Shopping In Kigali, Rwanda: Visiting A Local Market
Intro
During my time in and around Kigali, I got up to plenty of activities. One of them included shopping in the local markets in the capital city of Rwanda. One of my favorite aspects of Africa is the local markets; I am convinced that there is nowhere else in the world with the same hustle and bustle of a local African market. Well, shopping in Kigali wasn't quite like Juba or Mogadishu, but it was still a fantastic time!
The Streets
There are very few places in the continents of Africa where one can walk freely without being harassed, but Kigali is one of them. For me, it's a little weird not to be harassed; it's almost as if it is part of visiting an African market (I love it)😅. For those wondering where the local shopping is, just head downtown and walk around; there are places absolutely everywhere.
Okay, the one thing that I loved about walking the streets of Kigali was the colors. Just look at the contrast of the beautiful blue sky with the yellow buildings; it's gorgeous.
A Counterfeit Shoe Market
Strolling along the streets, I came across a local counterfeit shoe market. As someone who is thoroughly invested in the shoe market, I decided to go and check out how good these fake products were. Okay, while they weren't great at all, the prices could not be beat. 10$ for a pair of Jordans? Much cheaper than the likes of Indonesia and Thailand, that is for sure.
See, another interesting aspect is that I once again wasn't pressed into buying. Shop owners would ask me if I wanted to buy something, but there was no pressure, much like in other African/Asian countries.
Finding A Football Jersey
The biggest shock to me when shopping was that I was the only caucasian person on the streets, yet I felt overwhelmingly safe. With the amount of caucasian people at the resorts, I would have thought that there would be more out and about, but no. Oftentimes, caucasian people stick out like a sore thumb when in Africa, but I was shown nothing but respect from the people of Rwanda.
I digress; I continued walking downtown, stopping at vendors and attempting to find a football jersey.
Eventually, I came across the grail that I was looking for: A Rwandan football jersey! For 12 USD, it was not a bad deal at all (the DRC was cheaper).
Final Thoughts
If you happen to be planning a visit to Kigali, walking around the local markets downtown is an activity I highly recommend. If you haven't been to an African market before, don't worry, as this is probably the safest one on the continent. From counterfeit Louis Vuitton to almost any item you want under the sun, it's up to you how much money to bring. Just be prepared to buy another suitcase as well 🤣.
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