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any Souvenir ideas
Hello, 17 days to go ... and I'm checking out some souvenirs ideas. Local crafts easy to carry back home and at a good price, not planning on going shopping but If on my free time I see something then I'll buy. 
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I do have a question, for things like bracelets, necklaces etc.. what is better : to wait till we visit the Masai Camp or The Arusha Cultural market ?
Thanks for any info.
)I do have a question, for things like bracelets, necklaces etc.. what is better : to wait till we visit the Masai Camp or The Arusha Cultural market ?
Thanks for any info.
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The Masai Camp items on offer were more of the handicraft variety. If you see something you like in Arusha, do not think you will find similar items in Masai.
For a greater selection of nicer, larger, more expensive stuff (art, large wood carvings, Tanzanite stones and jewelry- your best bet is the Tanzanian Cultural Heritage Center- they will ship. Someone on our trip got a very nice wood carving- a trunk-to-tail line/family of elephants- at the vendor outside the entrance to the Mount Kenya Safari Club- he accepted plastic and had contacts in the town of Nanyuki so could get variations and larger or smaller versions of his display items. Also, for various African themed woven goods- clothing (sweaters, (?)), wall hangings, rugs, place mats, etc. while at Mount Kenya, there is a "private visit to a nearby village" - not sure if this is the same as the "Spinners & Weavers" we visited in Nanyuki in 2015.
There is no guarantee that any of the smaller trinkets were made by the people selling them, including the Maasai!
All the street vendors appeared to be women. At the Maasai village, once a deal is struck, the chief takes and distributes the proceeds. : )
Yes, it's trinkets that I'm talking about.. and also some paintings done by the locals... nothing fancy or $$ but a nice reminder of this trip. Jewels, I really don't wear much.. besides my watch and earrings. and have plenty in the bank's safe.. need no more..
So, basically I need to keep my eyes open and cash in hand .. & buy if I like.
and nephews ,but do want to support the locals and want items that represent the culture.
Sealord the silver ‘animals’ necklace sound great, I'll probably will get one for myself.
Thanks
One final piece of advice (maybe a repeat, but alluded to by Sealord)- if you see something you want or want to get for someone else- get it right then! Don't wait and hope you'll see it cheaper somewhere else.
If you are looking for some very low cost costume jewelry, the lodge gift shops had some very unusual bracelets. They were long narrow beads on elasticized bands in widths of 2, 3, 6, (I think) rows. I bought two, one in a brownish Hue and the other in a sort of African black and while pattern. Love them and wear them frequently. I also got some primitive type Masai paintings on dried banana leaves ( I might be wrong here)...they are vertical, rectangular and I got one larger and 2 small that I mounted on a black background and framed. They look great. Again, the best advice is that if you see something that strikes you in some way, buy it ! It does not seem that anyone carries any back stock, so as Sealord points out, don’t hesitate if it is something you like.
Yes, you stop there for lunch (and some shopping) on Day 6 after returning from the Serengeti to Arusha and before continuing on by bus to the Kenya border and by safari vehicle to Amboseli. In addition to the large, multi-story circular buildings (representing African Drums) containing displays of sculpture, paintings, etc. (claimed to be the largest display of African art in Africa) there is a whole campus of smaller shops and buildings with room after room filled with trinkets, carvings, jewelry, etc. etc. It is quite a large venue. Check it out at this link, this link, or Google it.
In view of Sealord's comment, I suspect the amount of time you spend at the Tanzanian Cultural Heritage Center depends a lot on the fairly flexible schedule that day. According to our TD and what others have reported, the on-tour flight times don't seem to follow a strict schedule; and sometimes the TD's won't know when you will leave until just hours before.
And, oh my yes, they accept plastic and probably any currency you might want to use! : ) Maybe even a wire transfer from an offshore account in Cyprus? : )
Call it a big tourist trap or a really fantastic shopping opportunity, but make no mistake, they are a big operation and you can drop anywhere from a few dollars to tens of thousands of dollars there! The owner is Saifuddin (Saif) Khanbhai, a Tanzanian of Indian Heritage, and quite an interesting guy who still occasionally works the tanzanite counter. You can find some interesting stories about him via Google. I've heard that he has connections to (owns?) one or more (5 of the largest?) tanzanite mines, all of which (all in the world) are located in an area called the Mererani Hills, 43 mi. southeast of Arusha not far from Kilimanjaro airport.
One story (urban legend?) about Saif states a young Chicago lawyer who after choosing his gems questioned the value of Saif’s offer. Saif took out a FedEx envelope, bundled up the jewels and put them inside. He handed the package to the lawyer and told him to take it home and have it appraised, and then to either put the check in the envelope or return the gems.
The envelope came back with a check.
Thanks again.