All week, I've been ablaze with excitement. Not that I've never been abroad, but the fact that I'll be travelling with my good friends and that after several disappointments from my boyfriend's promise for h o l i d a y S, I'm finally taking my deserved holiday. Touched down and arrived at 珠海 almost at 4:00pm. The weather was wayyy too hot to bear; imagine dragging 5kg of baggages under the piercing sun! I had to change into my shorts and blouse to stay cool. That's the thing about China; the skies were noticeably much blue-r than our own. Clear skies and sparse clouds, that's no wonder we get much more direct sunlight.
珠海 seemed to be considerably less developed; with plenty of similar high-rised buildings but double the number of households per block. Littering, spitting and even smoking could be seen anywhere and everywhere you go. This is when you start missing Singapore, our "fine" city that keeps everything spanking clean and hygenic. Even the air seemed fresher back here :)Our hotel is just 5 minutes walk from Gongbei gateway, a major bridge to link Hongkong-珠海-Macau. Under this capacious bridge, two levels of endless shopping that could last probably 3 days, considering 6-hour shopping everyday. Looking at the total area of this vicinity, there should be more than a thousand vendors, selling accessories, clothes, bags, lingerie, games, electronics and even pet essentials! Unlike thailand, although the type of clothes are somehow similar, the design do vary across these vendors. It is quite rare to find similar designs elsewhere. This place is too big, that we're often walking in circles and never able to walk out to another section of the building!
Clothes and accessories were cheap, ranging from $6-$20, depending on the quality and designs of the item. The designs were considerably chic and modern, and everythign is N E G O T I A B L E! Prices are actually only 40% of what they initially offer. For example, a top for 100 RMB could actually be discounted until only 40 RMB per piece! Not all items of course! Be prudent and fair to these people as well. Don't take advantage over everything! :)
There's something interesting about the fastfood available here. Apart from the usual western meals like KFC and MacDonald's, they do have chinese cuisines as fast food! Take the famous 真功夫 for example. They actually sell nutritious and economical set meals! And every single dish is steamed. How healthy is that? I like the name actually; in another sense, it actually meant 蒸, which means "steam" in mandarin. "True art of steaming !" Food costs around 14 - 25 RMB for a huge bowl of rice, a mini-pot of brewed-soup, a side dish of vegetables and meat! That is only about $5 sgd! And the food is really good, we actually ate it twice in row. ;)
After hours of shopping, we went back at almost 11pm. As we walked back to our hotel, you could see the dark streets awashed with poor and feeble people, sitting around their children and begging for money. Just hours ago, we were so indulged in the luxury of goods, almost forgetting here we are, standing on the soil of a country with still, many people living in poverty. With bags of shopping items on one hand, the other could only clench tightly in shame. Sigh, the balance of life just isn't fair to everyone, isn't it?
Anyhows, that is all for day 1 for now :)
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