So I went mitumba (second hand clothes) window shopping today. I'd been curious about this industry because it is quite booming. Wholesalers import used clothes from just about everywhere and sell them at different markets all over the country. I went to Gikomba Market which is in a very dodgy part of town and was extremely muddy as it had rained buckets yesterday. To get there, you have to walk into a very questionable part of town and climb into one of the matatus that are idling quietly. As soon as it's full, you crawl out and join the huge traffic jam that you'll be a part of, all the way to the market. We took the scenic route of course and if you looked through all the diesel fumes and dust that clogged the air, you would see mounds of garbage and rotting fruit on the sidewalks or near the brown river running along the road. The journey took a little over ten minutes and we got out at a very muddy intersection.
There are stalls everywhere, open air stalls from which all sorts of merchandise is hanging. Clothes, hats, shoes, pots, pans, buckets etc. Name it and it's available and this was just at the entrance. There's no sign as to where exactly you are and you have to go with someone otherwise you'll get lost. We followed a road that appeared to be the main one and I walked slowly behind my friends, staring at all the clothes hanging everywhere. The sellers themselves would walk down the road holding pants, skirts or belts, trying to get you to come to their stalls. I'd say just down this street there was about a hundred stalls to the left and right of me as far as I could see. I thought this was it but if you looked at the gaps between stalls you realize there's a whole other section behind them. And indeed, we went through one of the stalls and found ourselves in huge open air market. Clothes were piled on stalls that were about two feet high off the ground and there were so many. We stopped at one to look at some baby clothes and I perused some of the items. Some of these clothes were in even better shape than the clothes you'd find at Goodwill. I found so many Baby Gap clothes which I wanted immediately for my nephew but I put them down because my intention was to observe and not purchase. My companion Joan was looking for baby clothes and once she'd settled on about eight outfits, it was time to bargain. The man said each item was 50 shillings (about 60 cents) so everything came out to about 4oo shillings. You are expected to bargain, if you don't and you settle on what they are offering, there will always be someone who is nearby and will realize that you're willing to spend foolishly and they'll lure you to their stall and you won't know you've already earned yourself a markup. She argued with him for a while and settled on 360 and he threw in a bag for her to carry her purchase.
We walked around some more and ventured toward other stalls that had more jeans on display. Ladies, fear not, you can get your bras, slips and knickers here as well after they've been sorted and picked through by hands covered in god knows what and yuck. Gross, is what I was thinking but my snobishness does not clothe those who can't be picky. There were more hawkers selling their wares right on the street and some grabbed my hand and tried to pull me into their stalls to have a look around. They approach you very well but are very persisitent. I made the mistake of looking closely (barely glanced) at a pair of Hilfiger Jeans and the seller pounced on me, "Come madam, you must look, good prices, please come!" he said, trying to pull me towards his clothes. I had to drag myself away only to bump into another one holding a hipster skirt. He practically sized me, "Yes madam, I have your size, normal size yes? Come look at my jeans, matako zita kuwa safi ndani hizi! " (your butt will look good inside these) and then held them up to my waist.
I had wanted to see some formal shirts and we walked through a maze into a much quieter part of this incredibly huge market. I had no idea where we were now and if I lost Joan, I would probably wonder around for hours and then come out on the wrong side of the market. We were led to a stall by a very nice quiet young man. He had shirts lined up against a wall. The label whore that I am stared in wonder at Gap, Atmosphere, Marks & Spencer's, Nine West collections all being sold for abou 280 shillings (< $4). They were clean and some even had the tags from discount stores in the US and England. Very interesting. So we walked on some more and I found more Gap pants, American Eagle... all over the place. As we were leaving, we happened upon a stall that sold bags and sure enough, a gorgeous DKNY bag was right on top of a pile of other bags. I piced it up, checked the interior and it was in great condition. I've decided not to buy knock-offs while I'm here as I'm pretty sure this are items coming in from China and I would feel very guilty about not supporting the local bag makers. I fingered it longingly then put it back and forced myself to walk away only to be surrounded by more hawkers, each one talking at a higher volume than the other.
We got onto another matatu heading back to town and we took a different route from the one we used to get there. Joan told me that the road were going down was notorious for having thieves who would come to the windows of the vans and if it was open, reach in and try and steal your purse, or cell phone or whatever was conveniently close to them. She said they did this in broad day light and even if the bus was full and there were people all around and you were crying out thief, nobody would come to your aid, they would just stare. I immediately shut my window and sat on my purse while she laughed at me and said, "It's not so bad nowadays, it's only at that roundabout up ahead where you have to be careful because they will come from one side, and throw it to someone on the other who'll disappear into a crowd." Around this section were people selling all sorts of vegetables and fruits. There were men pushing carts of pineapples that they would cut and peel and sell individual slices for about 5 shillings, people selling home made ice cream bars, fruit juice bars, all yelling out their prices and showing samples. The stench here though was unbearable and I started to feel nauseous (still are) as the smell of rotting veggies and the fumes from all the trucks and buses passing by created this cloying mixture that you feel settling on your body. Have to go home soon and have clothes washed.
Tomorrow I'll go to the curio market at Westlands to check it out. I've driven by once before and noticed that most of the artifacts are made right then and there whenever there's a lull in the flow of tourists who come through. I'll find out some prices so whenever you're in the area, you'll be able to bargain effectively knowing full well what the real value is.
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