Not many tourist go to the night market. By not many I mean none. I think the only foreigners that wander the dongxi-laden stalls are brought by me.

The factory girls and young cool men with big hair and faded jean, in Shenzhen to make their fortune, stare and giggle. The too-friendly merchants smile wide at the strange visitors that make more in a month than the bulk of their customers do in six.

Eating at the night market is an adventure. Fried breads, fresh fruit, dumplings, roast chicken, and barbecued items are available, and eaten from small rickety tables while seated on wee plastic stools.

A Trinidadian, above, surveys the food at a Night Market BBQ stall. Octopus, shrimp, lamb, chicken, mushrooms and strange vegetables, all on a stick, make the decision a difficult one.

Captured: June 23, 2008.

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A Thai Soldier stands guard at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, overseeing the arriving mourners. Princess Galyani Vadhana, sister of Thailand’s King Bhumibol, died after a long battle with cancer, January 2, 2008. The King declared 100 days of national mourning for the princess, who was deeply respected by Thai citizens for her work in arts and music, sports, education, and social welfare.

Each day, thousands of mourning Thais, dressed in black, descended on the Bangkok’s Grand Palace to pay their respects. Memorials and shrines to the princess were set up around the country.

Captured: February 2, 2008.

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Nine balconies, at the local police barracks.

Captured: June 5, 2008.

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for the photographers:

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At the night market you can buy sheets and other assorted dongxi, cheap radios, barbecued meat on a stick, or get a haircut under the stars.

Captured: June 24, 2008.

The owner of the outdoor shooting gallery at a Shenzhen (China) night market fills balloons to replace the ones shot by patrons. One Yuan gets would-be sharpshooters 10 plastic pellets, to be fired from a plastic AK assault rifle.

I recommend the Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM lens. It’s a great piece of gear for night work.

Captured: June 24, 2008.

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As I was waiting to meet friends for lunch I wandered to Sea World (hai shang shi jie). No, there are no killer whales or dolphins. Sea World is Shenzhen’s expat hang-out, an outdoor mallish area of international restaurants and shops. The centerpiece of Sea World is an old French-built cruise ship (seized for narcotics smuggling) now cemented into the ground. The ship is now a luxury hotel and restaurant.

As I sauntered in the brutal midday sun I spotted a gathering crowd. This gentleman, a busker, had two large metal ammunition boxes with a shoe attached to the top of each. His promotional sign, all in Chinese, was unreadable by the Chinese illiterate Stevo. Chinese women in their Sunday best and their burly mates tried to lift the ammo boxes. With much grunting the men were able to lift them about an inch off the ground, for a second or two. Yes, they were heavy.

Mr. Busker was about to insert his feet into the shoes on each box, and I’m guessing, walk, demonstrating his strength, skill, and resolve. The crowd parted like the red sea. Camera ready, I waited. He strapped in one foot and was about to start on the other.

It never happened. The security guards who had been hovering nearby descended and stopped the show. The crowd dispersed and I left disappointed.

Such is life sometimes, in the Middle Kingdom, and around the world.