The bus set off at 9:00 a.m.
Upon entering the Pearl building, we were bustled into a small room with folding card chairs. Our pearl instruction lady described the different types of pearls: fresh water and salt water and advised the former as best, throwing in some color distinctions. She presented round and irregular samples as well as the reasons for the various colors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl
After this quickie presentation, we sprinted behind the pearl instructor into a larger, showier room with thick royal blue carpet and plushier chairs. Models, dressed in formal wear, appeared on the catwalk to showcase and model pearl necklaces and earrings. I wasn’t enthralled, but still astonished by the flashy show, and I cannot lie, the jewelry was gorgeous. The fashion ladies withdrew and The Group 8 were bid to follow by a forward flourish. With a dramatic pull on a set of double doors, a whole new world materialized: a magical place, with lights so bright they blinded at first. Rows and rows of glass cases, shiny as jewels themselves, glittered up and down the aisles. I swear a saleslady appeared for every customer. I noticed only one male clerk. A tour group left as we arrived and shortly afterward the French Group showed up. The showroom hummed and bustled like a beehive. New sales staff seemed to emerge out of thin air as needed.
Set up in one corner, I noticed a coffee and wine bar with bar chairs. No, nothing here was free to pacify / massage the customer. A list of hefty prices hung on obvious display. Avoiding sales staff who followed you like a shadow is thirsty work but I wasn’t buying anything. I’ve never cared about pearls and most jewelry my whole life (except earrings). Why would I buy them at this age?
Lorena and Bonnie bought jewelry. Our few non-buying members huddled together and made for the door at the first opportunity. We found an unbelievable treasure while we wandered around till everyone finished shopping. The walls displayed every size of oyster shell you never imagined with plagued descriptions underneath. However, we weren’t given time to amble around and were hustled out to the bus. Why? We had to go. So fast?
A clerk pushing Pearl skin cream caught my attention and said, “This will make your skin look 20 years younger.”
“Can I have a written guarantee?” I asked.
“Sure.”
Such a quick response. “What good is it if my face is young and the rest of me is sagging?”
“Madam, you can use it all over your body.”
“Look at me,” another clerk piped in, “I’m 70.”
We all tittered because she couldn’t have been a day over 29. I gave her kudos for her quick comeback, though. I hope she’s worth her weight in gold.
The Summer Palace
I enjoyed our tour of the Summer Palace. The park was enormous (over 700 acres, taken up mostly by Kunming Lake); a peaceful place to spend the day. It has a long, remarkable history. This will give you a better outline and will take less time to take in.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/summer.htm (2.53 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ple6S_pjFzU
The Men’s and Ladies’ washrooms were again across from each other with a communal sink in between. The facilities tiny cubicles with elbow-knocking walls. I don’t take up much room but had a difficult doing the deed. Ouch. Lucky for me, the door I happened to offer a pedestal toilet. I heard later, the rest were squats. It was dark as well and I could hardly see.
Quick Facts on Education:
- Kindergarten is bi-lingual (Chinese and English)
- Government-paid until age 15
- School 7:30 to 4:30 p.m. five days per week
- For better school must pay $6,000 to $12,000 extra per year
- Sometimes extra classes on Saturdays
- Music lessons at school (not outside in music school)
- Beijing has 70 universities
- University cost for 2 semesters $3,500 / year
- College costs $1,700 / year
- 70-80% Chinese kids go to college in Beijing
- School vacation in winter 21 days (for travel)
- Summer vacation in summer (2 months for travel)
- $40,000 – $50,000 to study in U.S. paid by parents
- http://news.at0086.com/China-Universities/The-university-fees-in-China.html
Up Next, July 18th, Olympic Park
For all related posts, click on China tab at the top of the page
July 11, 2014 at 8:28 pm
I’ve been on a few tours in other countries where they take us to a jewelry store and try to get us to part with our money. I’ve never liked that kind of thing, so I usually don’t buy anything just to spite them. 😉
Pretty cheap college tuition. If only that were true here!
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July 11, 2014 at 9:23 pm
Amen on that college tuition part!
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July 11, 2014 at 9:52 pm
🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 11:09 am
🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 11:02 am
Is that tuition something?
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July 11, 2014 at 9:58 pm
I know. I h.a.t.e. to be told how to part with my money. 🙂
Amazing about the tuitions. You’d think even rich people wouldn’t want to send their kid out of country for all that Mulla but the competition is so high, an out-of-country certification trumps one of their own. Go figure.(And it’s so much harder on the student because of the language barrier)
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July 11, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Every story you tell makes me determined not to take a packaged tour in China unless it gives time to explore. Love your photos.
