Day 3 – muthi market / victoria street market

On day 3 of my South Africa trip. It was not a chill out day it was very much more serious. In the morning we got up, had breakfast, finished packing and off we left. We was on our way to the Muthi Market and the Victoria street Market, all of us were very nervous due to people telling us about there previous experiences and so we didn’t know what to expect or how we would feel. When we first got there we met our guide China who then gave us a brief description on what to expect and what the Victoria Street was all about. He explained that the Victoria Street Market was an indian Market and trade from all over South Africa. When walking around the Victoria Street Market I noticed that the people there were mainly selling Indian curios and spices. It was a maze of different things and i was very much interested in it. We then moved on to the Fish Market which stunk by the way, we were told that the meat we would find in there was not the typical meat you would find in england and when wandering round this market we noticed these things. There were various different fish being sold and goats head! Ergh!! Stomachs, hearts and other organs being sold from different animals (fish heads, intestines, tripe and sheep trotters). We then moved on to the Muthi Market, our guide warned all sensitive people to bare with him as some of the things we were going to experience would be very upsetting and so I knew then i was going to cry! Lol! When we first walked into there we were shocked to see so many horrible things. Live Chickens in such cruel living conditions, decomposed animals just hanging from the roofs. We went on to see an entire Monkey just hanging there dead, its facial features gave off an impression of fear it was horrible to see and affected everyone. Zebra tails and Lion skulls, things that I never expected to see and didnt want to believe actually had such an impact on how I look at things in life and about how the culture here in Africa is very different. The people who were working there seemed very wary of us students walking around and observing what they do and so some were not aknowleging us, some were and others were hiding things. When walking around the market you could tell how commited the people are about what they do and why they do it.

Although it was heartbreaking and made me very angry to see such cruel things, another reason why it affected me so much was because it was so sad to think that there way is all they know. Its there way of life, And will it ever change? No one knows. Even though the day was upsetting and full of many different emotions. I am so glad and very greatful that i was given the chance to experience the peoples way of life and can now take into account just how lucky I am, how peoples ways of life are so different and just how passionate i am about animals and the animal industry.
Great experience!!!

Hayley – ND2B