£200 pair of shoes

Checked out of my comfortable hotel at 11am and went for lunch before 12 in the only place I could find that wasn't touristy. There are more foreigners here than in Shanghai, it appears to me. Walked the 10 minutes to the train station and immediately got a train to Guangzhou East. That meant a tube ride across the city but I like that. Met up with Lao Li and the kids as the women were still shopping... Eventually they came back...I asked Tan where we were eating and she told me we were eating at Lao Li's again. 30 minutes later we were being told to get ready to go to a local restaurant, where we had fish heads and more interestingly, cocooned silk worms that Leilei and I had chosen; apparently a very good source of protein.

Rather than going to bed, the ladies decided to go shopping. So I went with them, with Leilei and Qiqi. We took a taxi to downtown and the shopping centre was like a very modern European one. So too were the prices. In fact prices were considerably more than in the UK for brands.

As 9 o'clock rolled around I decided to take Leilei back to the hotel for a shower and bedtime and leave the girls in their element. I knew Tan's sister wanted to get some shirts and a jacket for Lao Li but I wasn't prepared for what I heard later.

I'd showered Leilei and just got him to sleep at 11pm when Tan got back with a smile on her face and bags under her arms (better than under her eyes I suppose). It transpired that her sister had spent 15000 kuai (1500 quid) on clothes that evening. Surely that is a year's salary for most? She'd also bought me a present of a pair of shoes and I had to guess how much... 300? more. 500? more 800? more. I gave up at this stage. Apparently they cost 1700 kuai after a 20% discount. I kid you not this is a pair of 200 pound shoes. I was stunned. Surely I should have got these made to measure. It was a miracle they even fitted. But they did. And they are very nice. Dark brown leather made in Italy probably by virgins whose hands have never made contact with a man.

Apparently Tan's sister had spent so much that she had earned approximately 30% of what she spent in vouchers for that shop. "So the shoes were free!", said Tan. I nearly uttered the first syllable of the sentence that would have been: "No, the discount is built into the price of the original items - if the shoes where free, why would they be 20% off?" but then I realised I am happily married and would rather keep it that way.

I've discovered that Lao Li lived in Hainan Island for 18 years (Hainan is an island that is officially part of China). During that time, as he worked for the government, he had little chance to spent his fairly decent income as everything was effectively expensible. As such, he has ammassed a huge amount of money that he is happy to dispense of now that he has met Tan's sister (they were actually colleagues so they have known each other for some time). That makes me feel less guilty about wearing a pair of shoes that are worth more than my car.


A 200 pound pair of shoes