Silk Market and Other Things

It's funny. I used to say I'd never want to live in a city, and now I'm living in one of the largest. Funny how life works. I'm enjoying Beijing, though. I really do like it. I read that most foreigners get a sense sort of like, 'This is where things are happening.' I can totally agree with that. There's a lot going on here, and it's exciting. The nice thing about living in a city is that there's so much to do at any given time. Transportation is so cheap and for the most part, fairly easy. For example, It's 4:00 in the afternoon right now, and I've already gone to the Silk Market. I'm chilling out for a little bit and then going back to Houhai Lake tonight with a bunch of foreigners. Despite the fact that I was just there, I really wanted to get back and see it at night. For one, it's awesome. Two, it's a happening place and it's Saturday night. Three, the effects of the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival are still lingering a bit, so it might make it that much better. Sounds like a plan to me.

As for foreigners. What is wrong with people? Is it me? Do I have an 'old soul'? Maybe I'm not hip, haha. I just don't get it. These people, man. They get here and all they want to do is go out and party. Why? Were you sober when you got off the plane and arrived in China? I'm not sure if they actually know that they're in CHINA. This isn't some weekend venture or Thursday night at your college. There is so much to do and see and all they want to do is party. Me? I've got better things to do. Granted, I don't mind doing a little bit of partying and having that sort of fun here and there. But not all of the time. I talked to this kid earlier that was drunk as a skunk. It's 4:00 in the afternoon, dude. Everything alright? Life got you down? I think he was taking some retard capsules. You laugh, but I'll put up a picture up of pills that say on the box, Retard Capsules. They're actually for serious colds I guess, or so the picture on the box illustrates. I think they're just for retards. Like that kid. I can drink in the states and hang around all the westerners I want back home. YOU'RE IN CHINA. Unfortunately, it's people like this that give foreigners a bad name and cause other countries to think poorly of us. As far as I'm concerned, you're a guest. Have fun, but be on your best behavior. You're being scrutinized even more so because you're foreign. Retards. Mean while at the grocery store, "Yes sir, he's going to need another box of retard capsules. Uhhh, ya know what? Better make it a case. He tends to go through them rather quickly." Idiots.

