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Published: November 3rd 2007
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The first day in Thimphu we headed down to the weekend market that takes place every Friday through Sunday. Local farmers from all over sell their goods; chilies, beans, radishes, carrots, dried pork, Yak meat, etc…The meat area, which is all by itself at one end of the market, is hard to get used to. The heads and hoofs are right in plain site. There are tons of dogs that hang out hoping for a stray piece of meat. Bhutan is basically out of chicken at the moment. They don’t allow any bird meat into the country from outside because they are so scared of bird flu. Shane and I usually head to the market with other lodge staff who buy an entire truck load of food every Friday. The owner of the stand the lodge buys their food at allows me to fill up a bag of veggies to take home. I buy fruit and other veggies from other stands. I basically spend less than $5 for plenty of food for the whole week. I suppose I also buy things like peanut butter which costs like $6 for a small jar so it might even out in the end. Sometimes
things are given to us when we are walking around. It’s so strange being treated differently because we are foreigners. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.
So Bhutanese food….Basically it is rice, some veggies like radish, cauliflower, or beans, maybe meat, and a whole log of chilies. They love this really fatty pork that still makes my stomach turn. Chilies are a main part of any meal. I have eaten one meal at a friend’s house and a couple Bhutanese meals out at restaurants. The meal at the friend’s house was “milded” down for us. I still felt it was hot and began sweating. When I cook I try to add a chili or two so I can start to get start to get used to it. Shane is eating lots of chilies by now. He often eats the family meal at the lodge which is only ever Bhutanese food. I have been told that Bhutanese think any meal without Chilies is too bland. One woman I met spent two months in Japan and lost so much weight because the food was “not proper”, meaning there were no chilies. I will be probably be updating you on my saga with the chilies the entire time I am here. People here are very generous with what they have. If you go to someone's house you often will be offered tea and crackers and they will continue to fill your cup until you leave. It's really quite humbling.
Driving in Bhutan has been quite an adjustment as well. First, they drive on the other side of the road which is hard to get used to. Second, there seem to be very few rules. You drive as fast as you can on the windy roads (which is realistically, not that fast). The kids never wear seatbelts and hang out the windows. Scooters are even worse. I have seen an entire family on one with one kid in front of the father and one in front of the mother. No one is wearing a helmet. It is quite a site to a westerner but I have yet to see an accident since I have gotten here. If you are a pedestrian you have to look out for yourself. The cars always have the right of way so walking with caution is an understatement. In a way it works better because so many people in the states walk out into traffic thinking they own the road. Here, I see 5 year olds walking home from school all by themselves staying clear of cars the entire time.
There is a lot of construction in Thimphu at the moment. It is all supposed to be done by 2008. It’s kind of a joke with the people here because there is no way everything that is being worked on will be finished. 2008 is the year of the coronation of the 5th king and the beginning of a democratic government. There are a lot of occasions that will bring the royal family and many tourists to Thimphu and they are trying to fix the roads and new housing for the expected increase of people who want to live here. Most of the construction is being done by Indian workers. They come here to get the work they would not be able to find in India. They live in these shacks made out of old wood pieces and large blue tarps. They live near the construction sites and will, I guess, head home when the jobs are done. They use bamboo for scaffolding. On the road from Paro to Thimphu there are thousands of people of all ages hammering rocks in order to widen the road. By all ages I mean from 5 to 85. It's kind of heart breaking but it is the way things are done here right now. Regardless if all the construction is not done, I look forward to all that is coming up in 2008. I think it will be a really interesting year to be here.
Sorry for the rambling of subjects😊
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dave and jessca
non-member comment
spicy dogs
Becky and Shane.... we are so excited to read about your adventures! It is amazing to have the opportunity to "see" it through your blog. Keep shari g your days and ights with us, please. We miss you lots and good luck with the chilies and dogs. Love you! Dave and Jess