However, one fruit that seems to be consistently absent from all markets here is the Indonesian avocado. And I care because it is one of my favorite fruits. Don’t get me wrong, I can get avocados in every supermarket here but they are always from Australia or the USA and the small kind with wrinkly skin and are expensive. They taste just fine but I just can’t understand why nobody sells the bigger and cheaper Indonesian version.

I only found out about the Indonesian avocado during my trip to Flores.

Indonesian avocado at the market in Bajawa, Flores

I mean, look at these avocados: huge, tasty and if I remember correctly, around SGD1 for a kilo.

Some of the best avocados I had in a long time

After returning from Flores, I searched high and low for them. I found some (although not quite the same size) at Geylang Serai market. Unfortunately that market is closed until mid-November 2016 for renovation works.

Does anybody know why Indonesian avocados are not more prevalent in Singapore?

Most travelers just use Osh as a base to either explore the surrounding areas of Kyrgyzstan or as a starting/ending point to the Pamir Highway. As such it doesn’t really offer that many sights for tourists except a “holy mountain”, the Sulayman Mountain (which also happened to be Kyrgyzstan’s only World Heritage Site).

But I was there on a Sunday when a) the regular bazaar is busiest and b) the weekly animal bazaar takes place. So I drove out of town a few kilometers to first check out the animal bazaar. The road leading to the site was already jam-packed with pick-up trucks hauling away animals. The bazaar was divided into sections selling sheep, cows and horses with the sheep section being by far the largest. I was told that a regular-sized sheep costs about US$50. Horses apparently start at US$1’000 but can be significantly more expensive.

Overview of the Osh’s Sunday animal bazaar

Sheep

More sheep

Locals selling sheep

Local boy and his sheep

Sheep

Woman with her newly acquired sheep…

…who is not so keen on its new owner…

But resistance is futile…

… no choice lah…

…you’re coming with me…

… like it or not.

Local with his sheep

Some more sheep

Local with her sheep

Good morning, Sir. How are you today?

Ok, enough sheep.

Blacksmith

A lonely yak

Cow-section

Cow

Cow

Almost fully loaded…

… let’s get out of here.

Adding a cow to the horses.

Ready to go.

I doubt they know what is happening to them.

But you don’t need a pick-up truck to take home your sheep!

Supply trucks

It was a really interesting experience. If you happen to be in Osh on a Sunday, you should check it out. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it though as probably most towns have a similar animal bazaar.

From there I took a marshrutka to the Kelechek Bazaar in town. It is essentially dozens of old shipping containers lined up selling clothing and not really that exciting.

Kelechek Bazaar

Not too far away is Osh’s central market and one of the biggest of the region. It stretches along several kilometers along the river and is busiest on Sunday.

Osh central bazaar

Osh central bazaar

Osh central bazaar

Osh central bazaar

My final stop would be climbing Sulayman Mountain for the views of Osh.

Kyrgyzstan might not have McDonald’s, but at least they have MacBurger.

A Yak-40 near the university

View of Osh from Sulayman Mountain

After the Pamir’s colder climate, it was nice to be back in a warmer place once again. But after walking around in the hear for several hours, I was also looking forward to a relaxed afternoon/evening in the hostel and sharing travel stories. I am still going in parallel to some of the Mongol Rallye teams and their stories are always worthwhile listening to.

Khorog is the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in eastern Tajikistan. While its area makes up around 45% of the country’s land area, it contains only 3% of the population. Yep, mostly rocks.

View of Khorog

But what is interesting about the people (Pamiris) is that they are followers of Ismaili Shias, while the vast majority of the rest of Tajikistan are Sunni. Only about 10-15% of the world’s muslims are Shia and of those, only a small fraction are Ismaili Sunnis. They recognize the Aga Khan as the hereditary imam. The current Aga Khan was born in Switzerland and promotes economic progression in the region significantly through the Aga Khan Foundation. During my short stay, I found Khorog to be very progressive, both economically and culturally.

Gunt River

Gunt River

My goal for the day was to organize a ride for the next day (or the day after) towards Murghab. I could buy a seat in a shared jeep for about 150 TJS (19 USD) but that car would just zip through the Pamir Highway and would probably result in the same experience as the day before. Thanks but no thanks. What I really wanted to do is break the journey into two days but instead drive through the Tajik Wakhan Valley which is supposed to be amazingly beautiful. The road follows the border for several hundred kilometers before heading north to Murghab. However all quotes I received from drivers were to expensive if it was just me. Despite posting a note in the Tourist Information Center and asking around the backpacker hotel, I couldn’t find anyone else.

