Within 15 minutes walk is an oasis – a shopping mall, with some western goods, and price tickets that have a (tiny print) English translation. Bliss! The prices are high for locals, but reasonable for us. It is here that I obtained some urgently needed goods such as cleaning materials as well a some CD’s of light classical music (playing on my computer as I type this) and a couple of DVD’s which can also be played on my laptop – “Elizabeth” and “Miami Vice”. This will be welcomed entertainment after experiencing the nth repeat of the government party line documentary on the only commercial TV channel. Any news is interesting – it seems that the unlawful scuffles in Lhasa were the work of the “Dalai clique”, and that the offenders will be caught and severely punished.
It is comforting to know that this store is nearby, but it still is difficult to get to, with the traffic and building works, and new sewer pipes being installed, effectively negating the footpaths. Which are often the preserve of motorcycles anyway!
Walking around the familiar layout of a large supermarket, I was able to find what I needed fairly well without assistance. Nevertheless, with the hordes of shop staff standing around, I was somewhat thrown when, undecided what brand cleaner I should get, a young woman thrust a container at Harpic at me, intoning in Chinese, perhaps, that this was the best product for stubborn stains. I accepted it with a curt nod, and fled.
One department to avoid is the toy department. With the one child policy in China, the little darling is allowed to run free and try out all the noisiest toys without restraint.
Out of habit, we look for signs, and labels and brands. Which is fairly useless when they all written in Chinese.
The travelator has tempting snacks to loook at while travelling.
The store has free lockers - something we don't get at all in Australia.
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