If the car boot sales can bring in a variety of items, then be surprise at what you can find in one of our unpredictable mall here. It is called Cartimar and it's a place unto itself. It's a place where you can buy all kinds of things, some imported some local.
But it is mostly famous for its pet shop. However this is unlike any pet shop you may have seen. Dozens upon dozens of little shops stood lined up one after the next, selling every little creature imaginable!
Fish of every make by the thousands swam in small crowded tanks, pure bred dogs including a basset hound, a pure Japanese spitz, a boxer and scores of others sat in small cages with sad eyes for a buyer.
There are also cages packed with hundreds of tiny white mice crawling all over each other, birds of every shape, size and color by the thousands, rabbits, turtles, monkeys, buckets filled with hundred of snakes crawling and writhing all over each other and even long giant green lizards that looked like they came straight out of the dinosaur age.
Seeing them would makes one feel that the forest and ocean had been emptied of nearly all life, all on the name of profit. One sight stopped me in my tracks - an owl for sale. An owl? Owls are not the most plentiful of creatures and one doesn't normally see them in the marketplace!!
Amid the cacophony of barks and chirps I spotted a weird looking monster sized fish in an aquarium. "where's that big fish from?" I asked the store owner. "Argentina", he said. This piqued my interest, not in an investigative way, but more in a wonderment way. You see this kind of marketplace are more wide open than malls, meaning they can sell just about anything. Also one is never quite sure where the goods ended up for sale here.
My country has over 7,000 island, with a coast guard which could never reasonably defend a few of the smaller ones at one time. So Philippines is like a sieve that is impossible to police. Whatever the case, the scene in this market will have you marveling how my country is a place where a heck of a lot of goods pass through.
That's the way it goes here - a market for everything and a surprise around every corner.
13 comments:
That is so damn cruel, I cannot believe it is permitted!
Does no one stand up for these poor animals?
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DAYUMN Odette!!!
7,000 islands???
In america, the only place you can see such a wide variety of animals is the zoo. The conditions those animals are kept in are disgusting and inhumane, and that's illegal here. A lot of those animals are illegal too.
They'd be shut down in one day if any of them set up shop here. The police phone lines would be jammed with animal abuse calls. Although, I doubt if any of the monkeys or that many snakes would ever make it out of our airports. I guarantee they'd never be able to get permits to transport them here.
I just hope I don't need a permit and cage to board the plane when I leave. Too much red tape. Although, I have had all my shots. :D
tracey, AA,
actually i have read in the news that some exotic birds were confiscated from some of these pet shops. not so much because they are critically endagered species, but because they were illegally imported from brazil and south africa - meaning, the owner fail to get a certificate of registration for these birds. see, it still boils down to money, duh!
xoxoxoxo
I want a monkey! I know, I know, I probably shouldn't want one, but I do!!
I do feel for the sight of caged animals... so hard to make sure they are all cared for and homed properly..
Coastlines like that are impossible to police!
AA You will most definitely need a cage when you go! When is this bi event anyhow? Odette email with all the details please!
xxx
Ray I was surprised when I found out they have 67 provinces. Canada has 10 I joke one reason we unlikely to ever join the US is Texas would be upset about being the 8th largest state.
They have one up on both us and the Brits. They actually have a government department which apparently has teeth whose sole purpose to deal with corruption.
We have to remember 99.9997% of politcians give the rest a bad name.
A place like that could be very dangerous for Tourists Odette. Lets say Ray or I bought a chunk of coral to bring back and put in a fish tank. Customs finds it at the airport instant jail time.
Which explains why finding out just what can and can't be brought back is important to do before travelling.
Hi Odette,
Goodness gracious, it is like a zoo AND an aquarium in there! And the sad eyes of that owl...it makes me feel so bad for him! (Or her.)
I hope you are having a good week so far, and hopefully it will stop raining soon for you!
Sid,
yes we do have an ombudsman who deals with corruption. in fact our previous president was sentenced and jailed, although not in a regular prison but a house arrest, however, corruption is still rampant and it goes higher up to the malacanang palace.
Joey,
a monkey???
Jenni,
classes are suspended today coz the metro is under storm signal#2. hopefully the weather condition will improve in two days.
thank you all for the comments!!
I had no idea that you could see that many species in a pet store. Odette, are most of the pet stores clean and are the animals healthy looking? Do many people there have exotic pets?
Mimi,
it's not just one pet store but rows and rows of 'em! that whole building teems with pethops. some just sell fishes. others, just dogs, and still others just birds. but in between there are those that sell a variety of everything.
yes somehow the shops are clean and the animals are in good shape.
i remember cartimar as one of the places were we get our PX goods. that is has turned into a "pet mall" must be a nigthmare for animal rights activists.
daw quite ka na sa sagay website haw?
Joy,
yes joy it's the same mall. but this time they even sell "ukay-ukay" by the kilo!!
i still visit the sagay website everyday ,as in everyday gid, pero wala naman to abi ang mga regulars.
xoxoxoxo
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