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July 11, 2014 at 10:00 pm
I know what you mean. Our days were so jam packed, there was NO time for anything extra. Anyway, I’m not a shopper so it didn’t affect me…only a couple of the ladies in our group were ticked.
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July 11, 2014 at 8:51 pm
Most tours include the ‘necessary’ you must buy stops. You did well and I know you only wear earrings, but stop this nonsense with the body/face cream darling. You look brilliant for 70. Was a funny little story though and she was quick, as were you. Love the photos Tess and your continuing adventure. xx
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July 11, 2014 at 10:04 pm
Thank you, nice lady. 🙂 🙂 ❤
No magic in the cream, sorry to say, but it FEELS nice (cool like peppermint tingle when I put it on–my treat in the morning and at night–I know I'm waaaayyy too easy). I don't try to buy exotic or new creams all the time. I have my favorites and have stuck with them forever but she was that g.o..o.d. I had to buy the stuff. The price was awesome as well—something like $22.00 for both jars. 😀
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July 12, 2014 at 2:51 am
$22.00 for two jars, I would have bought 100, well ok possibly not that many. Glad you are treating yourself as you deserve it my darling ~ smiles
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July 12, 2014 at 11:25 am
The one thing I have a weakness for is face cream…you know keep glam skin? 😛
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July 13, 2014 at 12:58 am
I hear you sweetheart. x
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July 13, 2014 at 11:35 am
~(*_~)~~
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July 11, 2014 at 8:52 pm
That’s one big park and so happy to read it was peaceful and that you enjoyed. I’m that people travel from all over the world to partake in purchasing peals from China. Terry worked with a man while at NASA who did this and told us the stories of going there for this. For me, this wouldn’t be my choice for a tour stop but hey to each his own. Again, glad you enjoyed at the park. 🙂
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July 11, 2014 at 10:06 pm
Someone might crave real pearls, but not me. Lots of things I do not NEED to have and I won’t bend when it’s MY money, or even if it’s yours. You don’t want it, don’t buy it is my motto.
Thanks for coming by, Paulette and thanks for your comment. Always nice to see you. That’s what this is about: exchanging ideas. 😛
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July 12, 2014 at 10:07 am
I left out a word in my comment, lol. I meant to say “I’m aware of people that travel…” This is so funny that it reads like I like to travel and shop. Nothing could be further from that. I DON’T LIKE SHOPPING AT ALL. Unless, and on rare occasions it’s to buy something for someone else or my dogs. And I don’t wear any jewelry other than a simple gold wedding band. This is so funny. My idea of a good vacation is seeing the countryside, meeting the people, experiencing the culture. Or better yet, staying around the nice parts where I live, the country, the ocean, etc.
Yup, I’ve never been one to crave “real pearls” or jewelry or much of material things. Give me people. Give me writing. Give me dogs. I’m still laughing. And yes, I always like connecting with you, Tess. Now, to get my fingers to correctly express my ideas, lol. 😉
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July 12, 2014 at 11:29 am
Glad you’ve enjoyed this. What the point of not telling it like it is. Seems tourists (or westerners) are liked for their supposed deep pockets.
I have a weakness for skin creams and the magic they promise but not at $200.00 a jar either.
Thanks so much for sticking with this tour. I hope to keep you entertained. Have a nice weekend, Paulette.
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July 11, 2014 at 9:01 pm
You are really seeing Beijing! Do they take you riding through neighborhoods?
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July 11, 2014 at 10:08 pm
No. We DID do country and met some of the people. Coming up in a much later post.
Thanks for visiting, Rebecca. Nice to hear your thoughts.
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July 11, 2014 at 9:06 pm
I love these posts! The pictures are incredible, too. You describe everything very well!
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July 11, 2014 at 10:09 pm
Thank YOU, grannyK. I was there and my hope to make the pictures as clear as possible for you, in both words and my not-so-great photography. I had to remind myself to take pictures–not my forte. 🙂
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July 11, 2014 at 9:26 pm
I’m appreciating the virtual tour, especially since I doubt I’ll ever get there. (My Aussie family would clobber me anyway–they’ve been on my case for years to go Down Under.) That “facilities” stuff alone would deter me. The ladies in the jewelry store? Eh. Not much different than the stores in a jewelry ‘plaza’ I guess. Thanks, Tess!
