Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by @dswigle, and this post is my contribution to this project for this week.
To learn more about this project and participate, visit this post by @dswigle.
Since I started posting in the #MarketFriday community, it's amazing how I became more aware of places where you can spend money.
As an example, whenever we would go to the beach, we would go to the beach, and I wouldn't take notice of anything else.
Yes, I would be fully aware of what's happening around me, but shops, kiosks, or anything of that nature...I would see them but not pay any attention to them.
I know I do the same when I watch television. I only have certain programs I like watching. When watching one of these programs, I would be fully focused and paying attention to what I'm watching.
But as soon as there is a break and advertisements start showing, I block out completely. I have no idea what is going on on the TV until my program continues again. It would often happen that my wife is watching something with me, and during an advertisement, my wife would say "that looks like a good deal. Maybe we can look into it." And I would normally respond with "what are you talking about? I have no idea what you are talking about."
Only then, when she would physically tell me about it, I would be on the lookout and pay attention the next time around.
When I need something in particular, I would be on the lookout, searching for the product or good prices, etc... But if I am not looking for something, any shop or any form of advertising is just of no interest to me...lol.
But now I am busy developing an interest in where I can see shops or any place where money will be exchanged because it could give me an opportunity to take some photos for #MarketFriday.
Maybe that is silly, but that's just me...lol.
So, during our last walk on the beach in Umhlanga, I suddenly noticed how many market-related places there are...from street level right down to the beach itself. From hotel accommodation to souvenirs for tourists and holidaymakers.
For today, let's just relax and start on the beach.
We started our walking at the Whalebone Pier on the beach in Umhlanga, Durban, which is on the east coast of South Africa. You can read more about our walk here.
As we walked up toward the main beach, there was no need to go on a treasure-hunting expedition if you were looking for places where you can spend money.
First up, there was Rox Coffee. You have the choice of being seated outdoors or indoors. Or, I also got the impression that you can order your coffee as a takeaway at this window and continue with your walk while enjoying your coffee.
To the left of the building, you can be seated outside, enjoying your coffee while enjoying the view of the ocean.
While you are there, you have a guy who has a whole display of products if you want to do some holiday shopping for your family. Anything from hats to sandals to beach buckets and shovels for the kids and more... All are very colorful.
To the right of the building, you can also go down to a lower level where you can make bookings for deep-sea fishing and boat rides.
But take note of the top photo on this notice board. This is not a gentle ride like when going on a boat ride where the boat is leaving from the calmness of the harbor.
Here, you will have to face the surf head-on before getting to the open waters of the open sea.
We then continued our walk up to the north.
There was another display of very colorful beach/holiday merchandise not too far.
These trees got my attention, but as I looked at the trees, I saw this guy made good use of the trees as an extension for his display...
We continued our walk and then found this friendly little guy.
His name is Humphrey Immerman and he is helping the S.P.C.A. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to raise funds for lost and lonely animals.
He draws your attention to how easy it is to just scan the zapper code and make a donation...
I wanted a close-up of Humphry and he was so kind to remain motionless for me to get a nice shot of him...lol.
Shortly after meeting Humphry, we arrived at an area which is filled with kiosks, restaurants, coffee shops, and colorful (holiday) merchandise.
Although we were there on February 19, looking in through the entrance of Bellezar, it seemed like they still had their Valentine's decorations up.
Bellezar has an awesome menu with a wide variety to choose from at very reasonable prices. You can see their menu here.
A little further on, I found this display of hats. Lately, hats tend to get my attention as I developed skin cancer in one ear.
Fortunately, they were able to cut it out without leaving an ugly scar. I also received treatment which was successful.
But yes, I am now very aware of being exposed to the sun. I used to spend many hours outdoors without the proper precautions, but now I pay close attention and I make sure that I am properly covered.
Yes, these hats (caps) wouldn't provide any cover for my ears, but hey, hats have now almost become a hobby. I have quite a variety...just for the fun of it.
What amazes me about any "modern" clothing items that you get these days, is that the more "worn-out" the look is, the more expensive it becomes. These hats were no different.
Have a look at the next image. The caps to the left, the "neat" ones, in my opinion, are being sold at R85.00 ($4.61). The ones to the right, with the "worn" look, are being sold at R185.00 ($10.04)...lol.
At the time of writing this post, the exchange rate was R18.43 to $1.00.
A little further on, we found this colorful little donut stall.
We turned around to start the walk back toward the pier which was close to where our car was parked.
The next moment I heard this deep roaring sound. As I looked up, this beautiful aircraft came flying by at quite a low altitude.
On our way back, just above the beach, another restaurant provided a friendly and vibrant atmosphere for people being seated outside while enjoying their meals.
I got some nice shots of holiday accommodation along the Umhlanga beachfront too. I will share those photos in another post though.
So with that, we'll call it a day for today.
Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!
