Tag: street vendor
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Juicy competition
Night after night, a familiar sight unfolds on the bustling street corner. The vendor’s cart takes centre stage, drawing a lively crowd. Customers call out the names of their fruit juice – watermelon! mango and orange! avocado! He gives a nod to confirm that he’s heard the request, and whips up the juice on the…
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107 Hawker Centres in Singapore
While I was doing my doctoral research in Sociology, I was spending a lot of time exploring hawker centres and markets in Singapore. Every day, I would look for new sites. Where are all these 107 hawker centres located? This led me to wonder: which markets are clustered close together? Which markets are more isolated?…
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Markets in Siem Reap (Cambodia)
We enter the mystical world of Siem Reap, a city in the north of Cambodia and home to the legendary Angkor Wat (“Temple City”) built in the 12th century that hosted around a million inhabitants in its time, making it one of the largest cities in the world before the Industrial Revolution. In the 1970s,…
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The sole of business
In a culture where it is common to buy and throw things away at an increasing rate—phones, friends, furniture—Chia Chong Sin is in the business of preservation. His work reminds us that there are more to material things than their monetary value, and that another value—sentimental value—still matters. His trade is not just about reviving…
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Housework
“This shop was started by my father-in-law. When I got married, I started working here with my husband. 38 years already. But now, no new customers, all from before.”
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The early bird catches the… fish!
Mr Ang has been selling fish at the Jurong East market in Singapore for the past 50 years (he’s 75 years old), following after his father who also sold fish. However, he advised his son not to pursue the business, especially with his higher education, so his son now works “in an air-conditioned office”. Mr.…
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First Steps
I like asking business owners how they got started because it usually tells a story of confronting change and uncertainty. Henry is from the Dominican Republic. When I asked him how he got started selling jewellery at the Lexington Market in Baltimore (USA), he didn’t miss a beat. “How I got started? Straight from the…
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Getting Fresh
When I asked Leo whether I could take his photograph, he glared at me: “You trying to get fresh with me?! Are you getting fresh with me?” Stunned but unfazed, I looked right back at him and joked: “What? You? Never!” He broke into a wide grin, but his eyes quickly brimmed with tears. He…
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If you’re going to San Francisco…
“…. be sure to wear some flowers in your hair!” We communicated using fragments of Mandarin that I know consisting mostly of 3 introductory sentences: “How are you?” (Ni hao!) “I speak a little!” (We hui shuo yidian dian) “I am a Singapore person.” (Wo shi xinjiapo ren) And then, in response to…
Shopkeeper Stories 