I’ve always loved markets, but I tend to hate shopping. Give me a set price and I’ll buy what I have to,
but put me in a place where I can barter and haggle and I’ll spend all of my
money in the pursuit of getting the most deals.
No one needs a pair of fake fancy sunglasses, but tell me
they cost 80RM in a market in Malaysia and I’ll name my price (20 RM), walk
away, and be thrilled when eventually they meet me where I started. True story…the sunglasses won’t last but the
story I will wear with a smile for quite some time.
My favorite shopping experiences will always be from the
open-air markets of Kenya. There was that one time that several of us from my
dorm senior year convinced someone to take us to Toi Market in Nairobi to do
some back-to-school second hand shopping.
We wandered those stalls and went through piles of clothes to find things
that would add something new-to-us to our wardrobe rotations. I was so proud of the bags of clothes that I
came home with that day, all for a wonderfully small amount of money (something
like $10US). The memories of bartering and trying things on in sketchy, market
stall, curtained off areas isn’t one that I’ll forget anytime soon.
Or that other time on a Friday during a trip to Kenya in
2007 where I was determined to expand my earring collection at Maasai Market. “1 for 250KSH,” they told me. I scoffed and walked away. They stopped me, saying, “Sister, what is
your price?” “Eh, me I am thinking 50 for 1.”
They laughed, raised their eyebrows, and knew that I was there ready to
play the game; ready to play my part in the exciting and delicate dance that
bartering can be. “Eh brother, me I have an idea. What if I buy 10 and give you
500?” They smiled, told me to pick out what I wanted, and it was a deal. Victory never looked so good in my earring
collection.
Of course, there have been many failures mixed in over the
years and my need for trinkets from my travels continues to decline. My purchases tend to be more about one magnet
for my fridge these days, and one magnet is not so easy to haggle over.
But if you’re ever in the area, and you want to make my day,
let me be your personal shopping buddy.
It’s so much easier to haggle and shop when the spending isn’t burning a
hole in my own pocket!
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