A Day in Town

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A beautiful sunny day here seemed the perfect occasion for picture taking, and there are always interesting scenes to catch on the streets or in the market's hustle and bustle.

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Photos

Fruit Abundance
One feature about Dawu that I appreciate is the constant supply of fresh produce, virtually impossible to find in the more nomadic areas.

More Fruit
Besides being plentiful, the produce here is quite inexpensive. A large bag of peaches, for instance, might cost under 30 cents. Nine eggs is generally about a dime.

Meat Anyone?
Hanging behind these meat sellers is some sort of cattle. It's easy - you just tell them how much meat you want, what part you prefer, and then they take out a huge knife and hack into the carcass. Blood spews everywhere, they use their bare hands, and no one seems concerned about hygiene. No neat styrofoam, plastic wrapped packaging here.

Market Hub Bub
Jam packed with people, sellers, stalls of wares and motorcycles, the market is a place where anything goes. I even had pants hemmed for 36 cents!

Electric Horse Parking
A parking lot for motorcycles, right next to the pool tables. Every cowboy town needs billiards!

Pool Hall in the Open Air
In the small city of Dawu, there are at least four spots that I know of frequented by pool sharks. It's a popular sport! This particular one is right in the middle of the market.

Yartsa Huddles
Yartsa season is definitely drawing to a close, though it is still common to see groups huddled together, examining, weighing, buying and selling this mysterious herb.

Heaps of Wares
So many things to choose from - fabrics, food, dusty transistor radios, chopsticks, pantyhose, soap, Hello Kitty clocks - you name it. All piled on top of each other!

Friendly Shopper
This man was happy to have his picture taken, and happier to hear me speaking in Amdo language.

Gesar Thangchen
Inside and outside of the Thangchen, groups gather for Tibetan traditional dance and circle dance. I'll be sure to take some pictures of this soon!

Down the Block
A typical cluster of stores here on the streets of Golok's capital.

Baby Face
This cute toddler is the child of a Muslim butcher and my guess is that she spends every day at the market. I had a ball playing hide and seek with her - her little face giggling and peeking out from behind her hat.