Gu Lang Yu Shopping Paradise

Today's adventure started at 9:00am when our group of 4 headed to the pier to take the ferry to Gu Lang Yu. This island was inhabited by wealthy Europeans and the mansions are still lined around the island. The ferry ride over to Gu Lang Yu is free, and one pays on the return trip. If you choose to go and sit on the top, it's an additional 1RMB. Very similar to the Star Ferry in Hong Kong. The trip takes about 10 minutes if that and ferries run all day long, so if you miss one, another one is right behind it. Traditional cars and motorcycles are not permitted, however, electric cars will take you around the island for 60RMB, and you can hop on and off.

We walked through the main town and here one can shop until you drop. There are stores where you can buy teapots and all types of teas, artwork, clothing, Chinese ornaments, pearls, handbags, and food. Here you can practice the art of negotiations, and after a week of negotiating apartments, I was in rare form. Okay, thinking the merchants had more practice than I, figure they still came out ahead, but hey I felt good about my negotiating skills. We managed to do a bit of damage, some more than others, so a job well done by all.

As many of the books stated, one will go broke saving money in China. I couldn't agree more.