Yesterday, we had the entire day to ourselves. We were supposed to go to the Pearl Market to shop for souvenirs. Just found out now that it's not "Pear" market as Mary wrote. Hehe. She even wrote it in Chinese characters so we could easily ask around to locate it. But even with that piece of paper, it was very difficult. A few noses bled trying to help us, while most did not even try. We just walked and walked until we found this shopping strip called Qianmen Street.
Decided to have lunch first at McDonald's. Finally, we get to eat something other than Chinese food and instant cup noodles! Hehe. Though it was prohibited to take photos of the counter, Chris was able to steal some shots, thus capturing the tormented expression on the cashier's face while she was taking our orders. Haha.
"Patayin niyo na lang akoooo..."
Qianmen Street is a long stretch of stores including some pricey international brands such as Zara and H&M, to mention a few. Not exactly what we were looking for but nevertheless, it was a good walk.
Stopped by a Starbucks where Roxie and Franz bought Beijing tumblers. Roxie proceeded to ask the baristas where Pearl Market is. They started discussing among themselves in a language we did not understand. After some time, they all looked pretty stressed out. One of them told us to ride the 723 bus. With no clear idea where to ride and where to get off, we just decided not to go.
Went on exploring the narrower side streets where we found an alley that looked more like a dry market. We then went inside this building where the setup was similar to Greenhills. A little tip from Armie is that in order to bag a good bargain, you should immediately shoot for an 85% discount. If they refuse, pretend to walk away. Some vendors would literally run after you, giving you a chance to haggle some more. And based on experience, they would either give in to your price or shoo you away. Hehe.
We eventually grew tired and hungry from all the walking and haggling. Saw this food stall selling something "sweet and delicious", "moderate hardness", "ages" and "food for thought". Huh?! Well, it was basically a big piece of bread with a sweet filling.
Went inside an Aji-Ichiban-like store where we grabbed a handful of Chinese snacks for pasalubong. I kinda wished they sold chocolate bars too.
Aside from angel figurines, my mom also keeps a collection of unique umbrellas. Spotted one that has a nice stitch of butterfly and lace trimmings. "How much?", I asked the vendor. She looked at me for about 3 seconds, then ran away! Seriously! She just took off! Haha. She later returned with someone who, I suppose, was a bit more courageous. Again, I asked how much. Without a word, she reached for her calculator and showed me 100. I borrowed her calculator and inputted 70. She agreed. Mali! 20 pala dapat! Argh! Hahah. Oh well.
Had an early dinner at Yoshinoya before heading back to the hotel. Then we just rested at the lobby while waiting for our airport transfer to arrive. ETA in Manila: 5:30am.
Yup, I'm back in Manila and it's scorching hot! But thank goodness it's not yet back to work for me! Hehe. In less than 9 hours, I'll be on board a plane flying to Cagayan de Oro! Ako na!
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