Shopping

This weekend we finally made it to the Luohu area. It's right on the border crossing to Hong Kong, and there's a big shopping area there called Commercial City. We went with a couple from work, and left Sophia with their nanny for the day. Thank goodness, as I think it would have been too much for her.

We'd heard that it was kind of seedy, but we were both surprised. We've definitely seen seedier places. The markets in Kazakhstan or Egypt were much rougher. The building itself was like a mall, except inside the shops were laid out more like a bazaar.

Luohu is the mecca of Chinese products. There were a million watches and knock-off purses. On one floor there is a fabric market, and there are tailors who can make things from pictures. If you bring in clothing you already own, they'll make you copies. All for a very reasonable prices.

Of course, it's a lot of bargaining and you get people trailing you, trying to get you into their store. They ask for a ton more than you should pay. For example, they'll suggest 500 and then you can get them down to 50. For us foreigners, it's about Walmart prices, and well, Walmart quality.

We didn't buy much - a belt, some sandals, a table runner. We are thinking of having some pillows made, maybe there or around here. It's so nice to be able to have things made.

That's about all we've been up to. The weather was really nice, and now we are back to rain. The forecast yesterday was "drenching rain." It was definitely drenching. I walked to school with flip flops on and my pants rolled up. The natives know how to do things around here. I'm just following suit.