Flatmates and I headed for RT-Mart, the local supermarket, in search of western produce (hah! How naive). We'd just come from work and had our bags with, so held them low and went in with a crowd so the pesky security girls at the door wouldn't force us to leave them at the information counter for the staff to rummage through.
Made it, whew. Shopping trolley. Traffic jam up ahead, quick - swing it 180. Too late, gridlock. Wait for the old lady up ahead to finish picking out suitable chicken feet. Ok, moving again - slowly - RT Mart is THE place to be on a Monday night.
Live turtles in the fish section caught my eye - only 40RMB per kg! I'm pretty sure they were meant for eating (along with the bullfrogs) but I'm never quite certain.
Sometimes I make the mistake of engaging the staff for help with only my limited mandarin - where to find niche products like milk and cornflakes, for example. The problem is I know just enough to ask, but too little to understand the response (this is the fundamental flaw behind the concept of travel phrasebooks too - don't get suckered!). Invariably there's a word or five I don't understand in the answer. Now here's the thing. When it emerges I don't understand? The kindly soul jots it all down in Chinese for me, neglecting to consider that if I can't speak the language, I probably have little hope of reading it.
I dropped into the convenciance store on the way home to pick up some Red Bull (it doesn't taste like Red Bull, and comes in a strange can, but hey). Next to the cashier was a stand dedicated entirely to prophylactics - some 49 varieties - quite a few for a convenience store in conservative lands.
A combo pack of Trojans will set you back a meagre 38 RMB (about $9). Hehe, Trojan...
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