I woke up in a house which was completely empty except for the things I was bringing back with me and a mattress, which one of the neighbours would collect when I was finished with it. Breakfast was a glass of water and a packet of biscuits.
The plants in our garden have become slightly overgrown in the last year
I spent a couple of hours cleaning the house, waiting for car-buyers to arrive. Eventually, some turned up, but were offering me less than half of what I asking for, thinking that I would have no choice but to accept their offer on my last day. Others admitted on the phone that they did not have the money they had offered, but could give me a lot less. It seems to me that all of them were just playing games with me, wanting to get a bargain at the end of my trip, when they knew that I was out of time. I have heard similar stories from other foreigners who came to sort out their things and sell their cars.
I don't want to play this game
I decided at lunchtime that I didn't want to play this game and went to the local car dealer. I didn't tell him that I was leaving and, initially, I didn't tell him that I was selling our car, having parked it out of sight, down the road. Instead, I enquired about the prices of other cars which were similar to our car, working out a target figure to aim for in my negotiations, allowing for the dealer's need to make a profit.
When I brought my car and asked him what he would give me for it, the first figure he gave me was what I had in mind and he wouldn't increase his offer at all despite my best negotiation efforts, so I accepted his offer.
“Do you have the money here?”, I asked him.
“Yes”, he replied.
We shook hands on the deal and he said, “Let's go get the money from my house.”
Gunfire nearby
I thought his house would be nearby, but he proceeded to drive into an area deep in the un-policed part of town, exactly where I did not want to go. On the way back, we got stuck in traffic in a busy market place and there was gunfire very close to our car. I did not see who fired, but the dealer did not flinch as he drove, and bystanders just watched instead of diving for cover, so I assumed someone must just have been firing into the air.
After concluding our transaction, I asked him to give me a lift home, so that I did not have to get a taxi with that much money in my pocket. Shortly after returning to our house, I was picked up by some friends who live near the airport, along with all my bags.
Finishing on a postive note
That afternoon, I visited Fun City with my friends, which used to be Kira & Isaiah's favourite play area and then we went to the fish restaurant on the sea front- which is the best I have ever been to, anywhere in the world! It was nice to finish my trip on a positive note, instead of the gunfire on the garbage-filled streets being the last image of Aden in my mind before I left.
Paul at Fun City
