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| Left to right: Me, Chi, Ayu, Mimi |
A few weeks ago I went on my first ever shopping trip to China. The closest mainland city to HK is called Shenzhen. It is only an hour away by subway/train and super-easy to get to. There is a border crossing involved, because Hong Kong is a SAR (Special Administrative Region), and we did have to have Visas for the trip. Although it's just over the border, there are some definite changes when you cross over into mainland China. There were no toilet bowls to be found (foot pads and squatting holes only), and people smoked excessively everywhere.
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| Our various passports from around the world |
The day trip was with my Cantonese class friends. These girls were the first friends I made in Hong Kong when we all took Cantonese lessons last February. I absolutely love hanging out with them because we are all from very different backgrounds and cultures. In the photo above, from left to right is me (boring Canadian), then Chi (Vietnamese friend, married to a French man), then Ayu (Indonesian friend, married to a New Zealander), and on the right is Mimi (Korean-born American who is married to an American). Mimi was our expert guide. She has lived in Hong Kong for the longest, about four years, and has an unlimited Visa for trips to Shenzhen. Her expertise was amazing because this trip could have been very overwhelming without some guidance and direction.
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| The main Shenzhen shopping mall |
The train station in Shenzhen is connected to the major mall where most people do all their shopping for the day, then hop back on the train back to HK. Sounds simple, but this mall could be very overwhelming with THOUSANDS of booths, shops and vendors inside. They also subscribe to the excessive harassment approach to selling, following people around saying "Missy, missy, I give you good price, come see my shop... missy, missy what you looking for?..." and on and on.
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| The fabric market... aisles and aisles with thousands of options |
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| bright & beautiful colours |
Shenzhen is known for certain things. Most people get things made there (clothing, household stuff like curtains, etc.) because it is quite cheap for custom stuff. There are also many shops with pre-made items and knockoffs. Our first stop was to a tailor that Mimi had gone to before. I wanted to get some maternity clothes made (it is very difficult to find things in my size in HK, but especially with the added belly space), so I came equipped with a few photos printed off from on line. The process was quite simple actually: show the tailor the photos, get my measurements taken, then walk down the hall to the fabric market with the tailor to pick out the fabric for the various items. About 10 days later, the new items arrived in the mail. The fabric market was pretty incredible in itself, but the tailor had specific vendors she lead us to so it wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been.
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| Cleaning the cup and bowl |
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| Delicious dim sum spread! Mmmm. |
After getting our business done with the tailor, we stopped for lunch in a delicious dim sum restaurant. It was a lovely traditional chinese lunch with friends. First, using the hot water or tea, it is customary to sanitize your cup, bowl and spoon (as shown in photo). Then we ordered a series of dishes off the menu according to what everyone felt like, and they are all shared amongst the table. We got some dumplings, veggies, rice dishes, noodles, and it was all delicious!
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| Mimi, Chi, Ayu and I after our delicious lunch |
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| Check out the size difference... and we're sitting! |
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| Ayu and Mimi getting their pedis |
After lunch we did a few more hours of shopping (scarves, shoes, clothes, jewellery, everything!) then we needed another break... Mimi and Ayu got beautiful and cheap pedicures while Chi and I sat and relaxed. Shortly after the pedis we made our way back over the border to the train for Hong Kong. It was a long day, but totally fun and I would do it again for sure.
This day trip came at the perfect time, when I was missing the annual cross-border shopping trip I go on with my dear friends to Erie Pennsylvania... it didn't replace that trip (nothing could!), but it was nice to experience something a little different from here.
The day trip was with my Cantonese class friends. These girls were the first friends I made in Hong Kong when we all took Cantonese lessons last February. I absolutely love hanging out with them because we are all from very different backgrounds and cultures. In the photo above, from left to right is me (boring Canadian), then Chi (Vietnamese friend, married to a French man), then Ayu (Indonesian friend, married to a New Zealander), and on the right is Mimi (Korean-born American who is married to an American). Mimi was our expert guide. She has lived in Hong Kong for the longest, about four years, and has an unlimited Visa for trips to Shenzhen. Her expertise was amazing because this trip could have been very overwhelming without some guidance and direction.
Shenzhen is known for certain things. Most people get things made there (clothing, household stuff like curtains, etc.) because it is quite cheap for custom stuff. There are also many shops with pre-made items and knockoffs. Our first stop was to a tailor that Mimi had gone to before. I wanted to get some maternity clothes made (it is very difficult to find things in my size in HK, but especially with the added belly space), so I came equipped with a few photos printed off from on line. The process was quite simple actually: show the tailor the photos, get my measurements taken, then walk down the hall to the fabric market with the tailor to pick out the fabric for the various items. About 10 days later, the new items arrived in the mail. The fabric market was pretty incredible in itself, but the tailor had specific vendors she lead us to so it wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been.
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