"Streetside Jewelry"
Equipment: LOMO LC-A Date: October
2000
You can see them at all hours of the day and night. They'll happily sell you a "real" Rolex, a Star of David, a Marijuana leaf (as a symbol only, of course)...whatever you want. I've heard stories of where they get the merchandise; Retailers who exchange a deposit for the stuff, taking a percentage of the day's take, Yakuza (the Japanese mafia), even that it may have been stolen from another vendor. Technically, they're also supposed to be illegal, because these fine folks, mostly from Israel, are only on a tourist visa here and legally are not allowed to make money while in the country. That's where the Yakuza angle comes in -- the local police turn a blind eye, perhaps for a kickback. I've never talked to these vendors to get the real scoop. As I've said, they're Israeli, so they are constantly pushing you for a sale. And they're quite rude about it. But they must do OK, because I see them out here every night...