Don and I have become acquainted with some parts of the city and can ride the bus, almost successfully.
We ventured out to "Little Mama's" last week to buy the fabric that Denise wanted. The bus ride was almost a success and we only over-shot
the stop by one stop. It was an easy walk back to the fabric area. After bargaining for the best price, the fabric was measured out on the sidewalk. Denise will get 20 meters of red velvet-like fabric and 20 meters of gold. The price was 10 yuan per meter. That works out to about $1.50 per meter. It was a very good deal. On the way back we tried to get a taxi but were not successful. They couldn't understand our talk or the card we carried. Then we took the bus, each holding garbage bags full or cloth. Eventually we realized that things were not looking familiar. We got off. Since we were looking like homeless tourists, with our heavy garbage bags, a very nice bellman from a hotel on the street came over to help us hail a taxi. Even he had trouble. It took some time and I think it was because we were too close to home and the taxi wouldn't have made much money. It is surprising how many people look out for bewildered foreigners. We have been helped many times. They may be just waiting for us to need them, and we usually do.
"Little Mama's" was truly little compared to "Big Mama's." These are not official names, by the way. "Big Mama's" is the fabric district in Guangzhou and it is the second largest fabric centre in the world. The largest is in India. It is not just one building, but a whole district. It was a madhouse and wonderful. It was composed of thousands of tiny shops that must be brokers' shops. There were large carts being pedalled in every direction, carrying bolts of fabric. The accessories, buttons and zippers were endless. I just kept saying, "Kathy Pollock would love this." The cheap evening gown material and lace made me want to buy some, even though I can't sew very well. Even if you weren't a seamstress, you would have loved seeing it. It was a real working district and we could have been run over at every turn. There were dozens of men on bicycles that were offering rides. They scattered when a policeman showed up. Don bought some fry bread from a street vendor and I bought a bracelet from a street seller from Tibet. (I am starting my gift stash) Both these places were sights to behold.
Congratulations Inga on your new little baby girl.
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