In your face men's warehouse!

One trade that Hong Kong is particularly well known for is tailoring. It is a great destination to get a quality suit at a reasonable price. That's where you go if you are a tourist. The locals in Hong Kong however, cross the border into Shenzhen to get their suits tailored for a much lower price. After work yesterday I head to Louwu Station.

It is a border crossing as well as a large shopping complex. 5 floors of flea markets. Small stands selling everything from engraved rice to electronics, to any other kind of black market merchandise that strikes your fancy. You are barraged with "hey sir, you like watch, take a look take a look", "Sir DVD movie?", or "hey amigo! you like shoes, how bout Rolex?" All of the items are suspicious. Most items are blatant knock-offs. I am amused (at first) at how any and every merchant will try relentlessly to sell me their wares. For instance a woman yelling at me to buy baby clothes. I stop and tell her it doesn't fit, but she keeps yelling. I reply "But I have no babies!" Still more yelling. So I walk straight ahead, try not to make eye contact and keep my hands in my pockets holding onto my wallet at all costs.

My destination is the 5th floor where just last weekend I had agreed to buy a suit from a seemingly trustworthy lady. She wasn't as aggressive in her sales approach. Also I was the only laowai at her stand. the rest were locals which I took to be a good sign. Having Kevin with me to interpret was a big help otherwise I wouldn't be writing this story. I choose from multiple fabric swatches the material I want, and then I'm measured out. The woman and I agree to a price for pants and jacket of 700 rmb. Or roughly $100. With the first fitting done with, I am scheduled to return in a few days to pick up my brand new suit.