Tibet: Lhasa Markets

Several areas of the Lhasa old town are open air markets with vegetables lining the streets. The elevation and cold climate only let farmers grow barley and mostly greens given the abundance of sunshine in the thin air. Every possible leaf vegetable, pepper, tomato and cucumber variation is on display here. Then there is yak meat sold either in semi-frozen blocks or ground, often cut just in front of you. Even more impressive is the yak butter – sold in humongous blocks. There is also dry yak meat, cheese curds, and barley grain and flower. Tons of sellers tout various Buddhist pilgrim wears for the thousands of pilgrims coming to Lhasa for the Kora pilgrimage – prayer wheels, flags, beads, and so on.
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