On our trip there were three Chinese speakers. Spring and Tao were obviously fluent, and Mike knew just enough to keep him out of trouble. After spending an entire night out (literally) cavorting in
Lijiang, Mike agreed to take Percy and I to see the sights and help us do a little shopping. Purchasing anything in
Lijiang is a fine art. You have to haggle for every item from street food to ancient antiquity knock offs. Percy and I were overwhelmed by the mere prospect of it but Mike had bargaining down to a science. Phrases such as "
dor shao chyen?" (how much is it?) or "boo
yao shay shay,
tai gway" (I don't want it, it's too expensive) were immediately followed by wild gesturing and price negotiation. By the time we left
Lijiang, Mike was more of less out of money but had a treasure trove of gifts to mail back home. Percy and I were less successful. I think we were both expecting
Lijiang to be a simple rural village, but it is really more of a vacation resort. It's like going to
Las Vegas to experience Native American culture. Mike was able to accept and enjoy
Lijiang for what it was, a tourist destination, but unfortunately I didn't figure that out until it was too late. Oh well. Next time I am going to dance in the square, sing with the girls, and play 'till my heart's content.
On our trip there were three Chinese speakers. Spring and Tao were obviously fluent, and Mike knew just enough to keep him out of trouble. After spending an entire night out (literally) cavorting in Lijiang, Mike agreed to take Percy and I to see the sights and help us do a little shopping. Purchasing anything in Lijiang is a fine art. You have to haggle for every item from street food to ancient antiquity knock offs. Percy and I were overwhelmed by the mere prospect of it but Mike had bargaining down to a science. Phrases such as "dor shao chyen?" (how much is it?) or "boo yao shay shay, tai gway" (I don't want it, it's too expensive) were immediately followed by wild gesturing and price negotiation. By the time we left Lijiang, Mike was more of less out of money but had a treasure trove of gifts to mail back home. Percy and I were less successful. I think we were both expecting Lijiang to be a simple rural village, but it is really more of a vacation resort. It's like going to Las Vegas to experience Native American culture. Mike was able to accept and enjoy Lijiang for what it was, a tourist destination, but unfortunately I didn't figure that out until it was too late. Oh well. Next time I am going to dance in the square, sing with the girls, and play 'till my heart's content.
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