Visiting Mercado 4
Well, I will try to be brutally objective on this topic, sometimes due to homesickness I tend to see everything perfect in Asuncion, BUT IS NOT, that doesn’t make things less interesting, who is in pursuit of perfection anyway? I’m not and I have learned enjoying imperfection, and I love it.
Now days the only thing I pursue is happiness. (that’s the title of a movie I just saw and I can relate to that)
Living in Asuncion can be a very interesting experience actually if you are not a person who is too comfortable in your comfort zone, it can be a rich experience for your overall senses.
If you go to Asuncion don’t expect to see many thing expect to live and go for the whole experience, the whole adventure from hopping on a bus or getting lost in middle of no where, at the end you will be proud of yourself.
What people enjoy doing in Asuncion is going to the “Shopping’s” as everyone call the malls, where you can find plenty of restaurants, cinemas, tons of shops (all mayor brands), those places are very modern and popular, its very common to hang around there with friends or just go for a coffee to chat with someone, of course you will find tons of known people there, the “shopping’s are very frequented.
Hanging out with friends or family is a very big and important part of people in Asuncion.
Lately I became tired of going to the malls, I always wanted to go to new places, there are some few new shopping’s in Villa Morra (a neighborhood you cant miss), and going to shopping or malls doesn’t mean necessarily you have to buy stuff, it is very frequent to just hang around there or have a coffee or so.
A destination I never get tired of is the Mercado 4 and Mercado de Abasto, which is basically the biggest market in Asuncion, where you can find literally EVERYTHING, from fruits and veggies to the most beautiful imported clothes, leather, shoes, counterfeit pieces, electronics, you name it.
Mercado 4 is an unique parallel world, its quite big, cheap, international, its like an international Chinatown, lots of Koreans, Chinese, Arabic, Paraguayans, etc, it gets very crowded that’s why they advice no to go there because it can be dangerous, yes, it can but usually nothing happens, I would just advice not to unattended your bag or purse and don’t use your cellular phone because someone can steal it from you, with a bit of attention you will have a wonderful experience there, its very popular and you can’t Miss the Mercado 4 while in Asuncion.
You can chat with local vendors who will always try to sell you something, but they are nice and will give you directions if you need to find something specific or if you are somehow lost inside or outside the market.
It has basically different parts, you can find tons of stalls on the street, they are usually located infront of the Galleries (Santo Domingo, Bonanza, Petirossi, are the most popular) with all kind of stuff, fruits, veggies, undies, socks, “remedio yuyo” for terere, food (asadito, hotdogs, empanadas, chipa guazu, sopa paraguaya, etc), honey, natural herbs, imported stuff from brazil.
Then stores that sell jewelry, shoes, clothing, beads, bijoux, wholesale stuff, like shampoos, candies, Yerba Mate, gourds, horns, YOU NAME IT…
Then the galleries like Santo Domingo, Petirossi and Bonanza full of korean and Chinese toys, Brazilian imported goods, clothing, electronics, an entire floor of shoes, national and imported shoes.
It always fascinates me, everytime I go I have such a great time, there you can find the best Chinese, real Chinese restaurants in town, very very cheap, you can also eat “asaditos” from the street, maybe I should not recommend that, but they can’t kill, I hope so at least.
Sorry no photos, I never had the courage to take my camera there, but I will try to find some great photos to share with you.
Living in Asuncion would and certainly is an unforgettable experience.
