Haggling in Arusha

I should be asleep now (just after 2am) but I'm not, and it's way too late to pop an ambien. So why not write about my little excursion to downtown Arusha?

The East African is just a few hundred meters east of the Clocktower, which is considered the tourist heart of town. Old Moshi Road is two lanes of blacktop with a wide shoulder and something that passes for a sidewalk. It's kinda dusty but not a bad stroll.

Any mzungi that gets within a stone's throw of the Clocktower will certainly get a pitch from a local. The first one offered me a German newspaper. I'm not that Teutonic, am I?

The next one offered something, can't remember what. Then another one greeted me. I got the usual litany of questions one would expect from a tout trying to sell something, and I lied all the way.

Been on safari? yes
Climbed Kili? yes
What route? Lemosho (Ok that part is true.)

I politely tried to ignore him, but he was persistently friendly. So I'll call him Friendly. I ducked into the tourist board's office to pick up a free map (which some other guy tried to sell me), then slipped into the Africafe just a few feet away.

I'll say quickly that this is a nice place. Clearly run by Westerners, and it was the first (and only) place in town I saw any white people. I had a nice double latte for 5,500 Tsh or thereabouts.

After I finished I went into a small curio shop next door. By small I mean it looks like someone put a roof over an alleyway. And whaddya know, Friendly reappears.

I look at some stuff then check out some bracelets. I'd seen bracelets like that before, so why not. I ask the shopkeeper for a price. He tells me 10,000 Tsh (roughly $6.50) and he swears that's the "african price," not the higher "mzungi price." Uh-huh.

So I counter with 6,000. That of course is too low. Friendly gets involved somehow... I can't remember exactly, but it becomes a two-fer. Shopkeeper says 2 for 17,000. I counter with 15,000 (about $10.50). Deal.

Odds are I got ripped off a bit, but it was cheaper than in the States. (Update: Same bracelets at ZAN for $5 each, so not bad.)

I leave, with Friendly in tow. He's like a kid or a damned puppy. He wants to know more about me (I'm a financial reporter from Missouri). I said he must be really bored if he's following me around. He can't earn a fat commission on a safari or trek, so he must want me to buy trinkets.

He mentions tanzanite, and I act indifferent. We get closer to the Clocktowner when he says his sister's shop is nearby and asks me to check it out. The skeptic in me thinks she's no more his sister than mine, but what the hell.

He leads me to a souvenir shop on India Road. There's an old guy standing outside keeping guard with a side-by-side shotgun. 12- or 14ga. I don't know if the coot is strong enough to control that piece, but I digress.

The shop has plenty of wood carvings, some postcards, items made out of bottlecaps, Masai spears, fabrics, woven handbags and so on. Three ladies sat towards the back. (I never did find out which one is his sister.)

I picked up some postcards ($1 or 1000 Tsh each... and that's why you should deal in local currency when you can. The exchange near the tourist office will at least give you 1,100 to change a single dollar bill.)

I looked at some woodcarvings of various safari animals - lion, hippo, etc. I picked up one that looked like ebony and asked if it was real, commenting that some try to pass off stained wood as ebony. He says it's real, and proves it by making a small cut on one piece. Well, either it's ebony or stained really well.

I pick out four small ones that are roughly 3" long. He picks up a calculator and says lets deal. He asks shillings or dollars. I blew the few TSH I had at the coffee bar, so I said dollars. He says $60, and he'll throw in the postcards for free. I counter with $20, knowing damn well he wouldn't bite.

We're back and forth for a bit - 55, 25, 49, 30. I'm making progress, but I'm getting resistance. Then I realize I'm not sure exactly how many dollars I have. I think for a bit then tell him I need to count my money. I really did, and it gave me an advantage.

I come back and we start again. I say I'm not that interested in one carving, so I ask how much for three. He offers $35. I counter with $30. Deal.

They wrap up the carvings, even making a point to show me that yes they're wrapping them all up and not trying to pull a switch.

I probably got ripped off a bit at $10 a piece - hell, I expect to overpay - but better than the $15 each he first offered. And it was kinda fun. (Update: The carvings were colored with polish which is rubbing off already, so definitely a rip-off. The shops at ZAN and DAR had larger carvings for quite a bit less. So avoid this place or don't pay more than $3-5 each.)

I had to wave off a few more peddlers and taxi drivers on the way back, but once I was past the roundabout at the Clocktower they gave up.