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February 16, 2011

E is for Eggs

Manila, 2011

Today my photo story is about egg delivery to the market. The eggs are brought in from the countryside in a jeepney (a vehicle that will get its own story one day)... I am astonished that the eggs survive the trip! They are hauled by humans into the marketplace from where they are distributed to the many private retail kiosks.




As always, all images can be enlarged with a click of the mouse.

And this is my post for ABC Wednesday and also for Signs, Signs. 

A little late note added for sign enthusiasts: It is typical for private trucks and carriers of all sizes to have a sign "not for hire"... and that is done to discourage drivers from using the vehicle to moonlight.

46 comments:

  1. Sylvia KFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    Wow! That is amazing! Never seen eggs having their very own transportation -- and a pretty cool vehicle it is!! I'm amazed more aren't broken, too! Fun post for the E Day, Francisca! Hope your week is going well!

    Sylvia
    ABC Team

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  2. NankaFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:15 AM

    LOL! Seen this kind of transportation of eggs here too. Simply amazing! Egg-cellent!! :)

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  3. DinaFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:24 AM

    Pretty colored trays. (Ours are dull gray.) I see only one broken egg in the whole stack.
    How are the prices?

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  4. Teuvo VehkalahtiFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:32 AM

    On munia, mutta ovatko vapaan kanan munia?

    Teuvo Finland

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  5. FranciscaFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:34 AM

    @Dina... it's the colorful trays that first grabbed my attention, and then I saw the story potential. :-) Eggs for a dozen cost roughly between US$1.10 and US$1.40. In the market you can buy the singly, by the dozen or by the whole tray.

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  6. JamesFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:36 AM

    Another great post and very interesting. I like this Jeepney better than the ones I remember from when I was in the P.I.
    Nice reflections too. :)

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  7. cieldequimperFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:45 AM

    Don't drop them! This is the eggman just like there's a milkman in England (who also brings eggs btw). Love his truck it's gorgeous.

    Now... I have to be jealous again. How come France is a country of brown eggs? White eggs are pretty hard to come by and try decorating a brown egg for Easter...

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  8. FranciscaFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:46 AM

    @Teuvo... en oikeasti tieda jos ne on vapaan kanan munia, mutta arvelisin, että ne eivät ole. (Teuvo asked if they are free range chicken eggs,and I answered that I am not sure, but would guess they are not.)

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  9. VioletSkyFebruary 16, 2011 at 2:22 AM

    Even the trays are so colourful! and I see he has artfully arranged them in his kiosk behind all the bags of dog food and rice.

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  10. Roger Owen GreenFebruary 16, 2011 at 2:34 AM

    City folk forget where food comes from.

    Seems that you've picked your J word already!

    On behalf of the ABC Wednesday team, thank you! - ROG

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  11. photowannabeFebruary 16, 2011 at 2:38 AM

    That's a pretty jaunty jitney delivering the eggs. Wonderful colorful trays for the flats of eggs. When my son was in El Salvador he took a picture of a woman with 6 of the same size flats being carried on her head.
    Amazing shots.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Kay L. DaviesFebruary 16, 2011 at 2:48 AM

    Wow, a wonderful story for E day, Francisca. I love the jeepney - looking forward to more about it. Maybe, as Roger says, on J day?
    Eggs are apparently strongest when standing on end like that, so perhaps that's how they survive such a trip, and being handled by humans thereafter.
    Interesting!
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  13. jennyfrecklesFebruary 16, 2011 at 2:57 AM

    When I learned to drive I was told to imagine I had an egg on the backseat. One mind you, not a whole stack of trays! These are such cheerful pictures.

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  14. biebkriebelsFebruary 16, 2011 at 4:53 AM

    What a wonderful colored trays and all different colors. Those men take so many eggs at one time in their arms. (by the way, your dutch was perfect, better than my english).

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  15. UnknownFebruary 16, 2011 at 5:17 AM

    Great series to tell the story. I love the colourful trays. I've only seen brown and green ones. Interesting looking vehicle...

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  16. T. BecqueFebruary 16, 2011 at 8:56 AM

    I like the colorful trays they're carried in. Great post with good photos and interesting information! That truck is fantastic!

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  17. AndreaFebruary 16, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    How beautiful the trays are, Francisca! I usually see the brown or greyish trays, imagine i have been living here all my life and i haven't chanced on those! You should have seen how the eggs are gathered too. They are picked one by one, and when they are sold in retail, some more hands will touch it. Can we imagine how many hands an egg passed on before we can eat it! haha

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  18. KateFebruary 16, 2011 at 10:26 AM

    With Easter not far off, I doubt that there will be a shortage if this is any indication of availability.

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  19. ChristineFebruary 16, 2011 at 11:32 AM

    Wow! Those images of colorful egg crates filled with white eggs then stacked one upon the other are simply wonderful! Can't wait to hear the story about the jeepney. Is that a photo of it second from top?

