3-
First mission! = Find a cable. We used our dictionary to show the clerk at our hotel “audio – cable.” He understands, and writes directions to an electronics area. We go there and find a four story electronics store. I begin to explain what I want, using props in the store, and before I get a word out, they both go “No! No! NO! NO! No!” … I find this ridiculous and insulting and mock them. They laugh and smile and begin following me around the store like they are now ready to be useful. The store doesn’t have what I need. I’m getting pissed off because three more employees practically brush me off and seem annoyed by my presence.
Downstairs, some younger girls are more receptive to my efforts to explain what I need. They give me the necessary props from under a glass case, to let me describe what I need, another guy understands and explains in broken English that they don’t have what I need but a place down the street does. I practically hug the guy for being so human and we head over there.
We found a place that resembled a shrunk down version of Techno Mart in Korea and two minutes later I’ve got the replacement cable in my hand. VICTORY!!!!
We get our bus tickets to Hangzhoa from the South Bus station and Rachel found out we could get to Tongli from there too, so we bought tickets and thirty minutes later we were off to Tongli.
Tongli was a little town and we got lost in its white walled, abandoned, commercial district because we went the wrong way in front of the bus station, and had no map.
Eventually we found the older area of town that had canals and narrow alleys. I was really beginning to enjoy myself. I’m thinking, “This place is really charming and cool.” Then we went to cross a bridge and I hear the dreaded “TICKET!” I look at the guy, his little booth, nobody is around, I see no temples or discernable “site” and simply blurt out, “Why?” Now of course this guy isn’t able to answer my question but it looks like he is trying to charge me $12 to cross a bridge. No thanks.
We walk a bit further and realize that they are charging tourists (which means people who don’t look Asian) to walk into the older part of town. This just pisses me off. It seems racist. I’ve got some guy barking at me “You Ticket Now,” the Chinese visitors are just walking through the checkpoint without any harassment, Rachel and I just look at each other, share a “Fuck this!” look, and walk away.
This whole experience puts me into a shitty mood. I’m just getting fed up with constant gouging, and shitty attitudes here. Rachel takes it in stride and even though I see the logic in what she’s doing, I can’t help it, I’m pissed.
I can’t afford to walk in because our budget doesn’t allow it. Now we can’t see the Sex Museum (which we’d have to pay more to visit), or the Old Village area, and the only thing that cheers me up is the prospect of walking along the moat surrounding it in hopes we can find another way in. So we try, and fail. These small town people don’t have a lot to do, so they have no problem putting check points at every entrance, even though they might only see a couple people pass by every day. The two guys at the last checkpoint say “Ticket Ticket” … we shake our head … they point us down another empty street with big smiles on their faces and laugh at us while we walk away. We exchange our bus tickets for new ones and leave early to go back to our hotel in Suzhou.