Sidewalk Images

Traffic

Street Cattle

The city is covered with these signs - P.G. means "Paying Guest" - these are ads for rooms for rent.

Sidewalk Commerce

Sewing... Ironing... Ironing.

Sidewalk Challenges

Oh, where to walk?

The Fabulous City Market

So far, my favorite place in the city!

Wine Whine

I've mentioned that the food is fabulous. Not the wine. The wine is terrible. I've tried two bottles of local wine. One was barely drinkable, the other was not. There is a limited amount of imported (mostly Australian) wine available - but it's extremely expensive. Bottles of YellowTail, which are maybe $4-5 at home are about $22 here. Most restaurants don't serve alcohol, but we ate in a fairly expensive Italian restaurant which did - and a glass of wine was more expensive than most of the main courses. Being a cheapskate (I do have a kid in college after all) I got the bright idea that I could buy a bottle of gin and make drinks at home if we wanted. I'm now trying to find limes. I went to three shops yesterday, no limes. Aha, a local street vendor had what looked like limes. I had to buy a kilo of them, since the street vendors have the traditional balance scales that use weights, but hey no problem. I could use a few in a marinade for some chicken breasts. Unfortunately, when I cut into them, I discovered they were not limes, but tiny oranges completely full of seeds. The search for limes continues today.

First Impressions

We've been here nearly two weeks and have largely adjusted. The food is fabulous, the people are wonderful, the hotel is good, the market is fascinating -it's all good except for the traffic, which is horrendous. Buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles, 3-wheeled motorcycle taxis, bicycles, ox-carts and tractors (more than) fill the streets, most of them honking non-stop. Ok, the ox-carts don't honk and neither do the bicycles, but everyone else honks almost constantly. Most of the trucks have "Honk ok" or something of that nature painted on the tailgates - as if anyone is looking for permission. Sidewalks are often non-existent or obstructed by parked vehicles or trees. There's no consistency of sidewalk elevation, there are steps, drop-offs, ramps and frequent open holes or trenches exposing utilities or "drains" - which appear to be open sewers filled with trash. As a result, pedestrians often walk in the streets as do the cows, who hang out wherever they want - including sometimes in busy intersections at rush hour. Dogs take naps in the afternoon in the cool dirt along the curbs. Vendors set up along the sidewalks, selling food or clothing or cooking, sewing or ironing. There's a lot to look at, and I'm afraid I'll get too engrossed in all there is to see and take a nosedive one day as I fail to notice a step or worse, fail to see the open drain and fall right in. I've found a supermarket and have enjoyed shopping where I can browse rather than ask for something at the counter which is the norm in the small shops. There's an interesting mix of food in the supermarket - beautiful fish and seafood, whole lambs, every color of lentil, a huge assortment of fresh herbs and leaves and a great variety of produce. They even sell moon pies (not that I bought any), called Orion something. On the street you can buy sticky coconut oil for your hair. I'm thinking about it - it's very hot and my hair is out of control. Maybe it needs to be oiled and slicked down, do you think?