APRIL 2, 1007
We have had visitors lately from both Scotland and the states to help Randy with the delivery, assembly, and set up of the equipment and machinery. David Gray from Scotland, and Vance Smith from the states arrived two weeks ago. While there have been some long hours for these guys, we have also managed to pack in quite a few adventures while they have been in Asia.
One of the first adventures embarked upon was a trip to ride the Maglev, a super-fast, high speed train that runs from the southwestern outskirts of Shanghai to the Pudong International Airport to the east of Shanghai. The Maglev was the creation of a joint venture between the Chinese government and a German company, and was supposed to go from the airport well into the city of Shanghai. So the story has been related to me, the German company went belly up prior to the completion of the Maglev train, so it was stopped on the outskirts of town (or the middle of "nowhere" as David Taylor puts it). Luckily, the Maglev station is located on a subway stop on Line 2 (which is the line nearest our apartment) so it was decided we'd take a trip out and back on the Maglev just for the experience.
The Maglev costs 50 RMB one way, or 80 RMB round trip. We purchased round trip tickets and boarded the Maglev much in the same way one boards a plane. The train runs every 30 minutes and takes approximately 7 minutes to complete a one way trip reaching speeds of 436 KPH (or 270 MPH) at full speed. This trip could take an hour or more if traveling by conventional vehicle on the expressway (depending on traffic), so you can imagine the excitement of riding a train at this speed. Full speed is only achieved for about a minute or so as the train is either accerlating or decelerating for most of the ride. It's hard to believe that one can actually go that speed on land!! There are two trains each traveling opposite directions simultaneously. As such, they pass one another at full speed. As they pass, the air that each train is pushing hits the other at such a rate as to create quite a loud BANG (enough to scare the living daylights out of me!!). The Maglev is definitely a not-to-be-missed experience in Shanghai. If one does not have too much heavy luggage, this is a great way to travel to and from the airport. But the need to go up and down stairsteps and through turnstiles makes schlepping large loads of luggage quite difficult, I would imagine.
One of the other adventures taken with our visitors was a number of visits to the "dodgey market" (another of David Taylor's euphemisms). There are actually a number of these markets (or rather malls) in Shanghai where you can visit many different vendors selling name brand products for NOT name brand prices as these items are actually copies (or knock-offs as most folks say). Some of the items available include jewelry (Tiffany & Cartier), watches (Rolex, Cartier, Omega), handbags (Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dulce & Gabbana, Coach, Versace), shoes (Nike, Addidas, Diesel), clothing (you name it, they had it), designer sunglasses, DVD's, and many, many other items all for a pittance of what you'd pay in the "real" store.
One must be prepared mentally for a trip to the dodgey market. The vendors are quite vocal and aggressive. They will pull at your shirt sleeves, follow you down the hall, and shove products and brochures into your face in an attempt to get your attention .... "HEY lady ... looky, looky, REAL DEAL, NOT knock-off ... YOU my FRIEND ... I make GOOD DEAL for YOU!!!" There is very little leisurely browsing because the moment you show any interest in a product, a calculator will be shoved into your face so that you may begin the bargaining.
Having said that, if you're up for the task, some great deals CAN be had at the dodgey market. David Gray arrived in China with print outs from family, friends, and coworkers that could have filled a 2-inch three ring binder, and a mission to fill those lists. Randy and I accompanied Vance and David to the market, and we decided to split into pairs with the thought that Randy and I should probably look after Vance and David as we have a dozen or so phrases in our Chinese vocabularly and these guys were the newbies. I went with David. We were soon on the third floor of the mall looking at some handbags. Next thing I knew, we'd been whisked into a back room hidden behind the store (and the actual store is not much more than merely a store FRONT) so that David could go over his list. Also, they try to convince you that the back room (and every store has one) contains the better (read "not knock-off") or more desireable products. David ended up handing his list to this gal, and off she ran to find the items on his list. Some of these folks are basically "runners" to whom a commission is paid, and they run from store to store to see if they can find these items. I have to admit that I was a little freaked about being lock in what was basically a room about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, but David was pretty calm about it, so I perused the bags hanging all over the walls.
The gal returned with quite a few of the items on David's list, and the bargaining began. The first thing they want to do is bargain for the entire purchase for one price. David didn't want to do that as he would be reimbursed for each item and as such, needed to know what he was paying for each item. Then they try to convince you that everything is REAL so you should pay a larger price. By now, we all know that the items wouldn't be at this particular market unless they are knock-off, but you must go through this process to get down to what you might actually pay. It appears that the price paid usually ends up between a third to half of whatever they are asking. But of course, you must start pretty low or there's no room to bargain. David had a great technique of offering a price, and then actually going lower which usually prompted a reponse of "You CRAZY, mister!!" Cracked me up!
We've been in and out of the dodgey market a few times now, and we're getting the hang of it. It actually requires a bit of practice, as well as some finesse. If you act like these vendors are your long lost cousin from Des Moines that you haven't seen in ages, they seem to give you a better deal. They love feeling like they have made a friend, not just sold an item. We have purchased sunglasses, a handbag, and a pair of shoes so far (and made some pretty good deals). Yes, the knock off market is definitely one of the more colorful experiences we've had in Shanghai.