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July 12, 2014 at 11:04 am
Thanks Joanna. Glad I can still keep you interested or entertained. 🙂
I got the impression the jewelry clerks’ jobs are high pressure but I never feel guilty enough to buy anything I don’t want or need. 😀
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July 12, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Same here. And when it comes to jewelry, I suppose I really don’t NEED anything. That want part, however, can be problematic at times…;)
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July 13, 2014 at 11:30 am
Want is always a devil. 😀 😀
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July 14, 2014 at 10:37 am
It can be. Especially when I WANT to win on the tennis court, play well and still can’t seem to make it to the victory end of the match, lol.
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July 14, 2014 at 2:49 pm
That’s what h.o.p.e. and practice are for. 😀 😀 😀
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July 14, 2014 at 3:17 pm
I play 2-3 times/ week and practice on my own every now and again, too. What does “h.o.p.e.” stand for ?
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July 14, 2014 at 3:31 pm
Hope?
I always hope. Don’t always get but hope keeps me going. You?
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July 14, 2014 at 3:34 pm
I thought that was it. The periods in between the letters threw me off, lol. Lately, I hope to lose to hubby with at least a few games on the board. And I hope to figure out how to get out of my own way, and make good use of the time God gives me. Just sayin’
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July 15, 2014 at 9:24 am
~(*_~)~~
Hope and hard work. ❤
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July 11, 2014 at 9:39 pm
Although my grandparents had an outhouse until 1969, I’ve seriously gotten use to it. Don’t know if I’d want to travel bad enough to squat…especially in public. I mean it’s different if you are out on a deserted highway and you just have to go.
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July 12, 2014 at 11:08 am
Ha ha. I eventually balked but when the call of Mother Nature wouldn’t be ignored, I was only to happy to squat. Ha ha ha.
Makes me think of “necessity and the mother of invention” or is it adventure? 😀 😀 😀
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July 14, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Wow. When I went to Italy in 1984, my uncle did not yet have a bathroom or an outhouse. (This was the house my dad had grown up in; he was born in 1930.) I had Whenever I went to visit–usually for a 2-3-day stay–I’d wait until we went to the house in town for the night, usually up to 10 hours. Not sure I could pull that off this many years later, and I never had use for “squatters’ rights, lol. (FYI, he’s had a very nice bathroom since 1989.)
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July 14, 2014 at 3:32 pm
You gotta do what you gotta do, right?
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July 14, 2014 at 3:35 pm
Guess I did, lol.
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July 15, 2014 at 9:24 am
🙂
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July 11, 2014 at 11:21 pm
Really enjoying your style of observation! Your tour reminds me of the way people were escorted and “handled” in The Hunger Games books. (I found the books quite fascinating, although I was glad when I finished.) Same as in George Orwell except it’s been longer since I read those books.
– Clare
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July 12, 2014 at 11:13 am
Ha ha. I know what you mean. I don’t travel to shop and this is one of the downfalls of a guided tour. 🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 12:37 am
Sounds like the sales ladies were a far cry from the Mao-jacketed pioneers from not so long ago.
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July 12, 2014 at 11:17 am
Ha ha ha.
I’m sure they have high pressure to encourage tourists to part with their money. Like the way you put it.
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July 12, 2014 at 1:25 am
Your continuing saga enthralls! The pearl shop cracks me up, very good. You did well not buying, they likely took you to the most expensive shop in all of China. Love the photos.
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July 12, 2014 at 11:18 am
These are all ‘fronted’ as factories but are not. First you’re enthralled by the magic and then you’re hooked in. No me, though. I am a tough bird. 🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 11:47 am
Good for you! I bought pearls in Singapore but by the time I did I had a great jeweler.
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July 13, 2014 at 10:34 am
I suppose the way the presentation went is what ticks me off a bit: the drama. It’s only in looking back that I realize what stuck in my crawl. I am not easily impressed. Still, any country will do its best to grab as many tourist dollars as it can. I’m sure these trips must be subsidized because of how little we paid for an inclusive 24-day vacation. 🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 1:41 am
You really did take in some amazing sights. I am with you on not buying anything during a tour. It is a bit of a racket.
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July 12, 2014 at 11:20 am
Make me feel like a money machine. Fleece the tourists. They are westerners with piles of money. Ha.
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July 12, 2014 at 1:46 am
That was so funny about the clerk saying she was 70. Very clever. I would be huddled with you as a non buyer. Gorgeous photos Tess.
