One of the highlights of Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, was for me visiting the city weekend’s market and strolling through the stalls with groceries. When we arrived to the market, the guide explained to us that there are two parts to see there : the fruits and vegetable market and the souvenir market. I figured that the souvenir part was for tourists (even though Chencho insisted that locals would also go there to buy some Buddhist cult stuff). Anyway, I thought people who shop for groceries, are definitely going to be locals. If I hang out here, I will get a glimpse into “normal” life of “normal” Bhutanese.
Lucky me, my fellow photographers went straight to the souvenir market part and I was free to dive into the vegetable market without any competition in sight. Let me share this experience with you!
These guys are selling rice. Nothing else. Negotiating the price is not common. Price is the same with every seller, real “market price” and it doesn’t depend on the client’s skin colour. That was good to know.
Waiting for the client can be boring, so every seller finds his own strategy to fight off the sleep…
Surfing on Facebook or counting the profits?
This woman is selling incenses and the ingredients for making them at home. The business didn’t seem to go well that day.
It is not easy to resist the arms of Morpheus!
The Bhutanese are nice to chat with (they all speak English to some extent) and they generally don’t mind to be photographed. It takes a small talk and a genuine smile to win their “yes”.
– Can I take a photo of you?
– What! A photo of me?! (laughing)
A short conversation (overheard) №1
– Are you sure I’m not going to die from eating these mushrooms?
– You? Where you come from?
– German.
– Oh, I don’t know about you. I don’t die!
– What else did I want to buy?
– Mum, don’t forget tomatoes!
I kept bumping into this girl and every time she was eating something different. I had to warn her at last that the Bhutanese guys are short and if she eats a lot and grows up tall like me, it won’t be easy to find a boyfriend! She didn’t seem to care… A feminist I guess.
By the way, after this shot I also wanted a banana. They looked a bit different from those that I tried in Europe. I loved the taste and there is no way I will be able to describe it in words. Just trust me, it was delicious.
The Swiss are very present in Bhutan. As well as frugal innovations.
A short conversation (imagined) №2
– Is this knife sharp enough?
– Don’t hurt yourself, mum!
To finish this post, I’ll show you a photo that is not particularly good, but a friend of mine, Cathy has noticed that everything was beautiful on my blog. And I admit, out of vanity probably, I’m choosing the photos I like most. It probably makes Bhutan look like a fairy-tale.
To be fair, I’m posting a different photo, not so pleasing, but real.
Some meters away from the official market, where you probably need to pay the rent to be able sell, there are some stalls in the street (legally installed or not, I can’t tell). You can’t see well on the photo, but she’s there with her toddler, I imagine, the whole day. There are some pits around, some road work is going on. The goods she is selling are not Bhutanese, they look like some Chinese or Indian production. Once I even met someone selling woolen socks from a Russian factory!
Nothing is perfect, not even Bhutan, but I had a great time at the market in Thimphu and I hope that so did you!
Siberian in Bhutan 