Chandni Chowk to China

Hello everyone!

You simply can not imagine how I missed blogging during the past one and half weeks. No writing, no comments approval or responding, no daily sharing of news and posts. Bref, it was purely some unexpected holidays. And I am back!

Coming back to today’s title, I initially planned to write it as “English? No English!” because that’s probably the most common interaction I had with the Chinese population. Language is a real problem. Very few (I really put much emphasis on the word few) people actually can understand and talk English.

On the other hand, I learnt a few Chinese keywords/phrases by heart, like

• “Chudi Chudi laaa” – Give some discount
• “Tuuuu XXX” – Go to place XXX

Despite not being able to interact properly, the one week in China went on smoothly. I was there mostly to buy household items and furniture in the Guangzhou district and more specifically in Fo Shan. Once all items in my to-do-list were cleared, I moved my flight and had some nice time in Dubai for 3 days. [Read the post here]

During the last week, I appreciated the country, the people and the culture. I should say that (most) Chinese are nice, welcoming and helpful (when both sides can understand each other).

The one-stop country

You should know that nothing is impossible in this country. They manufacture absolutely everything. Just name it! All types of markets exist : Furniture, curtains, electrical appliances, hotel equipment, ceramic tiles, sanitary wares. There are a few addresses which you should know else you will land up looking for something in the wrong place.

Let’s say that you need to set up a hotel. Just walk in with your money. You get everything from the room door mat to the staff uniform and the kitchen equipment. Absolutely everything you need in a hotel, except customers.

China is really a shopping paradise and girls, You will be the most happiest persons there, believe me. Imagine whole streets over several hundred meters, selling only shoes, garments, bags and other things you crave upon!

On my last day there, I landed into some sort of wholesale market street (above) with over tons of people. I never seen so much people in a so little place.

Bargaining

Bargaining is a must in this country. A very common fact : When quoting you the price for the very first time, many among them say “Last last 200 rmb”. What does this mean? He is offering you the item at the lowest price of 200 rmb (or yuan) and is not giving you the opportunity of look for good deals.

Just bargain a few seconds with him, and he will quote you another “last last” price. Discounts can sometimes be incredible when you take a large number of items.

Food

One promise that I could not keep. Prior my departure, I said that I really wanted to taste (most of) the food there. But the majority of times, I simply could not stand that particular smell at some food stalls or road-side restaurants.

Eventually, I found myself eating Mac Do or KFC most of the time (And above that, I even lost 2kgs!)

There is good food available too and much affordable. For example, I had really enjoyed a hot pot feast of shrimps and octopus for only 50rmb (roughly ~ Rs250). And on the last day there, I had another superb dinner in an Indian restaurant, named Daawat. Finger licking good for100rmb (abt Rs500).

Driving

Simply amazed by the drivers. I would award them with the title : “Best of the Worst Drivers 2011”.

The rules and regulations of the road : You can do absolutely everything.

While driving on the leftmost lane of a 5 lanes road, taking the right most lane is simply a matter of seconds. They just drive in. The car coming in that lane will just brake and all of the times, the vehicles are separated by only a few cms. Yet, I have seen practically no signs of accidents and very few scratches on vehicles in general. So if just like me, you think that some Mauritians don’t know how to drive, you should admire the Chinese (If am not mistaken, Indian drivers are like that too.)

Things to be careful of

Dishonesty, fake notes and brand piracy are some major problems in the country.  You should always be on guard while being there, especially if you are carrying money and valuable items. Always be careful when dealing with money. And avoid going for cheap items, they might be tempting but you will end up with a useless and defective product. I even feared buying a laptop there or a tablet as planned.

You know Playboy right? What about PianoBoy and PizzaBoy, side by side? 😛

To sum up, I would say that the trip to China was a nice experience and ready to land there again!

Once again, glad to be writing back again and keep tuned for that post about Dubai.

Also, big thanks to Kiran, Satchin, Rajul and everyone from the family 🙂
ps : The blog post finally got its title from a Bollywood movie.