Not For the Weak-Stomached

Most Filipinos know the newbie's rite here in Riyadh. A Filipino who lands for the first time in Riyadh is taken first and foremost to BATHA. Yes, just so you don't get culture shocked in the vast desert, you get to ride down homesickness lane via Batha, a Divisoria-like place where the Filipino community flock together on weekends. But even if it's familiar, Filipinos actually (unknowingly) get their ultimate dose of culture shock in this place (I won't tell why because hey, you gotta experience it too, y'know! ;P).

But as for me, a newbie here last May 2008, my first "initiation" was not Batha. My father took me to the Othaim Market. Not just the ordinary Othaim grocery market but the Othaim slaughterhouse near Batha. And we used the road where we get to pass beside the pugutan ng ulo square going to the slaughterhouse! Grrr... Heaven forbid, was my dad trying to intimidate me by bringing me there?!

Every Friday morning, the father goes to Othaim to have the freshest butchered part of a cow, or a lamb, or whatever fancies him. He usually goes for the innards for his fave soup - the pinapaitan. For a few weeks after my first time to Othaim, I get up half-heartedly to accompany him because that's our sort of bonding moment (sweet noh?! hehe). After a few trips to the slaughterhouse, I opted not to go. LOL! There were just too many guys, too many animals apart from the guys, hehe, too many spilled blood and dirty water, the stench and the filth... not to mention the fact that there were just too many muttawas in the place and so very few women. The reasons not to go are endless.

But then, I remembered, didn't I grow up going to the palengke in our little town? Besides, didn't someone once told me that if I really want to get to know more about the place where I'm in, I need to go to the local restaurants and the local markets... not the Westernized malls and parks? I feel like immersing myself more to this new place (as crazy as that may sound) so I still tag along with the father when he goes in Othaim. Like last Friday...here's some photos I took discreetly.

Warning: The following photos will probably turn you into a vegetarian. Believe me, I already spared you from the more grotesque ones.

An innocent looking meat stall...

Until you see the carnage:

Feast your eyes

A huge liver waiting in all its glory at the side of the stall.

I swear I can feel these huge lungs breathe... until I get closer and saw the ruptured veins and cut arteries.
Okay, it's dead (stop being paranoid!).

Want to guess what this is?
Turn it around and you'll see the eyes and the ears.
(Some stalls even display it like it's one of those deer head's trophies in a hunter's den, argh!)

To us Ilocanos, this is known as the "labakara" (towelette) part of a cow, mainly used for the local delicacy pinapaitan.

More innards right in your face!
(Can you see those blood and animal juices oozing on the blocks of ice?! Oh, the vendor here is my dad's suki.)

Next up, the fish market...

One of the reasons, if not the only reason, why I go... shrimps galore!

Filipinos on the prowl for the freshest meat and veggies.

It wasn't that bad, really, but you know... if you have innards and butchered animals in front of you, it still feels weird and nauseating. It probably is better than most wet markets in the Philippines but it's still is an unfamiliar territory to the newbies.

Anyway, now you know where to go when you're looking for freshly-butchered meat and quality seafood. There's veggies and fruits there too to complete your ulam. Be cautious though, the place is slippery when wet (it's not a wet market for nothing).

Apart from the in-your-face butchered animals and the gross way they display them, Othaim has taken me aback because my first encounter with a muttawa happened here. Nevertheless, I still go there. What intimidation?! Nice try, dad. Heheh.