A Day's Groceries for under €1

While the prospect of returning home to Bohol excites me for things that I don't get in Nepal -- fresh island breeze, the ocean, deep diving and walking around the beach under the sun without a shirt on -- I will really miss this country for cheap vegetables. More than staring at the snow caps of the majestic Himalayas. This basin with a sprig of coriander leaves, two big bunches of radish greens, two sprigs of scallions, a quarter kilo of mushrooms, half a kilo of tomatoes and half a kilo of onions cost me just 120 NPR. About 60 PHP. That's less than 1 EUR for all this. This just would not happen back home.

In a country where vegetarianism is considered the ideal way of living and with a considerable chunk of the population turning vegan, the demand for plant-based food is high and thus prices are maintained at a constant low. Even artisan vegan restaurants are relatively cheap. This debunks the idea that veganism is a lifestyle for the moneyed. The primary reason for this notion is because it is regarded as a trend in predominantly meat-eating countries where animal flesh is the primary table commodity. In order to rectify this, people must understand the fact that meat comes at a cost far higher than financial capital.