Bargaining 101

Today we did not have anything "officially" planned. It was just a day for us to venture out on our own and that we did!! We started our morning with breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They had a quite a variety of interesting dishes along with typical western fair. Paul and I settled for omelets and bacon while Kathy and mom were a little more adventurous trying out the dumplings with sweet meat.

We then headed out walking, we walked down a pretty busy street and just soaked up the atmosphere. We saw several interesting stores as well as some familiar favorites.
Just walking through the streets was a very eye-opening experience

Bikes are the main mode or transportation around the city (other than the million cars around). We saw people of all ages riding and hauling supplies on their bikes.


An apartment building near our hotel.

Mom was very excited to see this:
She loves her ice cream so I am sure we will be trying this place out. I wonder if China's 31 flavors are different from ours?

We saw this building and wondered inside
It was a day care center for the little ones.

We came up on a mall and decided to check it out:

Most of the signage is in English in addition to Chinese.

Another familiar favorite:
but I have to admit I don't ever remember seeing tupperware in a mall back home.

I just couldn't resist posing for this picture


We even found a Disney Store in the mall with very eager employees
I wound up purchasing some Minnie Mouse chopsticks. I just couldn't resist a little Disney fix.

After making our way around the mall we took a taxi to the silk market. Not only is it a silk market but also a mecca of all things. This is where the bargaining began.
We had been told to always offer about 25% of the price offered and even though this seemed terribly low it soon turned into a fun experience. There were booths and booths and booths of everything from clothing to jewelry to housewares to just about anything you could want.

Kathy tried out her dealing skills on these silk scarves.

We also found a calligraphy booth and had Avery's name written on a small scroll in Chinese


When we first entered the market we were a little intimidated with all the vendors trying to get us to come in their booths. We soon learned that you just had to walk ahead and not acknowledge anyone because then they would really start trying to entice you with their goods. Bargaining is definitely an art and I think we all got some good deals today.

We had a very funny taxi driver that took us back to the hotel who entertained us with his explanations of bargaining and bad drivers! It was an experience!!

We had a low key afternoon and are getting rested up for our tours tomorrow.