Cycling and shopping
on Tina's Journal (China), 10/Aug/2009 04:41, 34 days ago
The weather in Simao these days is rather hot and sticky. Current temperatures are 30-35C with at least one downpour of rain a day which may only last 10 minutes! Whilst it seemed relatively cool yesterday Lesley and I decided to go for a cycle. We headed off at midday but it wasn't as cool as we thought and the sun decided to appear in beautiful clear skies at one of the hottest times of the day. Climbing tea mountain thus became a bit more of a challenge but once at the top there was a fantastic breeze and cycling down was a welcome reward. We were only out for an hour but it was great to be back on the bikes again. Luckily just as we got back the clouds appeared, the heavens opened and down came the rain!Later, we had a girly shopping spree and bought some clothes at bargain price. On a VSO allowance everything has to be a bargain! Actually finding clothes that fit can sometimes be a challenge in itself. Chinese women on average are very tiny, I am a size 10 and I just fit into a pair of trousers which are sized here at XXL. Anyone above a size 10 will struggle to find clothes. Having small feet helps though, I have no problem finding shoes to fit. Just to give you an idea of the cost of living I bought: 1 pair cropped trousers, 2 tops, a skirt, a pair of slip on sandals, a iron and ironing board, some toiletries and a CD all for 280RMB (£28). I get my hair cut and coloured for 40RMB (£4) and he's a good hairdresser!This morning I went for a run and I have to sneak under the fence onto the college running track as the gates are locked during the hols. Running around the track is a bit boring but to run along the streets here would definitely be a no no. For one people wouldn't move out the way in time and I would be stared at and feel more like an alien than usual.