No more chickens.

Some terribly random discoveries of the last few days:

Wudaokou Clothing Market (五道口服装市场): Clearly the place to go if you want to look like a Korean pop star. Hello, fire hazard? Stalls upon stalls and a forest of people jammed into the narrow paths(a fight broke out while we were here). You could probably find something good here if you push patiently enough, dig long enough and bargain hard eough—but chances are some Korean girl on campus already has the exact same sweater/belt/sparkly accessory.
By the time we left this place, we ended up smelling like five different kinds of fried foods all rolled into one. Clothes shopping comes hand-in-hand with food in China, and right next to each set of doors were vendors busy grilling and frying all kinds of meats. It left a stale scent of old oil throughout the entire building.
Conclusion: only for the strictest of bargain hunters or BoA-wannabes.


"Be For Time" (避风塘): Neither the Chinese name (another reference to fried food?!) nor the English name makes much sense, but oh, this place is worth it. For Y18, you get all the coffee, bubble/pearl tea, shaved ice, yoghurt smoothies, milkshakes, juice, tea, and ice cream you can drink. COFFEE. Granted, the shaved ice was a little sparse and the fruit flavors more artificial than fresh-squeezed, but the coffee was decent, and really, Y18? Did I mention it's open 24hr.? And that there's coffee?
Conclusion: HEAVEN.

Random European-style street near my grandparents' house: WTF? Last time I checked, we had some nice little alleys, the odd chicken, some old ladies outside washing their vegetables, some old men smoking the day away. A car would sometimes come by and try to squeeze into the too-small alley. Random kids and a lone white cat. There was a mosque somewhere.
And now? I thought I made a wrong turn into some new-ish corner of Lisboa, where they were trying to "match" the old 19th-century style architecture but clearly coming across as a confused, half-hearted 20th-century imitation. Aside from balustrades and wrought-iron balconies, we also had: tea parlors, a bar, an Avon, a cafe, a pizzeria, and some costume shops (?!). No more chickens. In fact, all the people seem to have vanished as well. Utter desertion. It was actually a bit like walking into a deserted movie set (hence the costume shops?).
Conclusion: Beijing Olympics - more harm than good? (note that this is more a question).

Random book shopping: If there's anything I love, then it's hunting through a vast clutter of used books. And what a relief to not have to bargain: there's really no arguing against a book for Y5.

Some particularly interesting finds: Trekking Through China, Diplomat of a Chinese Diplomat (by Zheng Deyi, one of China's early envoys to the West in the 19th century), I, Claudius, and Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, which for me is enough to redeem all Victorian literature.