One of the first adventures embarked upon was a trip to ride the Maglev, a super-fast, high speed train that runs from the southwestern outskirts of Shanghai to the Pudong International Airport to the east of Shanghai. The Maglev was the creation of a joint venture between the Chinese government and a German company, and was supposed to go from the airport well into the city of Shanghai. So the story has been related to me, the German company went belly up prior to the completion of the Maglev train, so it was stopped on the outskirts of town (or the middle of "nowhere" as David Taylor puts it). Luckily, the Maglev station is located on a subway stop on Line 2 (which is the line nearest our apartment) so it was decided we'd take a trip out and back on the Maglev just for the experience.
The Maglev costs 50 RMB one way, or 80 RMB round trip. We purchased round trip tickets and boarded the Maglev much in the same way one boards a plane. The train runs every 30 minutes and takes approximately 7 minutes to complete a one way trip reaching speeds of 436 KPH (or 270 MPH) at full speed. This trip could take an hour or more if traveling by conventional vehicle on the expressway (depending on traffic), so you can imagine the excitement of riding a train at this speed. Full speed is only achieved for about a minute or so as the train is either accerlating or decelerating for most of the ride. It's hard to believe that one can actually go that speed on land!! There are two trains each traveling opposite directions simultaneously. As such, they pass one another at full speed. As they pass, the air that each train is pushing hits the other at such a rate as to create quite a loud BANG (enough to scare the living daylights out of me!!). The Maglev is definitely a not-to-be-missed experience in Shanghai. If one does not have too much heavy luggage, this is a great way to travel to and from the airport. But the need to go up and down stairsteps and through turnstiles makes schlepping large loads of luggage quite difficult, I would imagine.
One of the other adventures taken with our visitors was a number of visits to the "dodgey market" (another of David Taylor's euphemisms). There are actually a number of these markets (or rather malls) in Shanghai where you can visit many different vendors selling name brand products for NOT name brand prices as these items are actually copies (or knock-offs as most folks say). Some of the items available include jewelry (Tiffany & Cartier), watches (Rolex, Cartier, Omega), handbags (Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dulce & Gabbana, Coach, Versace), shoes (Nike, Addidas, Diesel), clothing (you name it, they had it), designer sunglasses, DVD's, and many, many other items all for a pittance of what you'd pay in the "real" store.
One must be prepared mentally for a trip to the dodgey market. The vendors are quite vocal and aggressive. They will pull at your shirt sleeves, follow you down the hall, and shove products and brochures into your face in an attempt to get your attention .... "HEY lady ... looky, looky, REAL DEAL, NOT knock-off ... YOU my FRIEND ... I make GOOD DEAL for YOU!!!" There is very little leisurely browsing because the moment you show any interest in a product, a calculator will be shoved into your face so that you may begin the bargaining.
Having said that, if you're up for the task, some great deals CAN be had at the dodgey market. David Gray arrived in China with print outs from family, friends, and coworkers that could have filled a 2-inch three ring binder, and a mission to fill those lists. Randy and I accompanied Vance and David to the market, and we decided to split into pairs with the thought that Randy and I should probably look after Vance and David as we have a dozen or so phrases in our Chinese vocabularly and these guys were the newbies. I went with David. We were soon on the third floor of the mall looking at some handbags. Next thing I knew, we'd been whisked into a back room hidden behind the store (and the actual store is not much more than merely a store FRONT) so that David could go over his list. Also, they try to convince you that the back room (and every store has one) contains the better (read "not knock-off") or more desireable products. David ended up handing his list to this gal, and off she ran to find the items on his list. Some of these folks are basically "runners" to whom a commission is paid, and they run from store to store to see if they can find these items. I have to admit that I was a little freaked about being lock in what was basically a room about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, but David was pretty calm about it, so I perused the bags hanging all over the walls.
The gal returned with quite a few of the items on David's list, and the bargaining began. The first thing they want to do is bargain for the entire purchase for one price. David didn't want to do that as he would be reimbursed for each item and as such, needed to know what he was paying for each item. Then they try to convince you that everything is REAL so you should pay a larger price. By now, we all know that the items wouldn't be at this particular market unless they are knock-off, but you must go through this process to get down to what you might actually pay. It appears that the price paid usually ends up between a third to half of whatever they are asking. But of course, you must start pretty low or there's no room to bargain. David had a great technique of offering a price, and then actually going lower which usually prompted a reponse of "You CRAZY, mister!!" Cracked me up!
We've been in and out of the dodgey market a few times now, and we're getting the hang of it. It actually requires a bit of practice, as well as some finesse. If you act like these vendors are your long lost cousin from Des Moines that you haven't seen in ages, they seem to give you a better deal. They love feeling like they have made a friend, not just sold an item. We have purchased sunglasses, a handbag, and a pair of shoes so far (and made some pretty good deals). Yes, the knock off market is definitely one of the more colorful experiences we've had in Shanghai.
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
10:51 PM
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