My happy place is a public market

"Kahappy gyud diri sa Carbon oy!"

In English, I'm basically just exclaiming the overflowing joy whenever I visit the largest public market on the entire island of Cebu. I do! I exclaim not in silence but in words uttered with unrivaled spirits. You can imagine me galloping my way inside and around the market. And when you look straight in my eyes, you’d see fireworks dancing one after the other and at times, in unison. That’s a crazy description but that’s the truth! My happiness is as simple as a quick visit to the market.

I remember that even at a young age, I've always been fond of things adults do including going to the market. I remember going on an early morning trip to the small wet market in my hometown with my mother and father to buy meat, vegetables and pig’s blood. Now that I'm a grown-up, going to the market brings a whole new level of joy and, please don’t laugh, excitement! Yes, going to the market and seeing a wide array of goods especially vegetables, herbs and spices, meat of all types and cuts, fruits, and some other things one would never see in stand-alone supermarkets or groceries inside malls. Before I could write an entire essay about how happy I am whenever I visit public markets, let me give you a tour of my favorite market in Cebu. Come with me!

Today, I'm going to bring you to Carbon Public Market, the center of trade in Cebu City or should I say, the entire Province of Cebu. My company supplies frozen processed food to this market so I know that the market never sleeps. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration! Activities sort of wind down from 7 in the evening to 12 midnight, but at around 2-4 AM, the real action kicks in. Restaurant owners, carenderia owners, and housewives, flock to the market early in the morning to buy whatever they need to run their businesses and kitchens. The market is organized in a way that there’s an assigned section for each type of good. And before I forget, the main market extends on the nearby streets which were closed to give way to market activities. In the photos is the area where vendors display vegetables and fruits. They arrange long tables to display the items they sell. People buy in pieces or in bulk depending on their needs and there's no problem with that. One could buy even a single piece or an entire sack of potatoes and one wouldn't probably have a problem with that; there's enough for everyone.

I’ve been to Carbon countless times. And what amazes me is that despite the high number of vendors selling, every single vendor seems to sell maybe not all but still able to sell their goods at the end of the day. Some vendors buy from farmers and resell, but I’ve also seen some farmers who sell their own harvest.

During this visit, I bought an entire week's supply of vegetables and fruits. I'll give you another tour at the other section of Carbon Public Market some other time! Happy friday, cheers!

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