Responding to the Call

Soon after we first arrived in Almaty we began to notice a peculiar sound daily, or almost daily. It was a man talking on a megaphone, but we weren't initially sure what he was saying. Initially, we thought it was a call for prayers (since Kazakhstan is predominantly Muslim) but eventually Chris was able to listen close enough to realize it was a produce vendor selling things like carrots, apples, bananas, cabbage, etc.

I don't think it was until late fall that we actually responded to the produce "call" and went and checked out the goods. We were soon able to learn that the red produce truck has some of the best deals coupled with good quality produce.

The red produce truck is the first of it's kind that we became acquainted with, but I have since noticed copy-cat travel merchants in the area (including a woman selling fresh dairy products like milk, butter, tvorog/cottage cheese, and sour cream, out of the trunk of her car). The "red truck" team of merchants are really effective at their business, the man who walks around with the megaphone is quite the salesman and does a good job of promoting their produce, there is a younger man that makes sure the baskets of produce are kept full as the women from the neighborhood make their selections, and there is a woman who weighs the produce, takes the money and makes change. Besides being good at their respective jobs they are also really friendly, nice, and patient.