Ripped off!!!

Written on 26 May 2009 in Beijing, China

This is a picture of the handbag I got ripped off on at the Silk Street Pearl Market. I needed a new bag as the old bag I brought on my travels is now giving way. The market is a great place for bargain hunters but beware … you may think you're smart but the vendors who do this day in and day out are even smarter! They even speak multiple languages – I even heard smatterings of accented Russian and Malay from vendors in this place!

You will soon realise that the market sells pearls only on one level. The remaining 5 levels or so sell everything imaginable – souvenirs, homewares, manchester, clothes, shoes, handbags, jewellery, toys, paintings, electronics, food...
This is also the place Westerners go to buy fake branded goods. There is even a big bold sign at the front of the relevant Chinese authority's guarantee of quality for the fakes. How amusing - that's China!

I ended up paying 150 yuan ($AUD 30) for this fake Dolce & Gabana bag (not that I am into the brand, I just liked the bag itself and am now wondering if there's a way to pull off the brand tag without ruining the bag ... I suffer from self-diagnosed 'Brand Embarassment Complex') bargained down from the vendor's starting price of 780 yuan! I realise now that the market value of the bag would have been 100 yuan and due to the economic crisis I could have gotten it down to perhaps 70 yuan (hmmm... perhaps I need to add superior bargaining skills in there somewhere as an added ingredient) because if I hadn't bought it, chances are it would not have been sold for a long long time!

Kenneth wanted to walk away when we offered 100 yuan and the vendor wouldn't accept. I vaguely recall hearing him say “C'mon, let's go!!” but I found myself in a hypnotised state after the vendor performed several swift sale tactics like burning the bag with a lighter and leaving it unscathed. My emotional attachment to the bag grew in that dark stall and I was overpowered. My initial resolve to spend only $AUD15 to AUD$20 waned when she started at 780 yuan. I started to think that what I was prepared to pay was totally unrealistic. After making the much to quick purchase, Kenneth spotted the exact same bag 2 stalls away and my heart sank when the starting price was placed at 150 yuan at this stall!

I was fuming on the subway when it hit me how much I'd been ripped off. Losing $AUD10 wasn't the issue. It's that horrible feeling of having been 'cheated', ripped off and outwitted! I was ranting and raving on the subway processing all that had happened to me. I knew people were looking at me but I didn't care. I'm the sort of person that needs to let it ALL out! I totally cheesed myself off when I realised I'd disappointed Kenneth by not trusting his judgment, ignoring and not listening to him. I also hadn't learnt my lesson from the time I purchased some punjabi outfits in India … it cheesed me off even more remembering that old incident … but that's another story …

Hopefully, the lesson has been well and truly learnt this time around!

Pearl's are a gal's 2nd best friend?

Written on 26 May 2009 in Beijing, China

We stunbled upon the Silk Street Pearl Market today. Most pearls in China are the freshwater variety, as the Chinese have perfected the art of cultivating pearls in mussels. Typically easier to produce that saltwater oyster pearls, freshwater pearls are often smaller and naturally less lustrous. But their abundance also means cheaper prices. The pearls come in a huge variety of shapes and colours. The freshwater variety is usually white with a slightly rosy undertone, but one can find a rainbow of hues. Greater lustre, or iridescence, typically increases the value.

Most vendors happily humour shoppers with a series of demonstrations of a pearl's authenticity – scraping it on glass to leave a mark, or nicking it with a blade to show unform colour. If making a purchase, you'd have to use your best judgment when trying to determine quality and value. A good tip is to realise that the world's best quality pearls are probably not for sale in a crowded market.

We didn't splash out as we're saving shopping for the last leg of our trip in Hong Kong. Backpacking is not conducive to shopping! However, we got a good buy purchasing 2 turquoise coloured pearl necklaces bargained down to 20 yuan for both! One is part of our 'thank you' gift to Melissa with whom we've been staying with in Beijing and the other was just Kenneth's little random gift to me because he could see how much my eyes twinkled when I held them up against my neck!

T2 - La originale

[We are now in Ulanbaatar, capital of Mongolia which is known as the 'Land of the Blue Sky' from which the largest empire the world has ever known hailed from under the great Chinggis Khaan. We are uploading blog posts typed in Word during our first leg in China. We are using China as our base country and will be making multiple entries in and out of China over the next few months. Unfortunately, blogspot is one of many blocked sites in China at present (Welcome to lesson 1 in culture shock - communism!) and we therefore have to get out of the country before we can blog at this site each time! We are still pondering as to whether we should move our blog to another site but until then, thanks for your patience and apologies for the delayed news!]

Written on 15 May 2009 in Guangzhou, China - birthplace of 'yum cha'!

Being a coffee connoisseur in China is an expensive habit. A mere cafe latte at Starbucks costs 25 yuan (which is AUD$5). This is retail robbery when you can get a delicious bowl of noodles plus a drink for 10 yuan next door. However, this doesn't prevent those that uphold the Chinese culture of 'saving face' and embracing all things Western to project an image of wealth and abundance. A local Chinese friend of ours says it is not uncommon for young people to have up to 3 Starbucks coffees a day, setting them back 75 yuan or more each day on coffee alone!

I have taken the courageous step of resolving to have my latte indulgences only ONCE a month while travelling. This is a massive feat for me but I have found some comfort in instant 3-in-1 Nescafe coffee sachets (something I would never drink when its relatively affordable to be a coffee snob in Melbourne).

Another means of coping has been to appreciate tea more. China is a fantastic place to learn about and savour tea. One of the highlights of our trip to Guangzhou was a visit to the tea market with myriads of teas on display for tastings and for sale. This is the tea mecca of the world! We spent some time at Iong Na's tea shop which is a family business. The family tried very hard to communicate with us and thankfully, due to their multilingual abilities Mandarin, Cantonese and Minnan Hua (Hokkien to Malaysians) we managed to string together some semblance of a conversation by interchanging between the 3 languages depending on which words we knew in which language! While sitting down to some tea tastings, we talked about tea, the business, our lives and the intricacies of language!

Here's a summary about tea varieties for you tea lovers and budding tea connoisseurs out there:

Green tea – Green tea is the tea in Asia. Tea leaves are not oxidised, but rather steamed and dried. Leaves maintain more of their natural colour and bear a delicate refreshing flavour. Hangzhou's Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea is a national favourite.

Oolong tea – Among the finest and most difficult teas to produce, oolong falls somewhere between the green and black varieties in that it is only partially oxidised. Tea connoisseurs savour oolong's often flowery or fruity flavour without milk, sugar or other blends.

Black tea – Abundant in the Western world, black tea us called red tea in Chinese. Leaves are completely oxidised before drying, giving black tea its dark colour, full flavour and extra caffeine.

Pu'er tea – The blackest of all teas, pu'er deserves its own category. Leaves undergo double oxidation followed by a period of maturation, resulting in a strong earthy flavour that can be an acquired taste. Often sold as solid cakes or bricks, it is renowned for medicinal effects on the digestive system.

White tea – The rarest ad least-processed variety, white tea is identifiable by silvery hairs that cover the tea buds. Buds (and occasionally leaves) are dried naturally and are not oxidised, yielding a subtle flavour. It is a speciality of Fujian province (where our ancestors hail from!).