Lost at Sea

Yesterday, a friend and I braved a local market. Let me explain braved. This area is where most people go to purchase goods for resale in their own shops throughout the city. You are not able to see the streets for the thousands and thousands of heads. It is like being lost at sea, tossed this way and that by the passing waves of bodies. If you do not know your way around, you can easily get sucked into the undertow and not be able to get out. The market goes for miles. It is somewhat organized though, there are districts; the shoe district, the district for knitting wool, the fabric district, clothing, watches, cigarette lighters, and so on. But, within each of these districts is a maze of winding streets, some that turn back into others and some that just dead-end. I have never seen so many shoes in all my life. Acres and acres of shops, buildings with three or four stories all filled with shops selling the exact same shoes. I guess with millions of customers, there is no need for competitive pricing or location. We were on the hunt for fabric and people to practice Chinese with, and a nice young man drew us a map to help us on our way. Surprisingly, the directions were spot on. Usually we get turned in several directions. Even the fabric section was overwhelming. We wandered through booth after booth, following people who wanted to show us their wares. It was exhausting but served as an excellent language practice session since we had to learn new vocabulary: fabric, yards, clothes, etc. We must have been treading water out there for almost five hours. Needless to say, as soon as we reached our apartments, we crashed!
Mandy
“Don't open a shop unless you like to smile.”
Chinese Proverbs

“A blind bloke walks into a shop with a guide dog. He picks the Dog up and starts swinging it around his head. Alarmed, a shop assistant calls out: 'Can I help, sir?' 'No thanks,' says the blind bloke. 'Just looking.'”
Tommy Cooper