Paydirt!

I should be in Hong Kong. Something tells me Shenzhen has more to reveal to me. Perhaps I am still overcome by last night, but I really like this city. It is raining a drenching rain and this promises to spoil my exploring, but with umbrella in hand I once again set out to test my mettle in China. This time I cannot get the taxi driver to take me where I wish. I cannot say the words right. Ida, wrote them down for me to speak at the right time. Gwan-ji-bay. Wherever the driver dropped me, it wasn't the largest shopping center in Shenzhen. So now I'm doing what I do best: Walking. My walking shows me some of the beauty of Shenzhen, paved walkways, expertly pruned and trained trees, lovers walking hand in hand in the rain. Finally my feet and shoulders were weary from the load. I was lost. I give up and flag another cab. Gwan-ji-bay. Yes, he replies. Off, we recklessly speed to the shopping center. Nothing could prepare me for the enormity of it. Building upon building of shopping. Inside each building is floor upon floor of individual booths filled with Chinese peddling their wares. Think Gibraltar trade center on super steroids. Each store filled with a thousand vendors and dozens of buildings. I was in a candy store. Panasonic, Sony, Nokia, Canon, Apple, all the major electronic brands were represented and all the minor ones too. The effect was absolutely overwhelming. So overwhelming that at no time did I remember to lift my camera to capture it on film! I am so stupid. I could not believe the deals. It seems that, once again, I was a special target and every carpetbagger with a laptop came to me to offer their special deal. I am getting so tired of this.

There is no way I can cover a fraction of this area. I will definitely have to come back. And when I got tired walking and gawking, there was my Starbucks, making things better again. Yes, my precious, yes. There are unbelievable deals to be had in China.