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July 12, 2014 at 11:21 am
Thanks, Sue. No pearls for me but the skin cream is n.i.c.e. and such a bargain. I still like it. I do have a weakness for beauty creams but at a bargain price. 🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 11:22 am
If they make me look 29 I’m all over it bargain or not. 🙂
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July 13, 2014 at 10:29 am
😀 😀 😀
Vaseline keeps my skin soft too, but it smells, is greasy and doesn’t feel glamorous. 😛
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July 13, 2014 at 10:37 am
🙂
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July 14, 2014 at 2:24 pm
😀
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July 12, 2014 at 2:14 am
I hate those pushy sales tours. Morocco was the worst place that I have been for this.
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July 12, 2014 at 11:22 am
Made me feel like a tourist with bottomless pockets. Yikes.
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July 12, 2014 at 2:35 am
I always feel really awkward in those situations where you’re being pressured to buy, and sometimes I give in just to stop feeling awkward! I mean I wouldn’t go ahead and buy pearls just to stop feeling awkward, but say if there had been a cheap fridge magnet that says “I love pears” I’d have gone for that! Ha! I’m guessing it wasn’t a fridge magnet type of place though 🙂
Lovely photos and enjoyed the education facts too (as someone who works in education!).
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July 12, 2014 at 11:24 am
I know what you mean. Guilted into forking over your cash. 🙂
I have so many quick facts it’s hard to choose which ones fit or aren’t too long after a lengthy post.
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July 12, 2014 at 8:27 am
Hahaha, I’ve been on ‘tours’ like the pearl one, gold in India, carpets in Turkey and pewter in Malaysia and always managed to escape!
The floating part of the palace is stunning, I think I would enjoy that part of your day 🙂
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July 12, 2014 at 11:26 am
We could not enter the marble / stone boat as well as any of the building. There was a Chinese Dragon boat ride we didn’t bother with either.
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July 12, 2014 at 2:52 pm
Tess. Love all your pictures and the stories. I AM a pearl lover (my birthstone) and buy them whenever I can, but I would have walked out of the Chinese pearl “jam” as well. Be assured that whatever they were selling, you could come home and get it cheaper (I’ve learned that by mistake). The lunch probably was a bum-rush as well. These are the negative things about foreign travel, but the best part is meeting the people and seeing the magnificent architecture and culture. It looks as if you enjoyed it all. So glad you got a chance to do this.
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July 13, 2014 at 10:23 am
Thank you for the visit and comments. Yes, I DID enjoy the trip. So many new things to see and experience. At the time I didn’t dwell about the way the presentation went. Afterwards, reading my journal, I became a little ticked. Still an adventure to look back on. I simply tell it how I felt.
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July 12, 2014 at 4:23 pm
Oh gosh Tess, I do love your humour. ‘What good is making my face young if it doesn’t match the rest of me?’ is absolutely priceless, LOL. And I’m with you on the earring thing g/f! xo 🙂 ❤
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July 13, 2014 at 10:27 am
Thanks for the visit and comment. Nice to be in good company earring-wise. 😀 (I noticed)
The pearls were awesome but I’m more into skin cream. For the money I paid, I DO like it still two months later. Some creams lose their magic in less than a month. ❤
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July 12, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Tess, don’t eve go to St. Marten in the Virgin Islands…it’s all about the jewels…store after store of diamonds, gold, emeralds…you name it, they’ve got it. And while I never thought of myself as a ‘jewelry person’, I admit it was jaw dropping, beautiful, and abhorrent all at the same time. The contrast — much of the Caribbean lives in poverty, yet the rich cruise clients swarm to buy baubles…something to experience.
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July 13, 2014 at 11:24 am
Yes, indeed. It’s all the drama, and in retrospect I feel ticked to have been treated in this way. Then again, I can be a bit of a drama queen.
I understand about countries wanting tourist dollars, after all we are the tourists but not all our pockets are deep. 😀
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July 13, 2014 at 12:24 am
I am quite surprised to read this about their education. Do I understand correctly that a student who goes to US to study gets $40,000 to $50,000 from their own government to pay for it???
I think I could have passed, completely, on the pearl stuff. But that marble boat is something else!
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July 13, 2014 at 11:34 am
No. No. No. the parents have to pay. I’ll go back to make sure that’s clear in my post. I hoped the comparison in low cost education in China and high cost abroad would be obvious.
About the boat, couldn’t they just have added a patio to hold dinners on? Really.
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July 13, 2014 at 9:20 pm
Okay. Whew. Likely it was just ME. I did think the cost seemed MUCH more reasonable in China. We will blame my confusion on my one day jet lag. 😉
That boat is amazing. I agree, a patio. If not a full dinner, just little snacks then.
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July 14, 2014 at 2:43 pm
The upper crust send their kids abroad to gain an extra edge because of the competition for jobs in China.
