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an African bargain

Posted on August 22, 2011 @ 11:17 am by massimo | Filed under: advertisement,africa,bargain,blog,fun,holidays,illustration,kenya,people,travel,wordpress

For us Westerners, born and raised by the concept of “fixed price”, bargaining may seem a strange practice at first, or more benevolently, a waste of time. On the contrary Africans think that every bargaining is a challenge to immagination, a friendly way to “duel” with the customer, to value his ability and patience. Despite our different ideologies both of us look forward to get the best value: actually  a holiday deals is the golden rule of everybody who travels on the cheap. But even travellers who have no definite plan but not going home soon, need to bargain. So who cares if an hotel room deal or some souvenirs purchase turn into a time consuming process? The very thing is getting the right price, and even more important, being positively influenced by the local habits. How could I forget, for instance, the never ending deal I had in Mombasa with The Hydro Hotel indian owner some 30 years ago? How to forget his lethargic manner, purposely “provocative”, that included scores of apparently inconsistent questions and ended with a cup of chai sipped togheter, after he had appreciated my skills and before fixing the room final price: 18 kenyan shillings a day. A great price! So when I went back in Mombasa Old Town in 2009, I could not escape the feeling of paying a visit to the old and lousy Hydro Hotel which, I found out, was not changed at all. I climbed the stairs  and reached the same wooden desk at the reception, as in dream. The young clerk listened to my story, laughed a lot and said that the old baba retired just a few years ago…

Illustration Friday topic is: influence

This entry was posted on Monday, August 22nd, 2011 and is filed under advertisement, africa, bargain, blog, fun, holidays, illustration, kenya, people, travel, wordpress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 person has left a comment

Same in Thailand. I’m still rubbish at trying to haggle and still end up being ripped off. My best deal so far was a hammock (I didn’t need). I ended up getting it for 100 baht (2 pounds).. My small, bargaining triumph :D

Footsteps in Asia

Christopher Martin wrote on December 14, 2011 - 4:46 am UTC

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