TheWorldInTheEyesOfAnAfricanDesigner

As the print trend continues I have finally decided to succumb to the pressure and go down to the market in Zambia for a pick of the best pieces.
Now this trip has to be the most spontaneous ever as here I am $140 in hand and with two days to spare. After going down to Road port in search of coaches that go to Zambia I have had to settle for a chicken bus as my mode of transport.

Now you are probably wandering what a chicken bus is, growing up in Zimbabwe these were the buses used to go to rural areas and would carry everything from beds to luggage and even live chickens. It would be the norm to find yourself sitting next to a live chicken.

After mentally preparing for this trip I find myself on the bus at 7.30pm with all my essentials a good book, Ipod, dried food water and my backpack. As we get ready to leave a man sits next to me and first thing he does is whip out his fried chicken and oily chips which have been drenched in vinegar. Lusaka here I go!!!

We arrive at the border just before midnight and everyone gets off the bus and starts laying down their sleeping bags just in front of the border. At this point I realise the border is closed and we have to sleep at the border and no one mentioned this when I was booking my ticket. Oh well this is Africa so I pull my coat over me and find a cosy spot in the bus, plug in my Ipod and close my eyes.

The next morning we are woken up by the bus driver and have to queue up at the border as the customs officers grill us about what we want to do Zambia, how long we are staying for and where we will be staying.

We find ourselves in Lusaka about five hours later.

The bus stops in the road near Comesa market and all of the passengers make a mad dash for the exit and start running out towards the bureau de change. I follow suit as we only have two hours to change money shop and get back to the bus.

As I am running through the market my adrenalin starts pumping as I see the beautiful fabric that surrounds me. I find myself in a fabric haven. I have seventy five thousand Kwacha to spend so I get busy selecting fabric and haggling with the sales people.

Just under two hours later, I am back at the bus as it is getting ready to load. Vendors all aboard making last minute sales, watches, bags, jeans, juice you name it they have everything. Everyone settles down and I plug in my Ipod as I sink into my seat, close my eyes and get ready for the journey back to Harare.