Dongmen and the Fall

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Sunday, November 9, my friends and I went to see the new James Bond movie at a theatre in Dongmen. I've mentioned Dongmen before but it is such a wonder to behold that I feel it deserves a larger entry in my blog. The movie was enjoyable. I still have trouble accepting that soccer hooligan as James Bond, but he does well enough I suppose. Movies are expensive here. They can cost anywhere from Y40-Y90. My ticket was Y65, but I think it was worth it.

But back to Dongmen. Dongmen is a shopping district; a gargantuan outdoor mall, if you will. There are endless stores, restaurants, street hawkers, pickpockets, and much much more. It also boasts the first McDonald's to open on the mainland (in 1990, I think). I'm not sure how many blocks it encompasses, but it is quite easy to get lost. I know what you're thinking: Tiffany, you get lost everwhere! But I swear it's not just me. Ask anyone in the city and they will tell you that Dongmen is a maze. There are shops that are new, and shops that are old (and so creepy one would expect zombies to work there). There are small, independently owned restaurants and then there's KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, McD's, Starbucks, 7 Eleven, etc. It is always crowded. As an American, I never really knew what crowded meant until I came to China. To me, crowded meant I only had my personal bubble, but not much else. I think it's safe to say that my personal bubble burst two months ago. No, crowded in Dongmen means fear of being crushed while getting on and off the escalator. Crowded here means not being able to breath, not being able to see five inches in front of you, not being able to dodge the crazy beggars because the crowd is pushing you into them, not being able to brush the hair out of your eyes because you can't move your arms, not being able to....well, you get the point. Dongmen is most crowded on Sundays. Shenzhen has a population of approximately ten million, and they all go to Dongmen on Sunday.

Dongmen also has a distinct odor, a certain je ne sais quoi. Oh, wait, I do know. It's called eau de garbage. They futilely attempt to wash the sidewalks and streets, but all that's left is festering Dongmen water. I usually wear sneakers there because every time I've worn sandals I got Dongmen water on my feet. I'm concerned that I'll get some sort of weird Dongmen fungus. Bottom line: Dongmen stinks 24/7.

So why, you may ask, do so many people frequent such a sketchy stink hole? Three words: two kuai stores. Apart from the Y2 stores, most everything else is dirt cheap too. The malls here are outrageously expensive, so when you need something, you strap on your sneakers and your money belt and head over to Dongmen.

And now, the Fall. Ahhhh! It seems that Fall has finally arrived in Southeast Asia. Last week the temperatures plummeted to the low seventies and fell dangerously close to the low sixties as night. The humidity also dropped sharply. While I and my foreign friends basked in the glorious unhotness of it all, our asian counterparts prepared for a trek in the Antarctic. One evening upon returning home I had to laugh at my guard. There he was huddled in the guard house wearing a north face style parka with it zipped almost to his nose and I was wearing a t shirt and shorts. Several kids were getting nosebleeds due to the sudden lack of humidity and even I noticed my skin was drier. There was even an article in the paper about the increase in hospital patients due to the drastically lower temperatures. The cool wave lasted about four or five days before it warmed back up to the eighties. I'm hoping it will come back to stay and maybe even get cool enough for me to wear long sleeves. I can dream. 😊

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Photos

You must be this tall to watch the movie.
I have no clue as to what this was, but it looked like one of the height restriction dealies at an amusement park.

Get yer fur coat, ma!
As the temps fell rapidly into the seventies, she had no choice: it was either wear the fur coat or risk the dangers of not sweating.

The hair over there
One of these days I will devote an entire blog entry to the hair of young male China.

Travel Tip
If you come to China, please keep in mind that you cannot bring your drunk frog on the metro.

And so you don't think I'm lying...
Here's that article.

Comments

[Photo 2]

The boy says, Mum, I should pay for my own ticket. It means the children higher than that height, can not enjoy the FREE movies.

[Tiffany Journeys East]

Mystery Solved.
Thank you!

[anonymous]

Oh. It's so funny to see your explanation for the drunk frog metro cartoon. I can't help but laughing!

[trish]

hee hee
dongmen, hee hee. I can't remember what else you wrote.