Ok. So. On to Silk Market. I read that it was not going to be a pleasant experience. People had said that they would grab you and swear at you and call you names if you didn't buy from them. Now, this may be true if you're rude. I was polite and joked with a lot of the sales people, and I really found it quite humorous and really enjoyed it. You'll see pictures of it eventually. Anyways, this place has plenty of everything and there's about 4 or 5 floors. Lots of clothes, but plenty of other things. Just about every sales person there will speak to you in American and say something like, "Hello, you want shoes? I give you best price!" I just laugh and say, "No, thank you" or use a hand gesture stating no. I'll give you a couple examples of my experience there. Now again, I was having fun with it so they behaved in a friendly manner as well. One girl said, "You need bag? Wallet?" I stated that I did not and had them already. She responded with, "Oh, how about your mother? Girlfriend?" I told her that I didn't have a girlfriend and that my Mom had plenty of bags. She just kept insisting I needed more. I told her my Mom had plenty and didn't need more. To this she said, "You don't know your Mom." I laughed at this. It's all very amusing. Another time, a girl had asked me if I had a girlfriend. When I replied no, she said "Oh, I didn't think so." This was pretty funny, so I laughed and told her that now I definitely wasn't buying from her. Another girl was trying to sell me shoes and when I pointed to mine and said, "I already have shoes, you like them?" She said, "They're ugly, you need more." Even better. Again, I laughed and told her that now I would definitely not be purchasing anything from her. She quickly changed this and told me they were pretty. Haha. Love it. I'm gonna keep giving you some examples, so be prepared. At another shop, a girl asked me if I needed a shirt or something of that nature. I informed her that I did not and she asked why. I kept on walking and had said, "I don't know" in a half laughing tone. I was able to hear her say, "I know." Hilarious. They all tell you they need help opening their business. I get real with them though and tell them I know differently in a friendly tone. It's amusing. I exchanged names with a few of them so they would recognize my face and take me seriously the next time I was there. Again, it's good to know people and they'll know I'm not a fool. I did end up bargaining with a nice woman named Nina for about 10-15 minutes over some more chopsticks. These were much nicer than the ones I had already bought. They came in a box, very ornate, sitting on top of silk with 2 duck stands (used to set the chopsticks on). It's a touristy type item typical of China. But I really liked them. I tend to be very anal and check out the details of them and such. I want to get the best item I can if I'm going to spend money. So this woman told me that the typical price was 180, but she would give them to me for 50rmb. This is common. Still plenty of room to work.  I stuck at 10 for a long time and she was definitely stand offish at that price. But I was looking around her shop and enjoying the nature of the game. I was talking to her as well and being pleasant. She kept dropping here and there. She stayed with 40 for a while, then told me 'maximo' price was 35. At this point, I was at 15. Again, I stayed here for a while and she stayed there. Her 'maximo' price then dropped to 25 and again, I knew I would probably go a little higher to get them. I was just amusing myself more than anything. You can always go up, but you can't go back down in price so go super low every time even if you know it's ridiculous. They go super high, so it's kind of a give and take. Besides, you can always walk away and get an even better deal than their 'best' deal. I did get called crazy and one woman walked away from me after one offer, but it's all well and good. I was more so just getting a feel for prices and what I could get away with. Anyways, back to the chopsticks. Eventually, she suggested we meet in the middle to be fair. Since I had come this far, I decided I would do that. I bargained a few times, but only bought one thing. Like I said, I was just playing around with it and having some fun. I find it highly amusing. I also picked the best 2 duck stands I could find amongst the other boxes. But yeah, I payed 20 and with some encouragement even got her to throw in another chopstick stand.  The sale was pretty much done at that point so it was much easier to get her to throw it in. She told me those normally cost 10 yuan. (Remember, rmb, yuan, and quai is all the same.) I think I got a pretty good deal, much better than most foreigners. I think she sort of enjoyed my haggling as well. I told her I'd be back and that I would recommend people go to her. She liked that as well. Contacts, all about the contacts. These sales people talk to each other and observe your actions in other shops. I've written chopsticks so many times, I started to write chops instead of shops. Haha. This being said, when I walked into a shop next door and stated that I was only looking, the girl immediately told me she knew that because I went everywhere and said that. That doesn't mean she didn't try to sell me something. She wanted to sell me this cool fan. It was a good price. She told me that she would skip the bargaining price and show me the real price. 35. This very quickly dropped to 5 yuan. I didn't buy it, but again, I got her name and told her I'd be back. And I probably will.

I think I've given you a pretty good idea about going to the Silk Market. I had a lot of fun with the place. I like matching wits though and playing games like that. Very amusing. I'll be here for a year, and I'm sure I'll be back there for some more items several times. If you've ever seen those cool water type shoes that have toe slots so you can run on pavement and what not, I plan on buying a pair there. A woman started at 750, down to 480, and down to 200 when I walked away. I think I could get them at 100rmb with a little tact. That's less than $20.00 USD. They sell for over $100.00 in America. Now, they're probably fake, but they'll do the job nonetheless.

Anyways, tonight should be fun. Ditan park was a bust. Disappointing, but that's ok. Now I know how to get there when there's another cool event going on. Gotta look at the positive sides to every thing.  Until next time, be good. Hope these blog posts are interesting and that you're enjoying them. I'm enjoying writing about my experiences here and will continue to do so.

Oh, real quick. While eating dinner last night (Friday), I met this kid named Henry. His real name is Ren He. Very clever of him. He's my age, 24. You know when people are put in front of you and you were meant to meet. This was one of those times. I was real happy to meet him. He was Chinese, but spoke English very well. I definitely plan on getting together with him. It's not about what you know, it's about who you know. Believe it or not, there are many Chinese that haven't seen the Great Wall. He's one of them. We discussed perhaps going out there some time. Sounds good to me. He told me the Chinese have a saying that's loosely translated as, 'You're not a man, until you've visited the Great Wall." Great to meet you Ren He. 


-Jeff (Haggling Pro. Just kidding, but I'm decent. I'll get even better when I can speak more mandarin.)