Thursday, June 28, 2007

for the love of SHOPPING!

Clothes, FOOD, puppies, toys, FOOD, mole removal, shoes, FOOD...

Shilin Tourism Night Market: heaven on earth (plus 35 degrees). So basically, I had a wonderful stinky tofu, oyster/clam/something? omelette, and da bing bao shiao bing (literal translation: "big pastry wraps little pastry") dinner. The power went out mid-meal but that sure didn't faze them... vendors kept right on waving me down to their stands and shoving menus in my face. Determination is a powerful thing.

I also scored:
  • two dresses for $15
  • a pair of heels for $12
  • two headbands for $1.50
The best thing about shopping in Taiwan, I think, is that a shopping trip isn't like an ordinary trip to the mall. Normally, in America-shopping, I usually buy nothing the entire time and then allow myself an overpriced "pity item." [pity item: something you buy that you don't like all that much but a trip to the mall is just not worth it at all if you come home emptyhanded... so that little something gives you a tiny, fleeting feeling of satisfaction that lasts at least through the car ride home.] However, in Taiwan, you find and consider and actually buy so many things that by the ride home you kind of forget what you bought. But then you open up your bags at home and you discover that wonderful top you completely forgot about. It's like getting Christmas presents that you actually like. It's like having your cake and eating it too. It's... it's just awesome. See what I mean? I just looked through my stuff and realized I bought the cutest pair of $5 sunglasses that completely slipped my mind.

God, I love beating the system.

Note: Oh yeahs, I mean it about the mole removal. There are literally little stations where you can have them burned or scraped off or something for a price so reasonable that I seriously, seriously question anyone who would trust their faces at such things.

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