Sofia's and Isabel's Bargains at Mutianyu (The Great Wall)

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall snakes across mountain ridges an hour and a half outside of Beijing. I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be a soldier living on the wall, looking out into a distant valley for the enemy, sleeping on the cold stone far from home.

Sofia was my personal shopper at all the little stalls along the pathway to the wall. She's ask me how much I was willing to pay for something and then doggedly bargain down to that range. Her best strategy was to simply keep repeating her low ball offer, "San shi kuai" (30 yuan), in the face of the outrageous price the vendor first quoted "Yi bai ba shi kuai" (180 yuan). When the vendor said "I'll give you the Chinese price because you speak Chinese" and lowered the price to 160 yuan, she'd say "San shi kuai." To "Come on, give a little," she'd smile and say "San shi yi kuai" (31 yuan). As she walked away with her purchases, some vendors complained to each other in Chinese about the hard bargains she drove.

Isabel did some great bargaining at the wall too. With her good knowledge of numbers and bargainig strategy, she got presents for several friends.

I'll try and get some pictures up soon.