Although as a general rule we stayed inside Bethel walls in Nigeria except for meetings and field service, we did have one opportunity to go fabric shopping in Benin City in the middle of our stay. A Bethel bus with a driver was organized and we prepared for our trip. How does one prepare if the bus is all organized? Well, one must keep in mind that public restrooms in this market are non existent. However, if you get dehydrated it's a drag. A careful balance must be maintained. You must drink no more or less than you sweat. It's important to be hydrated BEFORE you leave too. So, the night before I made sure to drink plenty of water. And then I woke up early and drank 2 or 3 water bottles, finishing my last bottle about 2 hours before we left. That way I could meet my needs in my own very nice western bathroom and still be hydrated. Then, you don't start drinking water again til you begin sweating. I prepared a re-hydrating salt and sugar water bottle and we took a few other water bottles too. We drank them all. And we had to buy sodas too. And we didn't have to go to the bathroom til we got home. We left around 8:30 and got back around 4 or 4:30 I think.
We really enjoyed the market, it reminded us in many ways of Myanmar's markets. There are colors and people everywhere:
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| The drain in the middle is for the rainwater. And if you DO have a bathroom emergency, that's pretty much it as far as we knew. So as I said, prepare in advance. :) And stay out of the drain. It had rained recently though, it was pretty clean looking. |
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| Stacks of fabric in every color. |
You might notice that there aren't many people in our pictures. This is because, as I've mentioned before, taking pictures in the open is difficult there, you have to have permission. The best thing is to take a picture without permission is to take one of your friend, and place them on the side and crop them out later if you don't want them in the picture. That way, people will not realize what you are doing.
As we walked along the stalls we were constantly greeted. We carried magazines in our hands and gave them to many of the people we talked to. And some would even approach US and ask for them. I think I placed 12 and so did Matt, and we ran out too! Should have brought more!!
One stall was owned by a sister and she was so kind to us. She gave us tips on prices and let us take a picture with her:
People were selling other things besides fabric, such as these snails, a delicacy:
These are just like the snails I liked to watch in Myanmar. They don't eat them there though, at least not where we were. These were still alive so you can guarantee freshness. They are the size of your hand. The foot in the left corner gives a little perspective. There were lots of exotic foods to see:
Our friends took us up to the top of a nearby building so we could see market and city from a different perspective. After a little altercation with some shopkeepers/bouncers that were offended we didn't go to their shops, we prevailed and took our pictures:
And just in case you were thinking you had too much water to drink:
You will have to find another place.
We were glad to be able to take some pictures of the ladies of the market. They are so busy here:
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| They are so good at balancing! |
Such lovely colors.
After our photo op we went to our meeting place. We had to move locations though, as there was a fuel shortage on and we didn't want to be involved. Our driver found us and we and got home safely, and mostly hydrated!
Also, Matt likes this picture we took on our way home, it's just random:
See the Mercedes getting buried by dirt? No need to move it!
