Today is Matt’s last day in China, I am trying not to think about it as it has been so good having him here with me. We started the day by going to the school so that Matt can see where I work and for him to check in online and print his confirmation. We then got a taxi into the city to the silk market, the plan being to buy gifts for people and buy a few souvenirs ourselves. I gave Matt a quick lesson on how to barter and then we went round the silk market, there is a whole floor of jewellery and arts and crafts so we started there. It was a bit intense as every stall holder is shouting at you to come look at their stall when all you want to do is browse in peace without being grabbed at or questioned “what are you looking for?” then given a list of what they have. I have gotten used to this and learnt to just ignore them and carry on, which would seem quite rude at home, Matt however was trying to say to each stall holder no thank you, which to them seemed like a conversation starter and they kept grabbing his arm and telling him they had a good price. I have learnt that the trick is to keep smiling and I know that they are going to try and rip me off, that I probably am going to get ripped off, but to pay a price that I am happy with. Most jewellery items they will tell you a price of about 450 RMB (£45), then tell you that you look like a nice lady so they give it to you for 400 RMB (£40) then I always offer a price as low as I can, and usually come away with it for between 15- 40 RMB (£1.50-£4). Quite a big difference really. My guide is that if the stall holder still looks happy, I have been ripped off, if they are unhappy about the price then I have got a good deal.
After the silk market we went out for Tapas and then on to the Ya Show market for more shopping. It’s quite exhausting so when we were all shopped out we got a taxi back to Houshayu and Matt finished his packing. He is taking all of the souvenirs and gifts that I have bought since I have been here home with him, along with my summer clothes which is good of him, I never would have got it all home in January otherwise.
As it was Matts last night I had said that whatever his favourite place to eat was, that we could eat there for dinner so later that evening we were on our way to the Daily roast duck not far from my apartment. We ordered a few sides, a thing that looked like a spring roll with sesame seeds on, an onion thing that looked like omelette for matt and we had seen what looked like poached pears go past in batter so we ordered one of those each aswell as the duck pancakes. The spring roll things came first and I can’t put my finger on the taste, it was both sweet and savory at the same time, a grey almost mash potato texture inside but looked like a spring roll, it was quite nice. The onion omelette thing looked more like a slice of pizza and the smell of onions was so strong, I passed on that but Matt had a few and really enjoyed them. Then there was the poached pear. How wrong could we have been. It looked like a pear covered in batter, but inside it was a gravy with carrots and peas in, I only had one bite, it was horrible! Then there was the roast duck pancakes which were delicious. It was a really nice meal and with drinks cost us 145 RMB (£14.50) a real bargain!
On the way out, Matt wanted to buy cigarettes for a friend and there was a shop just outside that sold these, a pack of 200 was 48 RMB (£4.80) no wonder people smoke so much in China when it’s that cheap. We got a taxi home and then watched a film before having an early night as Matt is getting picked up for the airport at 3am.
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