Buying our dining room table was a bit of an adventure. We drove out to Ngong Road, known for its furniture shops on the side of the road. They essentially line the street and represent the boundary of Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi. The "showrooms" are the side of the street in front of the workshops, tiny spaces made of tin siding. It's hard to tell one dealer from the next and there appeared to be pacts between some of them. Buying anything there requires alot of bargaining in order not to get ripped off completely. Luckily Gerard was quite good at this and just wouldn't let up until we got the price our taxi driver recommended. In the end, we got a nice table for a good price. Only later did we realize that the wood was a bit fishy, probably brought in from the Congo where things aren't regulated too rigorously. Feeling a little guilty we picked up the table today and had it transported home. It certainly looks great but in the future we'll have to be more vigilant.
We were wondering how they were going to make sure the chairs and table weren't wobbly, since there isn't a level floor anywhere. They used a table and the wobble was fixed right there with a saw. Amazingly the chairs and table are pretty much wobble-free. Expertise within complete chaos - If you can find the experts, you are in good hands.....we lucked out in this case.
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