An aggressive shop keeper approached me and for some reason I
responded by looking at a shirt. It was $10 and it was reportedly very
good quality as much of the stitching was hanging loose. I stepped
inside his shop to see what else he had. He was very friendly until I
explained to him that my simple shopping rule is to think about it for
an hour before I buy anything. My attempts at leaving were stopped by
blocking my exit and a reduction in price. As I pushed him out of the
way the shirt was down to $3.
The next shop I entered the storekeeper wasn't so aggressive. He led
me up a steep dark stairway to a room overflowing with cloth, clothing
and an old man in the corner with an old fashioned singer sewing
machine. He showed me shirt after shirt for reasonable prices. The
stitching was quality and he admitted the colours would run the first
time I washed anything. If it didn't fit he would measure me and make
a shirt within 2 hours. Draw me the style you want he stated. Being
unable to draw, I picked a number of items I liked. Before we started
the bargaining procedure he asked me what I would like to drink. I
requested a Chai and we both sat cross legged on the floor drinking
Chai and discussing his family, his business, Canada and India. An
hour later we were ready to start bargaining. I didn't have the heart
to bargain hard. Twenty one dollars later I came away with a smile,
three shirts and a pair of pants.
Now in Udaipur known as the Venice of the East and headed for
Ahmerabad as I head South
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