Jaunted

Tags: Best-Bazaars / Bazaar Travel / Tunisia Travel / Shopping Travel / Culture / Markets / → All Tags

Mint Tea And Handmade Carpets: Tunisia's Kairouan Market Delivers

Avoid the temptation to purchase the "local color" of your trip at the airport gift shop and step into the magical labyrinths that are city markets. Practice your haggling and strap on that money belt as we profile some of the world's best.

One of the best travel decisions we've ever made was to forego the typical Mexico spring break for a far more cultural (and culture-shocking) one in Tunisia. And it only got better the further we went into the North African country, as prices dropped and hand-made carpets got more colorful. Speaking of carpets, we headed to one of the capitals of this industry: the city of Kairouan.

As the fourth most important city in Islam, Kairouan attracts its share of foreign visitors, and all are attracted to the vibrant market of the city in the walled-in medina. Here is the place to purchase hand-painted ceramics, glassware, and especially the meaning-laden carpet you've always dreamt of owning.

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Tags: Turkey Field Trip / Markets / Grand Bazaar / Spice Market / Istanbul Travel / → All Tags

How To Survive The Grand Bazaar and Spice Markets in Istanbul

Last week Shira Levine spent a few days getting her Turkish Delight on in Istanbul, Turkiye ("Turkey is a bird; Turkiye is the country"). Any questions about what to do in Turkiye? Send 'em to us and we'll have Shira answer them for you.

We've been through plenty of shuks, souks, ferias, and open-air markets in both developing and developed nations. The Turkish Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market take the pistachio or saffron-flavored cake in offering interpersonal adventures, thanks to the unbelievably high levels of persistence shop owners have in hopes of making a sale.

Even if you don't buy, these sweet and sensitive guys get very offended if you don't engage them in conversation and step into their shops. Resist! No one has that much time or patience.

Here's our list of tips on how to make the most of your trek through the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar.

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Tags: Jaunted Field Trips / Embedded Travel Guides / Tel Aviv Field Trip / Markets / → All Tags

Eats in Tel Aviv: The Carmel Market

Jaunted contributor Sedona recently spent a week in Tel Aviv, and happily ate her way through the city so she could share her picks with you.

We're major fans of visiting open-air markets while traveling, and Tel Aviv's got one of the best: The Carmel Market, at the intersection of Allenby, Nahalat Binyamin, King George and Sheinkin Streets. Make sure you set aside ample time to stroll through the hundreds of stalls where you can pick up everything from sunhats to nuts to nougats to spices, fruits, coffee and more.

Skip the "Clothing Only" section at the start (unless you are looking for overpriced Levi's) and walk towards Sheinkin Street for a great path through all the food stands. The Mediterranean produce is amazing and cheap and vendors are happy to comply with taste-testing for potential buyers.

We scored ourselves some delish burekas (traditional breakfast bites with filling) and fresh strawberries to take to the beach later.

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Tags: Events / Tokyo / Madrid / Paris / New York City / Brooklyn / Museums / Markets / → All Tags

This Weekend in the World: Markets and Museums, Oh My!

· New York City: Can it be true? Is New York finally going to enjoy some 70-degree weather this weekend? Since this spring will find more urbanites with less cash for indulging their al fresco fantasies, we turn to the opening weekend of the outdoor Brooklyn Flea Market in Fort Greene, Brooklyn on Saturday. From 10am to 5pm on the grounds of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, 200 or so vendors will pitch their tents and hock everything from vintage vinyl and handmade baubles to churros and organic everything. Read all about this weekend's deals and the fun for the rest of the summer at the Brooklyn Flea's website.

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Tags: Exotic Cuisine / Korea Travel / Markets / → All Tags

Eating Toasted Octopus Chips At The Ssamziegil Market

Buried in the heart of Seoul's cultural village of Insadong is the striking postmodern structure of Ssamziegil Market, an open-air shopping plaza housing the best of both modern and traditional South Korea. It's a local haunt for the most part, meaning this complex boasts a rooftop tea house and garden instead of a Starbucks--although there are plenty other Starbucks in Seoul--and thrives on locally-grown, seasonal goods.

From the traditional pajon, a seafood pancake eaten during rainy weather, to toasted octopus chips to fish-shaped sweet bean pastries called bungeoppang, Ssamziegil offers a capsule of unique Korean flavors guaranteed to help you reach your gastronomic goals.

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Tags: Japan Travel / Markets / Tourist Attractions / Videos / → All Tags

Sushi Travel: Tuna Sashimi Joins Economic Meltdown

Economic crisis, environmental crisis, there's bad news everywhere we turn and in Tokyo the bad news is smelly, too.

We're talking tuna. Tuna that once went for ¥20 million (US$200,000) for a 445-pound fish at the Tsukiji Fish Markets in Tokyo is going to have to get even more expensive, say the experts, or it'll simply run out because of over-fishing.

We're sensing conspiracy here. Remember that the management at Tsukiji have now strictly limited tourist access to the famous markets? Are the Japanese planning to keep all the tuna for themselves and just feed us the line that it's all been fished out?

Soon we'll only have YouTube videos like the one above of the Japanese fish market to sustain us.

Related Stories:
· Tuna's Just Too Cheap [Japan Times]
· We've Annoyed the Tsukiji Fishmongers Too Long [Jaunted]
· Tokyo Travel Guide [Jaunted]

Tags: Southeast Asia Travel / Southeast Asia Field Trip / Markets / → All Tags

SEA Field Trip: Chatuchak Weekend Market

Can't afford a European vacation this summer? Do what our contributor Claire Duffett did: Explore Southeast Asia instead.

