victoria Market
This site has been the market for more than 130 years, prior to which it was a burial ground. This is where Melburnians shop for fresh produce including organics and Asian specialities. There's a deli, meat and fish hall as well as a fast food and restaurant zone. On Wednesday evenings from mid-November to the end of February, a night market with hawker-style food stalls, bars and music takes over.
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Central Market
Satisfy both obvious and obscure culinary cravings at the 250-odd stalls in Adelaide’s superb Central Market. A gluten-free snag from the Gourmet Sausage Shop, a sliver of English stilton from the Smelly Cheese Shop, a tub of blueberry yoghurt from the Yoghurt Shop – you name it, it’s all here. Good luck making it out without eating anything.
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