Billions

Obviously not,but the person asking me to bring some considers the supermarket picks to be unremarkable,hence the request. As a non cheese consumer (cholesterol issues) I don't know what cheese is sold in Foodland and how it compares to stuff here in the UK.

I have been asked to bring some good cheddar cheese when I next visit Thailand,and am happy to comply. To those that have done this before (I haven't),is there any methodology? Special packing,foil? it takes me an hour to get to my departure airport,then 2-3 hours at airport before departure,so goods would be non refrigerated for this time before being loaded onto aircraft. Any tips to ensure they arrive in good condition? Also,what about non-vacuum packed cheese? There is a wonderful cheese shop near my house selling spectacular non commercial varieties....as these aren't vacuum packe

Right,here we go..... The first bunches are from my first visit,December 2009. I got there late,and missed the tuna auction...and then thought I was inside the megaworld that is Tsukiji when I was actually oscillating round the pheripheral external retail market. I did find the huge wholesale sheds later,but it was winding down by mid-morning. Tsukiji is busy,and not a place for the feint-hearted.There's movement everywhere,and tourists inside the wholesale sheds are just about tolerated. So,here's the first batch of a mixture of photos from the first morning,in both the public and

I should have been checking in at London Heathrow in 36 hours for another flight to Bangkok,but the gods have conspired to make me postpone this trip for a couple of weeks,as I struggle to untrap a trapped nerve. With a huge amount of free time now presenting itself,I'm gonna upload photos from the incredible Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo (pronounced Ski G ). These will be over the next few days in small batches,as I locate,prepare and resize them.There will be some good stuff here....keep checking back. I'll drop a little bit of commentary in as and when. Enjoy!

And finally.........

Thanx Sam. In fact,these were taken with a low-end Sony Cybershot.....I had heard Klong Toey was a sketchy part of town,and so went with a tiny pocket camera. In reality,the market is busy and uncompromising,and populated by a cast of characters who wouldn't look out of place in a horror film.....but actually safe. Not friendly though,its a harsh environment. Klong Toey is a large an administrative region of Bangkok (a ket?)......the market,a small piece of this,is pretty hardcore....but the infamous slum is a ten minute walk away towards the docks,and thats the unsafe area. I hope

Samesame.....

EP,thank you very much. I always find severed pigs heads very serene. Strange but true! It's said that the only part of a pig that can't be sold is the squeal,and thats certainly the case at Klong Toey. A few more from three years ago....

A few more,all from Klong Toey market a few years ago. I had a couple of these blown up,and put on my kitchen wall.

The terrible spelling that went unnoticed in Bangkok for a generation.

Thanx for that! So many...I thought the ice suppliers were a mafia,like the suppliers of fortune cookies to Chinese resturants or bread sticks to Italians....as in,no competition allowed.

Asian markets are full of potential for amazing photos!

Neon is being replaced in more and more places by LED lighting.....everything evolves. Shame,as it's not as evocative. I went to Tokyo a couple of years ago to photograph the neon.....only to discover most of it was fluorescent. Not the same! One problem with photographing neon in Thailand is that many sign makers use a reflective backing board,so the image looks blurry because in fact there are two images in competition with each other. Another is the spelling.....the famous Bourbon Street in Washington Square in Bangkok had an orange neon sign proclaiming "Cookling Wilh Jazz" for ove

Additionally,anyone know where the ice houses are....the big suppliers of ice to businesses? I'm looking for interesting industrial scenes to photograph....from the primitive and medieval,to the brutal and organized,as long as it has a Thai slant. All ideas welcomed....I'll be in Pattaya for a month so will have plenty of time during the day to track these places down.

Is there a rough wet market in Patts,where the animals are chopped up in full view of all? Where the tables are bloody and heads are everywhere? If not,then any slaughterhouses nearby? Thanx.