Before I show pictures of our neighborhood shopping trip this evening, I thought I might mention that we have become proficient at using a pressure cooker. There are several reasons for using a pressure cooker in Nepal. You often cook beans and they cook much better and faster this way. Also, the cost of propane means that anything you cook you want to cook fast. Additionally, this past winter the Indian border was blockaded and many people ran out of propane.
We went shopping this evening. The best time to shop is between 5 PM and 8 PM. All the shops are open. All of the street vendors are out. Most Nepali shop on their way home from work, then prepare what they bought for the evening meal. Many people do not have refrigeration in their homes so you buy it, cook it and eat it. The street near our neighbor hood is like a very long and narrow department store.
The fruit stand. Generally the fruit here is better than in the USA, especially the bananas and mangos. The carrots are much better here. Somehow the carrot people in the USA have managed to take the taste out of carrots. Here they look different and taste much better.
An apple vendor and a banana vendor. The word for apple in Nepali is seaoww and banana is kayra.
A lady selling garlic, chilies, ginger and other spices.
The long, green skinny things that look a little bit like grass right in front of the vendor are actually green beans. They are bout 3 feet long.
Street vendors lined up on the street with stores open to the left in the buildings.
A costume jewelry shop. This is always a very popular shop.
A watch shop. I don't know, but I suspect that their Timex watches are not really made by Timex.
A cell phone shop. Everybody has a cell phone.
A silver and gold jewelry shop.
A vendor with a covered cart. This means that he is a little more prosperous than some other street vendors. He also has a little more variety.
A dress shop. You can choose your fabric and they will make the dress for you at the shop.
A street dog. They are everywhere. Many of them are not in good health. We got rabies shots before we came.
Near our house there is a shop that slaughters and butchers goats. Note the goat head on the counter.
An evening shopping trip is more than just shopping, it is a social experience also. People gather to share gossip, talk politics, tell jokes and check on friends and relatives.
A new person to blame: "the carrot people"
ReplyDeleteDevoted to killing all flavor in carrots.