Where and how do you buy the things that you want or need here? This is a challenge with multiple dimensions. There are lovely malls that rival high-end malls in the US, with a large array of stores. The prices, though, also rival high-end US malls, or worse. (Since I don’t frequent high end US stores either, I am not that savvy about prices there either -) Then there are the markets. There are “higher end” markets as well as more dilapidated ones. The higher end markets are also not lovely places to shop; there are flies, stray animals, mud, etc. The dilapidated markets are really unpleasant shopping venues. When Amnon and I came here for the “look-see” trip in May, I assumed that we were real mavericks for shopping in the fly-infested malls, and that we were uniquely conditioned because we had done shopping in “shuks” in Israel. I assumed that other expats shopped in more sanitized places - - we, however, were going native. But except for the few high end malls, it looks like market-shopping is the norm.
We were at one of the dilapidated malls this week (INA). They have partially paved a portion of the front with marble tiles. Jordan commented that it was like putting lipstick on a pig. Pricing also varies wildly from store to store; coupled with the fact that you are expected to bargain. And then there is the problem of finding things that you consider “standard” purchases. I wanted to get desk lamps a couple of weeks ago, and I went to a large mall in Saket - -unsuccessfully. (One store had designer lamps for over $200, but I just wanted a desk lamp for Adam’s desk…the kind of lamp you get at Target.) I finally found a market (one of the higher end ones) where I was able to successfully purchase 2 lamps for $20 each. (Amnon was in Israel; he would have gotten it for $5…) It took some searching, and multiple market shopping. There is not one consolidated place (like Target) to find all of these odds and ends. And the items that we consider standard items that should be purchasable everywhere often are not. (For example, it appears that lighting is more often in the wall/ceiling, and not on your desk - -)
