Day 6 - A Day Off

Here is my hotel. Doesn't it look beautiful on this fine summer day? This is the first day that the overcast skies cleared off. I was very excited as I looked out of my hotel window (19 floors up in the right-hand tower). Unfortunately, I went outside. 95 degrees, 95% humidity. As I walked, I was looking for a man with horns, dressed in red.
In spite of the heat, I decided to do a little shopping. This is the first day I had a chance to get out in the daytime. I walked around for awhile and watched people (NEVER walk in the alleyways behind the restaurants you might be eating at!). I sat down on one of these concrete benches and watched a group of street peddlers trying to hawk DVD's and computer software. While most of the people were sitting in the shade, one guy was up walking around in the sun earning keep (probably a small keep). It took about ten minutes for me to catch his eye, but once he did, it only took a few seconds to make his way to me.

"buy DVD?" he asked.
"Where" I asked.
"In there" he responded, pointing to a nearby building.
"In store?" I asked.
"Fif fluh" He responded, showing me five fingers.
"OK" I responded.

We proceeded to go into the building and into an elevator. He pushed the button for the fifth floor and we were off. As the doors opened, I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke and some other "interesting" scents. We walked through the dirty corridors until we reached the last door on the left. He knocked on the door and said something in Chinese (I think it was "I have a nice gentleman from America who is looking for a good price on some high quality DVD's"). A pregnant woman opened the door to a clean and well-lit room. I was able to find some movies in the "original, not black market" section and negotiated them down to 6 RMB each (75 cents). Now if I can just get them through U.S. customs.

GOD BLESS AMERICAN CAPITALISM!!!

After a hard 2-hours of walking and shopping, Uncle Sam and I sat down to a frosty grande Mocha Frappuccino. Before the taste left my mouth, I was back in the air-conditioned seclusion of my hotel room. It was time to rest.