Toi shopping

No, it’s not misspelled. I got up obscenely early on a Saturday morning to visit a place called Toi Market. After a double espresso to clear my head and meeting up with a friend, we proceeded.

I just wonder why? Why would you hang a bunch of trash bags on a tree? 

Early in the day, the “streets” were still quite empty, some shop holders still setting up, which allowed us to roam freely for a little bit. Not that roaming is restricted in any way at Toi, but there are fewer people dragging you to their stalls this early.  

Did I get what I wanted? Yes.

Did I pay too much? No.

Did I want to pay less? Of course.

Do I feel weird that I thought $1.20 was too much for a pair of socks and I kept haggling? Mayyybe

Either my negotiation/bargaining skills are lacking, which in no way am I saying they are not, or this was really as low as they’d go, which I doubt. With a point of reference on price and checking other “stalls” beforehand, I should feel like I got a deal. Somehow the fact that it was me who bended in the end for another $1.20 makes me less happy with this whole trade. Bottom line: they dropped their price more than I raised mine. 

Did I buy bananas for $0.08 cent one (seriously this is not 8 cents, but 0.08 of a cent!!!!!)? Nope. Should I have done it? Probably. I just don’t like buying fresh produce that is laid out by the side of the particularly dusty developing country roads. Yet, the ones that my friend bought and ended up in her banana bread were yum-yum-yummyyyy.

After completing my short Toi Market adventure (you can spend hours there digging through the massive amounts of stuff they have and bargaining with people), I moved over to Westgate Mall.

I hid behind a column to sneak a picture. As any other high white profile place, security here is pretty tight. Unlike the Village Market, there were no guards with machine guns. Beat that Westgate!

Back in civilization and this island of Western-ness, I had a chocolate milkshake that cost me more than the two pairs of socks I got. In moments like these, I really do question how developing countries work and why life is so unfair sometimes. Then, I get distracted by this or that flashy crap that I can afford, but I don’t really need and we are back to square one.

Once again, I could not help myself in the Kazuri store. Walked out with a pair of amazing black-orange-yellow-green earrings to top off the successful shopping day.