the common language of haggling
Today was my first day off in Shanghai and I spent the day with Dave, Evan, and Mora exploring the city. My goal for the day was to buy a used bicycle, but for the most part I was along for the ride.
We originally intended to walk from our apartment to The Bund and then maybe check out the bird, animal, insect market. On our way to the river, we happened upon the most amazing hardware store on the planet. It wasn't really a single hardware store as much as it was hundreds of tiny stores lumped together into mini-malls, spanning several blocks.
These places had everything: needle bearings, roller bearings, ball transfers, linear bearings, linear guides and rails, thrust bearings, sleeve bearings, cutting tools, process control equipment, hundreds of types of measuring and sensing equipment including refrigerant detectors, flammable gas detectors, anemometer, infrared pyrometers, digital multimeters, analog multimeters, sound meters, massive blocks of delrin, pipes, mesh, perf-metal, every imaginable type of control switch, relays, limit switches, proximity sensors, photosensors, hoses, valves and fittings, x-y (and sometimes z) joystick knobs, lights, sirens, actuators, manifolds, rigging, linear drive equipment, adhesives, lubricants, clips, latches, clamps, clasps, shackles, clevises, bolts, screws, nuts, hand tools, mag drills, drill presses, mill and lathe tooling including micro tooling and CNC stuff, coolant feed lines, laboratory glass ware, transformers, variacs, saws, abrasives and polishing consumables and tools, TIG torches, plasma torches, and on and on and on for block and blocks.
Awhile later when we were in a more touristy area, leaving the foreign language book store, and we passed a large store on the corner that sold analytical chemistry instruments (new) and reagents. Sure. Why not.
There was a guy in the street selling loupes and magnifying glasses. Mora and Evan wanted to buy loupes and started haggling with the guy. He didn't speak any English, so haggling involves our limited command of Shanghaiese, a notebook, and pen going back and forth. We were essentially haggling over a few dollars, and by the end of it, a crowd had gathered and an old Chinese dude was giving us the thumbs up. Haggling and arguments are spectator sports here in Shanghai.
After spending two or three hours wandering through hardware stores, we made it to the Bund which was largely under construction for the big Expo 2010. Also very touristy. It seems like the Expo is ruling most life in Shanghai right now. I'm not exactly sure what it is, some sort of Worlds Fair revival from what I can tell. There's a Gumby knock-off mascot everywhere.
We had a disgusting lunch at a Chinese fast-food place and I asked a bike mechanic (bike mechanics work in the street usually) where I could buy a bicycle. He was illiterate, but had the guy running the DVD cart next to him to write out directions for me in Chinese and put a dot on my map. It was on the way to the cricket market, so we thought we'd just hit that up first.
The cricket market was in Old Town, so we didn't mind wandering around lost for a while. Some guy tired to sell us turtles (he had a big mesh bag full of them), but we never found the promised land of bountiful animals and insects.
The bike shop ended up being a Trek bike shop. No one seemed to be able to tell us where to get a second-hand bicycle. As it turns out, that's illegal as they are all stolen. Shen (our intern, translator, and savior) looked up some places where I might be able to buy a stolen bike, but I opted to spend the big bucks ($30-50USD) and buy a new bike. I didn't get quite the bargain I should have here. We paid about $55 each for two shitty Chinese (made in/near Shanghai, I think) bicycles with locks, racks, and baskets. Evan's breaks kept breaking as we were trying to leave, and the guy spoke no english. Every time we'd give him the pen and notebook he'd write it out in Chinese. A phone call with Shen sorted everything out and we're going back tomorrow to get our baskets.
I've been taking a lot of photos, but the x31/Ubuntu thing ain't great for Nikon RAW files. I'll try and steal the shop MacBook tonight and do some processing.
Things the Chinese like:
Things the Chinese don't like:
We originally intended to walk from our apartment to The Bund and then maybe check out the bird, animal, insect market. On our way to the river, we happened upon the most amazing hardware store on the planet. It wasn't really a single hardware store as much as it was hundreds of tiny stores lumped together into mini-malls, spanning several blocks.
These places had everything: needle bearings, roller bearings, ball transfers, linear bearings, linear guides and rails, thrust bearings, sleeve bearings, cutting tools, process control equipment, hundreds of types of measuring and sensing equipment including refrigerant detectors, flammable gas detectors, anemometer, infrared pyrometers, digital multimeters, analog multimeters, sound meters, massive blocks of delrin, pipes, mesh, perf-metal, every imaginable type of control switch, relays, limit switches, proximity sensors, photosensors, hoses, valves and fittings, x-y (and sometimes z) joystick knobs, lights, sirens, actuators, manifolds, rigging, linear drive equipment, adhesives, lubricants, clips, latches, clamps, clasps, shackles, clevises, bolts, screws, nuts, hand tools, mag drills, drill presses, mill and lathe tooling including micro tooling and CNC stuff, coolant feed lines, laboratory glass ware, transformers, variacs, saws, abrasives and polishing consumables and tools, TIG torches, plasma torches, and on and on and on for block and blocks.
Awhile later when we were in a more touristy area, leaving the foreign language book store, and we passed a large store on the corner that sold analytical chemistry instruments (new) and reagents. Sure. Why not.
There was a guy in the street selling loupes and magnifying glasses. Mora and Evan wanted to buy loupes and started haggling with the guy. He didn't speak any English, so haggling involves our limited command of Shanghaiese, a notebook, and pen going back and forth. We were essentially haggling over a few dollars, and by the end of it, a crowd had gathered and an old Chinese dude was giving us the thumbs up. Haggling and arguments are spectator sports here in Shanghai.
After spending two or three hours wandering through hardware stores, we made it to the Bund which was largely under construction for the big Expo 2010. Also very touristy. It seems like the Expo is ruling most life in Shanghai right now. I'm not exactly sure what it is, some sort of Worlds Fair revival from what I can tell. There's a Gumby knock-off mascot everywhere.
We had a disgusting lunch at a Chinese fast-food place and I asked a bike mechanic (bike mechanics work in the street usually) where I could buy a bicycle. He was illiterate, but had the guy running the DVD cart next to him to write out directions for me in Chinese and put a dot on my map. It was on the way to the cricket market, so we thought we'd just hit that up first.
The cricket market was in Old Town, so we didn't mind wandering around lost for a while. Some guy tired to sell us turtles (he had a big mesh bag full of them), but we never found the promised land of bountiful animals and insects.
The bike shop ended up being a Trek bike shop. No one seemed to be able to tell us where to get a second-hand bicycle. As it turns out, that's illegal as they are all stolen. Shen (our intern, translator, and savior) looked up some places where I might be able to buy a stolen bike, but I opted to spend the big bucks ($30-50USD) and buy a new bike. I didn't get quite the bargain I should have here. We paid about $55 each for two shitty Chinese (made in/near Shanghai, I think) bicycles with locks, racks, and baskets. Evan's breaks kept breaking as we were trying to leave, and the guy spoke no english. Every time we'd give him the pen and notebook he'd write it out in Chinese. A phone call with Shen sorted everything out and we're going back tomorrow to get our baskets.
I've been taking a lot of photos, but the x31/Ubuntu thing ain't great for Nikon RAW files. I'll try and steal the shop MacBook tonight and do some processing.
Things the Chinese like:
- watching people argue/haggle
- tasteless beer ($0.60USD)
- horrible cigarettes ($1.50USD)
- novelty items
- food that freaks out westerners
- moon cakes (I think it's for the festival of the Hungry Ghost which is nowish)
- fried things
Things the Chinese don't like:
- hugs
- obnoxious people
- cheese