9 August 2012

Things You Can Buy at the Side of the Road

In Ghana, you don't go to the market. No, no.  The market comes to you.  When you're at a stoplight or stuck in traffic, when you're turning onto a smaller road, when you're braking for a pothole.

The market talks to you, it gestures and smiles and puts on the charm. The market is magnificent because the market is full of magnificent people carrying every product, large or small, on their heads.  

You forgot to buy bathroom necessities? You're craving a tidbit of Ghana's biggest export?  You just find out your boss is coming home for dinner and there's no meat in the fridge? It's okay! Just wave down the man, woman or child walking with a basket of toilet paper/toilet bowl cleaner/chocolate bars/live chickens down the road.  It's totally legit.  And the prices are competitive.  
                                                    
In the last two weeks, I have seen people walk past car windows peddling the following:
  • chickens (dead, alive and roasted) 
  • spare tires
  • jump ropes 
  • sweat suits 
  • kleenex 
  • papayas 
  • drying racks
  • deodorant 
  • dvds
  • badly done art for your wall 
  • decorative tables 
  • maps of Ghana 
  • Mobile phone cards
  • torches
  • sandwich bags 
  • tshirts 
  • baskets 
  • toilet paper 
  • chewing gum and mints 
  • backpacks
  • friendship bracelets 
  • mangos and pineapples (cut up, whole and dried) 
  • bedding (including pillows, blankets and duvets) 
  • chocolate bars 
  • mini toolsets
  • sleeping bags 
  • spices and seasoning 
  • cooking pots 
  • LED lights 
  • sweets 
  • slippers 
  • flags
  • Cold drinks 
  • sticker books 
  • scarves and fabric 
  • sunglasses
  • decorative plates
  • eggs (boiled and raw) 

  • This list is in no way comprehensive. And given the traffic, the state of the roads and the haphazardness of Ghana's drivers, it's no small feat to throw yourself into the middle of traffic:
                                             
But the best part of all this selling is the non threatening tone it takes.  In Accra, at least, there's no harassment.  They nod, you nod, they point, you point and then it's a quick deal or no deal. Money changes hands. And away you go.  

The derivative of all these street side sellers are the roadside and beachside sellers: 
                                        

                                                    
But more on that later.  

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