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Good evening. or rather goodnight. its quarter to 11 and im already knackered, so this is going to be a relitavely short entry. So, to break it down.
what we did today:
blackmarket and the Nomad reasturant.
so we went to the main market in UB, refered to as the blackmarket. we were pre warned about the pickpocketing that goes on there. i delibaratly didnt take any kind of bag- only money in my pocket, and a long dress to cover it. i also ended up putting some cash in my bra- how classy. but i thought id spread the wealth around my body!
So the pickpocketers here wernt very skilled. you could spot them a mile off. and as soon as you aknoweledged their existence they backed off. We had a run in with a group of street children, the little girl tried to split us up while the boys surrounded us. but we stayed strong and together and they got bored within a minute, when they realised we knew what they were doing.
Dad as usual had lots of fun at the market- he loves markets. and he bartered and bartered. To be honest by the end of it i was pretty good too. theyre so rude and pushy, its easy to haggle. you dont care about offending them, because social etiquite is different here. I didnt buy much. A present for Jon and a beautiful old fashioned russian leather school satchel for myself. (noice). I didnt find any little presents there for my friends, nor a scarf or a leather bag for my mummy. (also mummy, dont worry. im still looking)!! they actually didnt have any DECENT leather bags, or scarfs. there was a lot of imported plastic and faux chinese goods.
.... (hmm so much for this being a small entry..)
Anyway. The blackmarket was a good experience. But it was also very stressful, even if the pickpocketrs were a wee bit bait! barely any of the traders spoke english, so haggling consisted of tapping in a price on a calculator, and with dramatic gesures laughing and sighing at their price being too high, and vice verca with them at our prices being too low! But oh my gosh, are mongolian people RUDE! everytime youre trying to make a deal theyre crowding around you. And as youre walking theyre just barging and pushing past you. even when youre standing still, and the stallholders! i was fuming! ive still got those issues with personal space that londeners get fussy over. I was CUSSIN boy. I had my screwface on. even said it loud enough for some of them to hear me. Its crazy, if this was a market in london, - if people barged you like that there would be beef and cussin, shanks out and fights boy. Jeeze. but yeah, i was fumin. Had a screwface on from them. It got better though. You learnt just to barge 'em back ;)
There was also no food stalls at the market! how bizzare. we were haggling on a stomach full of only a banana and some juice. By the end, everyone was tired and cranky. So we decided to leave.
we wanted to get a taxi back, but we ended up getting in this minibus because there was 7 of us. but boy did they pile the minibus up. there were about 30 people on it, for a van that should probably on hold half that. well that journey was stressful.
Then we got off, and we needed another taxi. But we didnt have any numbers or a phone. so we decided to put our hands out in desperation og hitching a lift to the main square- where the guesthouse was a walkable distance. we were standing there for ages fairplay. me and kaia were just way too embarressed. hanging out heads in shame. Because there were 7 of us, nobody stopped- even people in big empty spacious posh 4wheelers! then a small family in a van took pity on on and gave us a lift. They had a daughter named Constantine-which struck me as a really beautiful name. I wonder what its orgins are(?). After we got out of the van, they got pulled over by the police (we think for letting us get out at the lights) we really hope they didnt get a ticket. getting punished for doing a good deed!
(wow ive gone on a bit!)
we ended our day in a Nomad reasturant, which was nice. stuffed ourselves full of food. for desert i decided to try a modern nomad desert. it was weird. they had these strange sticks which looked a bit like the indian snacks. But turned out to taste like bitter lemon to start with, then like strange milk (mare milk) - DISGUSTING. managed to trick kaia and olivia into eating them. that was very funny.
they also had some nice little gifts. so ive got most of my presents for people now. just need to find some postcards. but we're doing some more shopping tomorow. and possibly going to a museum. should all be good fun!
right, this is definetly enough!
goodnight lovelies. hope this entry wasnt too long winded.
muchos besos
xxx
- comments
Lord Catrise the I Wow, this reads like a novel, I hope you don't quit because this is my new hobby-stroke-obession lol. muchas gracias por the blog, the black market sounds cool, but I probably would have felt intimidated by all the rudeness you've described! As for bartering, well that's my forté, i love it! Can't wait for the next one! x
S Chei H 'the I' You frikkin joker! lord catrice the I. hahaha. im glad you like my blog sis. reads like a novel?? you and your gushing compliments. youre gonna give me a bigger ego than my bashful rubix cube if youre not careful. gonna actually have me thinking ill be able to write a novel ( i do wana write one). and yeah ima keep blogging, but i wont have access to the net all the time. but when i do ill leave a blog. at least i know someone is readin it!!
Lord Andre the III Reading about myself and the daysds events from another angle is funny. Yes bartering on a stomach full of banana juice was stressful. Lovin it, keep it up.