That's The Price You Pay When You Visit China

I'm starting to get the hang of the whole currency conversion thing. I've got it worked out in my head that it's a 7 to 1 ratio. 1 Canadian Dollar equals 7 Yuen, the local currency. Some things don't add up though. Certain products are an incredibly good deal over here, while others would be cheaper in Canada. For example, I was drinking beer with my father-in-law yesterday, and he told me (through translation) that each 600ml bottle costs 2.50 Yuen. I worked it out in my head. That's about 35 cents Canadian, or so my beery brain told me. That's insane! As I said before, a pack of smokes is about $1 CDN or less, depending on the brand you smoke. I am not a smoker, but if I was, I'd be in tar-filled heaven! These are of course domestic products.

The beer we were drinking, Harbin Beer, is the top of the line as far as the local beers go. He had another brand called Snow Beer, which costs about 25 cents CDN for the same bottle. It's still decent beer, but for the extra 10 cents, I'll go for Hapi, as the locals call it. Best 35 cents I ever spent! Consider that a six-pack of domestic beer back in Vancouver costs around $12. Sheesh. A 600 ml bottle of Molson Canadian would probably cost $2.50 back home, and the bottle of Hapi is 2.50 here, only in Yuen. The number is the same, but the Chinese are getting killed in the conversion.

I think domestically made products are priced according to the local economy. I asked Ba (Dad) if they export this beer. He shook his head. I imagine it would probably cost them more to ship it than to make it. Still, I thinkn it's pretty good beer, and I'm sure it would fetch a good price in other countries.

Domestic products are cheap, but imported products like cell phones (most come from Korea or Japan) cost more than back home. I told you about my trip to the Cell Phone Mall, well the Sony Ericcson my wife bought cost her $500 CDN. That's a lot of beer money. I'm going out today to buy a pair of running shoes today. My runners are probably fine for a couple more months, but Mama offered and I'll gladly accept the gift. I'm just about ready to leave now, so I'll report back when I have the shoes.


3 Hours Later


Ok, I'm back from the mall now. It wasn't as crazy as I thought it would be. I was expecting the Cavalry Stampede like at Cellular Planet, but I guess because it's Chinese New Year's Eve today, everyone is at home with their families. Lucky me!

So I wanted to report on how much I spent on a pair of runners. I looked for the nicest, most comfortable pair I could find. I go for function over fashion, always have. I guess that's a bit out of the ordinary here in China, the land of 3-D haircuts a-la Flock of Seagulls and Spray Painted jeans of today's youth. I ended up going with a pair of Nike Air Turbulance shoes. The salesperson said they were the newest ones in, and they felt damn good on my feet. The price tag - 740 Yuen. Crunching the numbers, that's about $106 CDN. I'm pretty sure these shoes would be around the $150 - $200 mark back home, but I'd have to go to Athlete's World or something to check it out and compare prices.

I found an athletic shirt for 280 yuen ($40) and some track pants for 350 Yuen ($50). In total, I spent under $200 for new runners, a shirt and a pair of track pants. I think i would spend around the same in Canada, but going for the bargain-priced, last year's model, etc like I always do. These on the other hand, are the New Arrival, front of the rack stuff. I don't usually like to brag about possessions and stuff, but I think I got my money's worth today.


Afterthought: A bottle of water (500ml) was 2.50 Yuen out of the fridge. That's the same price as the 600ml beer. Now that's a tough decision.

After-Aftethought: The same bottle of water was 10 Yuen at the airport cafetieria in Beijing. I think I got Shanghai'd on that one.