Ugandan markets and stalls are vibrant, exciting and full of potential for you to part with your money, but do think before you buy. Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually perfectly safe for even the most delicate stomach if you wash or peal them first. A possible problem comes from melons and other watery fruit being injected with water to make it more juicy, but this is rare.

Meat, on the other hand, is a risky item to buy unless you know what you are doing. Animals are slaughtered and butchered, and the meat is prepared and stored in un-refrigerated conditions. In markets you will see meat hanging up for sale under the mid-day sun, and it will probably be swarming with flies.

If you have lived in Africa for some time and developed the necessary immunity to stomach bugs, buying meat from a stall may not be an issue for you, but if you are a new arrival it is best to stay well away from meat unless you have seen, and approved of, the conditions of it's slaughter and storage. Remember that if you do get a stomach bug you are unlikely to have access to a hospital or doctor unless you are near a large city. Violent spasms, vomiting and a fever aren't much fun, so be sensible and buy only food that you trust.

Uganda has plenty of fake branded goods, from traveler's cheque's to padlocks, but just because its a fake doesn't mean it's no good. Just remember that if you buy a Yale padlock for a tenth of what it should cost, its almost certainly a chinese fake. It will still work fine to lock your door, but it wont be as good as the real thing.

Don't feel the need to ask stall holders whether the goods are genuine; everyone knows they aren't if the price clearly doesn't match the price of the real items. Accept the fakes for what they are, and use your common sense.

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