Vegetable market is every Sunday, and it is a multi-coloured affair. Vendors come from many neighbouring villages, and spread their goods out on plastic mats. I am not always the most patient person, so while a large line-up at one vendor may indicate that they have either the freshest produce or the best price, I move on to the ones who are more free.
First difficulty: understanding the price. It turns out this is not that difficult, because everyone knows the numbers in English, and it seems that everything is sold by the kg. Or 500 g, or 250 g. Those are the three large metal weights that everyone seems to have in addition to their hanging balances. Let me tell you, 250 g of garlic is substantial, 250 g of chilies is absurd! But then, they seem to cook chilies like a vegetable here…
Second difficulty: Packing my backpack. It turns out that few vendors have plastic bags – the general trend is simply to dump the produce into the buyers bag. Maybe next time I shouldn’t buy tomatoes first!
Third difficulty: wanting to take a picture, but not feeling like I know anyone well enough yet to be able to… So I just get one quick shot... maybe over the next months as i get to know people better.
At the end of the morning, I’ve spent all my money (i feel shocked, until i realize it´s only about $10 Canadian) and have more than enough food to last me until next Sunday. Some things are ridiculously cheap (cilantro and green onions each cost about 10 cents a bunch), and others are relatively comparable to Canadian prices (eggs, grapes..). My guess is that few laying chickens could make you some good money in Bhutan.
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