24 - North Shore News — Sunday, March 12, 2000

in Mombassa the
Store comes to you

From page 2

brand-name type of merchandise as my taste runs to focal
bazaars, collectable shops and especially arts and crafts mar-
Kets,

Sometimes the experience lies in going to the shopping
such as in Madras where we got a lesson in gorijJa taxi tac-
tics. In most ports with any distance to town the ship pro-
vides a complimentary round-robin shuttle however in India
the taxi union is strong enough to veto this and stepping
otf the ship we met with a barrage of pleading drivers.

Having agreed on a price our particular three-wheeled
motrorized rickshaw, which we nicknamed the lawnmower,
dzshed in and out of traffic taking us to sleek, air-condi-
tioned emporiums selling very fine Indian wares such as
pashmina shawls, silk carpets, hand embroidery, wali hang-
ings inlaid with semi precious stones, and large wooden ¢le-
phants — at commensurate prices.

In vain we asked the driver to take us to local shopping,
he'd nod yes and the automatic pilot would veer off to
another highly organised tourist store where the doorman
jotced down license plates for commission credit. Finally we
cut our losses and handed the agreed price to the driver
who, you guessed it, demanded it per person. He wasn't
successful with us but this almost universal tactic did intimi-
date many other passengers to overpay and vow never to
return.

By contrast in Cochin a few days earlier we’d been
impressed with the honesty of a money changer who was
seven rupees (about 25 cents) short on our $10 exchange
and tried to make us promise to return for the difference.

Often when a luxury ship arrives in town the shopping
comes to us. For example in Mombassa approximately 100
locals laid their carved stone and wood pieces on cotton
blankets placed side by side on the ground thereby giving
everyone 3 ft by 8ft or so of “storefront”. With no cover
tables or chairs, unless it was a stool for sale, they remained
the entire 36 hours of our stay whether for security of their
goods or best exposure to us I don’t know. ;

With no product variety these people relied on charm
and sharp bargaining to sell, often trading for ship amenities
or clothes. There was obviously a sales code as we potential
buyers were never pirated from in front of each other’s plots
and the whole atmosphere stayed amazingly calm and good-
natured considering the financial stakes. Our security officer
had the most fun watching ail the wooden warriors and
masks, stone animals and plates, malachite dishes and jewel-
ry come aboard.-In fact so many giraffes trrundled up that
gangway we had a grand stakes race for big bucks the next
day. Mine didn’t win! .

~ Phuket’s dock-side bazaar is a bit more sophisticated
with tables and mirrors and all the very best designer names
on sale. Gucci short sets:for $5, $25 Channel handbags, and
$6 Polo sport shirts — with a very special discount just for
you — if you buy 3 or 4, Bargaining is high art particularly
in Asia.

Faced with all this competition the ship shops take a
can’t beat ’em so join them appreach making frantic shop-
ping trips for local handicrafts to mark up and sell to those
of us without the time cr stamina to shop ashore.
Repeaters tell me there is usually a white elephant sale as
April’s debarkation approaches and sober second thought
has us face up to the packing problems and customs duties
of our bargains. Meanwhile Hoag Kong, the Mecca of cus-
tom tailoring, and China, the manufacturer of almost every-
thing, await our attention.

[ Get For

Expl

From page 23

Jean-Frangois and his
grandfather, Pierre, go to the
winery which is actually a
small converted barn beside
the house. Every inch of the
buiiding is in use: four under-
ground cement tanks that
hold) approximately 6,000
litres each, five vats approxi-
mately three metres tall, a
hydraulic lift and crusher, and
a Jarge room of barrels aging
the Grain Noble — their pre-
mium Chenin Blanc. Work
continues well into the night
in the winery until all the
day’s grapes are crushed.

After a week and a half of
work, we borrow the compact
stick-shift to do some sight-
seeing along the Loire River
and to visit chateau
Chambord. Our hosts tell us
it is 150 km each way and
aren’t sure we can do it in a
day.

They look concerned. We
smile reassuringly. We're
smug. What's 150 km to a
Canadian and two
Australians? As we discover,
straight roads are the excep-
tion,

One-lane roads form inui-
cate arteries joining towns
that developed long before
the advent of automobiles.
Each town seems to be a
lengthy horseback ride away
from the other.

The Loire Valley is famous
for its vast number of castles
and chiteaux and the drive
along the river is impressive.
During the Middle Ages, the
English controlled the region
between 1154 and 1216 and
again between 1337 and
1453. (Joan of Arc briefly led
the spiritual and bloody fight
to expel the English.)

One of the most notewor-
thy _palace/fortresses is
Chambord. One guidebook
describes it as “the kind of
place William Randolph
Hearst might have built if
he’d had more money.”
Construction began in 1519
with design input from
Leonardo da Vinci whose
massive double helix staircases
are remarkable. There are 440
rooms and 365 chimneys in
the main structure. A 32-kilo-

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NEWS photo Lisa Harrison

ONE-LANE roads form intricate arteries joining towns that developed long before

the advent of auiomohbiies.

metre wall surrounds che
13,000-acre forest most of
which is a preserve for wild
boar and other game. Francois
I also wanted to divert the
Loire for his moat but settled
for the River Cosson.

By the time we approach
Beaulieu, the roads are dark
and treacherous.

We pass the town bar with
the same five patrons who are
always there, the church
whose bells begin tolling at 6
a.m. and a spry 87-year-old
gentleman on his nightly
walk. Sweet, heavy moisture
tises from the sun-warmed
earth.

We are home for one last

Getting there:

The closest town to
Beaulieu sur Layon with TGV
(Trains 4 Grande Vitesse) ser-
vice trom Paris is Angers. The
train reaches a top speed of
330) km per hour and arrives
in only 1 hour and 35 min-

man 9,

=

Daily

2 Re _
= «Daily
ae)

utes.

Chambord, largest of the
Loire Valley chateaux, is 180
km southwest of Paris. The
closest city with TGV service
is Orleans. A rental car or tour
bus are recommended to
reach Chambord.

Open 7 cays a watk

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Enjoy our 1/4 Honey-Garlice Chicken __
It’s the perfect combination of honey, herbs and the zest of garlic carefully basted
on our rotisserie chicken and grilled to perfection. Served with Chalet fries and.

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r

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CE SE «ER «OR A «GER GS «= Ge

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Life should taste as good as

Swiss!
(HALET |

NS
ROTISSERIE & GRILL

a aE lo of Bat ME GaN