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July 14, 2014 at 8:59 pm
I wonder how many send their kids and then their kids don’t want to return (whether it’s USA or UK or somewhere else)?
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July 15, 2014 at 9:49 am
Oh yes, there is THAT as well. They get a taste of the dream.
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July 13, 2014 at 10:42 am
I don’t know where to start. This post is chock-full. Love the pearl-seller’s comment. I have to remember that. Did they enjoy their job or just going through the motions? When I was in Russia (when it was USSR), no one cared about the customer
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July 13, 2014 at 11:51 am
I wouldn’t double there is high pressure to sell. The girls / ladies sounded down-to-earth and fun as demonstrated by the cute remark I mentioned. Our trip must have been government subsidized because of the rock bottom price for all-inclusive 24 days and they want tourist dollars back.
Do you mean in USSR they didn’t care if you bought or didn’t make nice with the customers?
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July 13, 2014 at 4:20 pm
It is always nice to ride along on vicarious adventures and your sense of humor is much appreciated by me! Smiles, Robin
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July 14, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Thank you, Robin. Glad you’re enjoying the tour. 🙂
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July 13, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Well, this settles it. I’m sending my son to China for college.
But if the university toilets are squat-style, then forget it. A fellow expects certain educational standards to be met, after all.
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July 14, 2014 at 2:38 pm
I will bet the toilets are most likely squats but have no way of knowing. Aren’t education costs fabulous there? The upper crust who can afford to send their kids abroad also do it to capture an edge over the extreme competition for jobs in China.
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July 14, 2014 at 3:48 am
Some people will tell you anything to get a sale! I would’ve been tempted though. Every little helps! 🙂
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July 14, 2014 at 2:44 pm
At least I got a good belly laugh and the cream WAS a bargain. Two months later I still like it. Most new creams last in my good books for a month or less.
It WAS nice to see the clerk had a sense of humor.
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July 14, 2014 at 9:01 am
I enjoyed the post. I think I shall stick to walking though – not tempted to buy anything on the camino because I would have to carry it on my back for the rest of,the journey!
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July 14, 2014 at 2:45 pm
😀 Makes sense to me. No point in spending unless it’s to wet your whistle or fill your tummy.
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July 14, 2014 at 10:27 am
Now that really was a quick witted clerk! Interesting post Tess 🙂
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July 14, 2014 at 2:48 pm
At least the girls weren’t stodgy. I don’t know what I expected but this light heartedness somehow surprised me. Glad for the laugh too.
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July 14, 2014 at 12:18 pm
So…did you buy the cream Tess? I bet it feels lovely on your skin if nothing else. And I would have been fascinated by the oysters on the walls too. Love that quick thinking.. lol 😉 As for that marble boat, wow, never seen anything like that in my life! Looks like something you’d find on a movie set! Fascinating, all of it 🙂 ❤
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July 14, 2014 at 2:52 pm
That boat doesn’t move. It’s for dining. What? Yep and it’s been around a l.o.n.g. time.
The cream was a steal. I still like it almost three months after my holiday. It’s cooling. Has Chinese herbs in it (don’t know what they are) and gold flecks in the night cream and silver flecks in the day cream. My love affair with a new cream hardly ever lasts this long. 🙂 ❤ ❤
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July 19, 2014 at 11:25 am
What an interesting pearl buying experience, Tess. I’m with you on the jewelry – just earrings. I love the clerk with the quick comeback for the skin cream. And that summer palace is gorgeous! You sure packed a lot into your trip. 🙂 ~Terri
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July 19, 2014 at 1:58 pm
Yes, the tour was pretty much go, go, go. 🙂
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September 18, 2014 at 3:09 pm
Nice to read more of your holiday impressions!
After reading the last batch I went into “research China” mode (feeling so ignorant about it) and it’s just a bit depressing. I watched some things about Tienanmen (you remember?), and stumbled across a channel called “China uncensored”. It did make me realise we’re often a bit too blasé about our situation. It is such a privilege to live in a country where you can think – and say – whatever you want!
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September 18, 2014 at 8:19 pm
A whole whack of typing just disappeared. Grr.
I saw this video and he has a couple of others. A lighter way of passing on important information without the Phew factor.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=china,+images,+toilets&rlz=1C1EODB_enCA562CA564&espv=2&biw=1242&bih=585&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=jHUbVOL6Hq3bsATeiIKYCA&ved=0CCsQ7Ak
Friday, I will have another mention about toilets. Thanks so much for reading, K., and for your interest. ❤ ❤
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