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  20. Cezar and LéiaFebruary 16, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    Very interesting way to sell eggs, I mean about that different jeep.
    The eggs in your first picture look so symmetric, it's a beautiful effect, I loved the geometric design.
    Hugs,
    Léia

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  21. fredamansFebruary 16, 2011 at 11:07 PM

    Such colorful trays! Even more than that I love the old truck!

    http://fredamans.blogspot.com/2011/02/abc-wednesday-e-is-for-ewok.html

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  22. UnknownFebruary 17, 2011 at 12:47 AM

    The jeepney is fantastic! Very cool shots and post.

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  23. Chubskulit RoseFebruary 17, 2011 at 1:27 AM

    Lotsa eggs! Have you ever tried balut?

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  24. FranciscaFebruary 17, 2011 at 1:35 AM

    @Rose(chubskulit)... aaack! No! You've finally exposed the wimp in me! I just can't bear it! You know, I am SURE it tastes great, but I just can't get past the image. Maybe I'll post about it one day and let everyone else know what it is. :-D

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  25. Chubskulit RoseFebruary 17, 2011 at 1:46 AM

    Hahahah I gotta get back to you as I laughed upon reading your comment hahaha. I don't blame you as I don't eat balut either lol.. Nytnyt!

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  26. tapirgalFebruary 17, 2011 at 1:59 AM

    That's very colorful and artistic, with the color pattern random but very pleasing. I wonder if they ever get two greens together, two yellows, etc. :) Do you buy right off the Egg Dealer van, or was he posing?

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  27. CarolaFebruary 17, 2011 at 2:00 AM

    Interesting story.
    The first photo I like most, it has a fantastic structure, close to an abstract.

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  28. HFebruary 17, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    I love the multi-coloured egg boxes!

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  29. FranciscaFebruary 17, 2011 at 2:27 AM

    @tapirgal... if you enlarge the second to last image, you can see that the colors of the trays are really quite random... I just got lucky with the top stack! No one posed for me in these shots. And we buy from one of the many the stalls in the market, not from the dealer directly. :-)

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  30. tapirgalFebruary 17, 2011 at 2:40 AM

    Uh, yeah. I was riveted to the top photo and that cool van with all the chrome. You did get lucky and grabbed the opportunity. The top photo is perfect!

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  31. EG CameraGirlFebruary 17, 2011 at 5:39 AM

    The eggs are especially photogenic in those colourful containers! It IS astonishing that the eggs reach their destination without cracks. :)

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  32. London CallerFebruary 17, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    So colourful!
    Brown eggs are more popular in England, I think. ;)

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  33. WandaFebruary 17, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    Oh my, I'm such an egg lover ~~ looking at all those eggs all I can think of is, olelet, scrambled, over easy, egg salad..I better stop.. I'm drooling!

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  34. DhemzFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:56 AM

    oh my! looking at these photos made me miss the Philippines....:) thanks for sharing!

    Check out my ABC Wednesday entry as well. Much appreciated!

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  35. UnknownFebruary 17, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    wonderful find, Francisca!
    i've also wondered how those eggs survive the trip, our roads are not that good.:p

    great shots.

    http://savorthebite.blogspot.com/2011/02/signs-puppy-love.html

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  36. jabblogFebruary 17, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    I like the colourful egg trays. The jeepney is a fascinating vehicle - a sort of cross between a hearse and a school bus :-)

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  37. Anita JohnsonFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:57 PM

    Such beautiful eggs and crates...who knew? The photos remind me of spring...so colorful!

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  38. Kim, USAFebruary 17, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    A typical daily sightings in the Philippines. About the "Balut" I featured that in my kitchen blog Balut, I don't eat it every day because of hypertension. But tasted it once with San Miguel beer hehehehe!

    Signs

    manang kim

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  39. MarvinFebruary 18, 2011 at 1:01 AM

    Great post. I love the colorful trays and, of course, the jeepney. Buying eggs from the market means you're getting eggs that are probably several days -- if not weeks -- fresher that those we in the US buy from our grocery stores.

    ("Not For Hire" signs are a legal requirement for SOME commercial vehicles in the US. I could not begin to explain the exact government regulation involved.)

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  40. RedPatFebruary 18, 2011 at 1:28 AM

    I particularly love your first shot! Great post.

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  41. VPFebruary 18, 2011 at 3:32 AM

    Funny and spectacular, I'd like to see something like this in our markets!

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  42. Sallie (FullTime-Life)February 18, 2011 at 5:05 AM

    What an interesting photo essay. I can't wait for "J" is for jitney. It does seem like they'd be scrambled after all that.

    We know some RVers who have that 'not for hire' sign on their motor homes or trucks that they haul their trailers with -- they are afraid if they don't have it they will be charged fees for a commercial license or made to stop at truck safety stops. (It's not true, but I guess it makes them feel better.)

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  43. marinaFebruary 18, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    very interesting story; what a cool van/minibus! beautiful photos.

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  44. LesleyFebruary 18, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    love all the colours.
    really nice hand written signs at the kiosk, too.

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  45. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2011 at 8:39 PM

    That jeepney would I like to have ;-)
    Great photos!

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  46. JoyFebruary 18, 2011 at 9:56 PM

    Your egg carrier smiles nicely for his photo. I'd buy eggs from him. Love those coloured trays (so cheery) and the photos.

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