Park in Khorog

But I did bump into a Kyrgyzstan driver who had just finished a tour and would head home the next day. Hence we settled on 500 TJS (63 USD) to Murghab. In turn I would have the car for myself and could go at my own pace.

The kind of car I chose (left) and another Mongol Rallye car…

With that settled, I explored the local bazaar with some roommates from the homestay.

Khorog bazaar

Music stall at the Khorog bazaar

Watermelons at Khorog bazaar

I was almost a bit sad to leave Khorog after only one day. While the town doesn’t have that many sights, it does have a very relaxing vibe. It reminded me a little bit of Leh in the Ladakh Valley, India. I might return one day, next time by air though.

Afghanistan consulate in Khorog for the adventurous travelers

Sunset in the Pamir mountains

After asking around for a while, I found myself in a shared taxi to Urgut and from there in a Marushtka to the bazaar. It was indeed huge and everything could be bought there. The majority of goods sold were clothing, none of which really hit the spot of Western taste I would say.

Inside the marushtka to the bazaar

Urgut Bazaar entrance

Urgut bazaar

Urgut Bazaar

Urgut Bazaar

Urgut Bazaar

Schaschlik in the making

And Somsa

Fresh bread

Urgut bazaar parking lot

It was easy to find a ride back to Samarkand and I was back shortly before noon. I wouldn’t deem it a must, but if you have the time, you get a very authentic look at a local bazaar.

These guys just got off a boat

While the famous fish market Tsukiji in Tokyo is still on my bucket list, I am sure it is multiple times bigger than what Male has to offer. Nevertheless, it was unique to see the number of tuna fish lined up for sale and several men gutting the fish for customer. The amount on offer was so big, I wonder whether it is all purely for local consumption.

More fish on their way to the market

Proud stall owner

More fish

How much is the fish?

And then some more

For a change of perspective: taken from the second level

Fish being gutted

Fish being gutted

Fish head curry anyone?

Sashimi?

With all those fish lined up you really wander whether the masses that we pull out of the ocean are sustainable… With chicken or beef it is at least easy to grow more…

My goal was to buy a piece of tuna at one of the stalls and have it cooked by a street vendor. Unfortunately there are not street vendors…in all of Male, nor is it common to just buy a slice. So I tried to restaurant upstairs. But also there, except for canned tuna, the menu (ok, it was breakfast time) seemed to be focused on toast and sausages.

So I left it at that and wandered around the local produce market as well. Not quite as impressive but interesting to see what is actually grown in the Maldives (which doesn’t seem to be all that much). Small mangoes were on offer in abundance as well as some kind of mini peppers.

Maldivian mangoes for sale on the street

More Maldivian mangoes

A rather exotic fruit

Some sort of chilies

Leaves to chew beetle nut (?)

Veggies at the Male produce market

And to finish off this post, let’s get back to some more fish – this time dried

For me it was the highlight of the Male visit but even then, no need to factor in more than 30 minutes for a visit.

Needless to say, Sri Lanka was fantastic with its markets and below is a compilation of impressions:

Fruits stall in Kandy

Dried fish in Kandy

Beef stall in Nuwara Eliya

Fish stall in Nuwara Eliya

Bananas in all sizes and colors in Nuwara Eliya

Proud stall owner in Bandarawela

Decent size fish on offer in Galle

Spices in Colombo

Market overview in Colombo

Fresh produce in Colombo

If you wander further north (and this is by no means an “insider tip”), you pass some pretty exotic markets.

The first, just a few blocks north of the Ladies Market is the Gold Fish Market on Tung Choi Street North. On the way there you pass several stores selling mice, rats, rabbits, turtles or even dogs. If you are an animal lover, you might want to skip it as the conditions the animals are held in, aren’t always top notch. You’ll then reach the Gold Fish Market which specialises in…wait for it… gold fish. Get any gold fish your heart desires and take it home in a handy plastic bag:

Gold fish to go

The selection is impressive! The price is written on the plastic bag

Continue further up north (there are signs) and you’ll pass the Flower Market. Probably I shouldn’t call it exotic, but it is still worthwhile seeing.

Flower Market

Right at the end of the Flower Market you’ll see the entrance to the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. If you’re into birds (I am not) or handcrafted birdcages (I am not), this is your place to be. But even if you’re not, you’ll enjoy it. It seems to be a very male dominated society and is quite interesting to watch how the men take great care of their birds. There are some stools to just sit there and watch:

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden

Yuen Po Street Bird Garden

From there it is around 10-15mins by foot to get to Prince Edward MTR or alternatively go get some food at one of the many dim sum places around!