BEIJING DAY 3 - SHOPPING TIME AGAIN

On the third day, we were taken to three places to shop. Two of them were government controlled venues while the other one was a free market.

(1) THE SILK PLACE

The visit to this place was an entertaining one as the salesperson was giving her briefing in Malay language but with this funny accent but she was one sweet little girl. I still remembered her words "kepompong" [the larvae] and "bantal tahi" [pillow filled with the maggots' poops which should be good for your health]. They were trying to promote their products like bed linen and comforter made of silk which of course were expensive for me. We were more interested to get cloth for women to make "baju kurung" but the selection was limited. One good reminder before buying the cloth here is to check the measuring ruler. We found that their one metre ruler was actually comprised of 36 inches instead of 39. So be careful because you might end up getting a skirt instead of a complete dress.

(2) THE MASSAGE/HERBS PLACE

When you arrived a man came into the comfortable room and gave a briefing in the Indonesian language. Then the assistants came in with basins of a sachet of herbs in hot water and you were supposed to put your feet in - but only four of us did that (to his disappointment). Next, the assistants would massage your feet and you would be told of the possible diseases of sickness that you might have and you could cure them by buying the products. Nobody bought anything here but we were happy nonetheless.

(3) YASHOW MARKET

To describe the atmosphere of this place was something similar to Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. At least, there were many things that you could choose from at lower prices. You have just to be equipped with money and high level bargaining skills. This is one of the market places that you could get souvenirs, toys and fake goods made in China. The group members went back feeling tired but happier because we had the chance to do real shopping at last.