While in London, we stayed in Dalston. Though Dalston belongs to the creative district of Hackney and is just a neighbourhood away from the hipster-hub Shoreditch, it looked like it was still in the very early process of being gentrified.
Let me be blunt: I am not a fan of Dalston. I would not recommend staying here, especially if you are a solo traveller or a group of female travellers.
But one of the (very few) things I liked about Dalston was the gritty authenticity of the district, which was fascinating to observe ━ during the daytime, with Fafa beside me. And the only place I was absolutely fascinated by there was the Ridley Road Market, more known as the Dalston Market.
Ridley Road Market, aka Dalston Market
Ridley Road, London, E8 2NP. Opposite Dalston Kingsland train station off Kingsland High Street / A10.
One morning, after Indonesian food breakfast in Ngopi, we passed by the Dalston Market and decided to check it out.
Framed by butcher shops on both sides, Dalston market is a single-stretch market with stalls on both sides. The items sold are the typical market produces and products. From fruits to fish (the fish stall was my favourite ━ I kept coming back to take more pics and might have crept out the seller).
From chilli to chestnuts and fake gold to nighties. The sellers were friendly; some asked me to take pictures of their products, while one instructed me to retake their photo ━ the one they posed for.
As you might know, London is filled with iconic markets ━ Borough Market, Portobello Market, and Camden Market; to name some. Dalston Market is the opposite of it. It’s the local people’s market ━ the OG.
Dalston Market is not one of those tourist-attracting markets. I doubt it was mentioned all that much in those London travel guides or many books dedicated solely to London markets.
Also, not many know this unassuming market has been a part of the local culture for more than two centuries, thus making it a part of the local heritage.
And precisely for those reasons, I loved it. It reminded me of my childhood when Amma took me to Pasar Bendungan, one of Jakarta‘s local people’s markets, to buy the weekly groceries.
I planned to return to Dalston Market and get something from here as a memory (of Dalston and my childhood) before we left, but the timing didn’t work out. And to be honest, I don’t think I would return to Dalston again, so maybe Dalston Market will be a once-in-a-lifetime memory. But, hey, at least I wrote about it.
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