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Comparing street markets: Myanmar and Leiden

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The Saturday Market opens every Saturday along the canals (Nieuwe Rijn, Vismarkt en Botermarkt) and a smaller one on Wednesdays. There are many makeshift stalls on Saturdays but fewer on Wednesdays. The stalls sell - flowers, bags, toys, foods/ drinks , accessories (bicycle, tailor, fashion etc), speciality food like Middle East cuisine/ ingredients, Dutch herring, chesses etc. The stalls are always busy.

The market in Leiden is less noisy than the street markets in my home town. During my visit to Leiden, I noticed the friendly relations between the shopkeepers and their customers. The fish sellers, especially, looked warm and friendly. Some sing together to attract the customers to their shops. Many of the vendors wear uniforms and are tidy. They display the prices clearly for the customers. If someone wants to eat there, they prepare the food well. But the street markets in Myanmar are over crowded, noisy, one can haggle the prices and chaotic. I was very surprised to see the street market in Leiden.

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University of Mandalay
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Leiden
Netherlands

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