Just Smile and Say No

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Yet another week has passed in the Pearl River Delta. After receiving a mosquito bite, I thought I was surely going to die of malaria, but that hasn’t happened thusfar so I would call this week a success. It’s been humid and toasty in the area, but that hasn’t stopped me from going outside the hotel and exploring everyday.

Just yesterday I went to one of the most famous shopping locations for both Southern Chinese and Hong Kongese alike. Luohu Commercial City is the epitome of a Chinese shopping place. There were shops selling knockoffs of everything imaginable, even shops selling better knockoffs than another shop’s knockoffs. All of this wonder was packed into a 7 story bulidng just outside of the Luohu Checkpoint on Shenzhen’s MTR line.

I spent a couple hours there practicing my haggling, and managed to score some amazing deals by foreigner standards. As a tip, always bargain in English because the language barrier will work to your advantage when you try and discount the price with them. Practicing Chinese is good and all, but if you want to save money, this is not the setting to do it in. 

Besides shopping, I also went to a couple beautiful parks in the Futian and Nanshan area. On Wednesday I had to make my way back into Hong Kong for business and it was incredible weather. Hong Kong reminds me a lot of the San Francisco Bay Area. Very diverse and a diverse selection of cuisine to go along with it. In China, there is not much diversity in their food selection. It’s either Chinese food, or the American fast food chains that managed to break into the Chinese market.

Anyhow, I am about to leave to check out the Chinese version of a “beach.” It’s called XiChong Beach, and it’s only ten kuai to get in. I heard from locals that this beach is the least crowded and least polluted one to go to in Shenzhen. I guess we will have to see about that!

Until next week,

-LM