Everybody believes in retail

Note: Blogger is not letting me move pictures how I want. This would have been out sooner but I messed with the look for an inordinate amount of time

In what I described as the working class neighbourhoods there are lots of little shops. I don't think they have zoning. Shops seem to spring up more as a result of natural flow of people. The buildings get built at times with no seeming relationship to each other. Where there is a street or passageway there may be shops, or not. It would be easy to assume that the streets were planed but sometimes it's hard to tell. 

Dan does not cook and has nothing to cook with so we eat out at small restaurants. Even quite late all manner of shops are open. Most of them are just small rooms with a window as part of the door opening. They fall into a few main categories:

they are about 10'x12'

• vegetable stands
• butcheries 
• hair places
• internet cafes
• dry goods retail stores
• restaurants and bars
• furniture
• clothing and shoes(much of it used from the US and Europe)
• schools...there are tons of small private schools

We even came across one book store that also did dry cleaning.(caveat emptor) Most of his books were school text books and about 1/4 of the others were books I knew the author or had heard of the movie.

2 charcoal stoves

While there are lots of small shops they have very shallow inventory. When you go into a restaurant you have to ask what food they have. They may have a menu but that means nothing. Eat what they have, it will probably be good.  I have not eaten anything bad yet, although the beef is gristly. The restaurant will almost apologetically tell you that all they have is African food but it is good anyway. My diet has gotten a bit heavier in the beans department-with predictable results. We also always have a soda with our meal since we don't trust the water. Any benefit I might have from lower calorie food is lost right there. Most of the small shops still cook on a charcoal stove although there is a mix of gas and electric too.

there's a road in there somewhere

Along the major roads there are stalls in the area between where the side walk would be and the buildings. The stall roofs are made of whatever is cheap and unlikely to be stolen. Even with this density of retail selling there are still vendors hawking their wares by walking about. A favourite seems to be selling pantihose. I have no idea why, my guess is that they are soft and light.

Many of the shops don't have running water and buy water from guys with push carts for 25 cents for 5 gallons. These guys also sell to people who have not paid their water bill or have a broken pipe the city has not fixed.