The biggest flea market in the world, Chatuchak Weekend Market, is almost its own city within Bangkok. To get there, take the Skytrain to Mo Chit and then just follow the crowd. Vendors sell everything from groceries to used clothes to designer goods and (faux) antiques. Stands teem with old boots, cheap dresses, bags of flavored ice and, yes, even fried bugs.

Inside the covered maze of stands, climb over piles of Levis and miniature Buddha figurines to find crafts made by local artisans. Between bouts of browsing, come up for air in the path surrounding the cluster to eat homemade coconut ice cream--though with the thousands of people milling about, the air is less than fresh.

But this is Bangkok, and congestion is as ubiquitous as rice noodle dishes with chili peppers. Fortunately, Chatuchak is the one market that sells unique, affordable goods with vendors who quietly bargain rather than accost passersby, insisting on sales. It's the one not-to-be-missed Bangkok attraction that you probably won't ever want to experience again.

Related Stories:
· Bangkok Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Thailand Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Japan Travel / Markets / Tourist Attractions / Attractions / → All Tags

We've Annoyed the Tsukiji Fishmongers Too Long

We've long been fans of Tokyo's early morning tourist attraction, the Tsukiji Fish Markets, where travelers willing to brave the streets at 5:30 am can see tons and tons of tuna and other fish changing hands, ready to land as sushi across the restaurants of the city.

The polite Japanese fishmongers of Tsukiji have only just realized something that was always obvious to us: All these tourists really get in the way of business! We remember climbing over piles of fish so we could get a better spot to take photos, and we're sure that there are a whole lot of tourists even more annoying than us.

So, sadly, the Tsukiji fish markets are now limiting access for tourists. As of April 1, tourists are only allowed to enter between 5 and 6:15 am and will have a designated place from which to view the tuna auctions. Of course maybe when it comes to fish markets, an hour is plenty.

Related Stories:
· Tokyo's Top Tourist Attraction is Limiting Access [Gadling]
· Fishtravaganza in Tokyo [Jaunted]
· Tokyo Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: cranrob]

Tags: Travel Snapshots / Flickr / Markets / Tourist Attractions / → All Tags

Travel Snapshot: Mercado del Puerto, Uruguay

We've been coming to you live from Uruguay this week, where we've been scouting the chivito scene, taking in plenty of sun and trying not to eat more than two steaks a day. (It's been hard.)

Stopping at places like Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo hasn't made it any easier. This big meat market--as in they sell meat--touts more beef than we could eat in a year. It also makes for some cool photos, if we do say so ourselves.

We'll be bringing you a full report on our Uruguay Field Trip next week. Until then, our Flickr pool is the place to check out more travel snapshots.

Related Stories:
· It's Summer in South America [Jaunted]
· Travel Snapshots coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Christmas / Markets / Europe Travel / → All Tags

Which Christmas Market Has Witches?

We love a good European Christmas market, with all those wooden toys, warm mugs of mulled wine and fine smelling gingerbread treats. The only problem is deciding which one to go to. While our personal favorites would be Germany's Heidelberg markets and Slovakia's Bratislava markets, we're getting bombarded with other suggestions.

The UK Times just put out a list of the 20 best Christmas markets across Europe, confusing us entirely. Some interesting tips here include Switzerland's largest markets in Basel, getting plenty of bratwurst at Germany's famous Nuremberg Christmas markets and the Ljubljana market held right on the river bank in Slovenia.

Meanwhile, BootsnAll has focused on the 5 cosiest Christmas markets in Europe, and our tip for Bratislava gets confirmed here. Markets in Vienna, Prague and Estonia's capital Tallinn also feature, as well as the Piazza Navona Christmas market in Rome, which has the added bonus of laughing witches. There's nothing like combining a good few holiday traditions to make the most of the season.

Related Stories:
· The 20 Best Christmas Markets [UK Times]
· 5 of Europe's Cosiest Christmas Markets [BootsnAll]
· Jolly St. Nicht [Jaunted]

[Photo: G_A_B_R_I_E_L_E]

Tags: Dubai Travel / Markets / → All Tags

Get A Whiff of the Real Dubai

Dubai, as everybody knows, is going crazy with building and creating questionably useful things like the world's biggest shopping mall, the tallest building, the ability to ski in the desert and so on. What most of us forget is that Dubai also existed before its boom, and when you visit, the most enjoyable part of your stay might be in finding the real Dubai.

Last weekend's UK Times gave a view on what authentic Dubai could be: the smells. And that's not the shopping mall smells or the the 7-star hotel smells, but what you can find in the original souks and marketplaces usually hidden away from tourists.

Apparently the smell of the spice market is real Dubai, as is the odor of the fish and meat souks, and apparently even the gold market has a special smell--who would've thought?

Related Stories:
· Where To Find Authentic Dubai [UK Times]
· Ann Curry is Unimpressed With Dubai [Jaunted]

[Photo: Simon Loxham]

Tags: Paris Tours / Markets / Monica Guy / Embedded Travel Guides / → All Tags

Jaunted Embedded Travel Guide: Paris Markets

Nobody loves the weekly supermarket run, even in Paris.

But we all love a good market. Take a load of food that's normally available at your local superstore, clean and neatly packaged, placed at convenient heights on labelled shelves and surrounded by helpful recipes and appropriate sauces.

Now remove the items that are out of season, let a few of each go mouldy, cover everything over with a light covering of dust or mud, stand them in the sun for half a day, then arrange them randomly in rows under plastic covered stalls in overcrowded streets.

Food shopping suddenly becomes a lot more of an attractive prospect. Even something you'd want to do on your holiday.

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