Surprises While Shopping

Sephora:  In Houston there are a few Sephora stores, but you have to know where to look.  In Hanoi, I wouldn’t have dreamed of finding anything resembling Sephora.  In Shanghai I managed to accidentally come across TWO Sephora stores in the same day, within 15 minutes of each other!  True, neither of them are as big as the Galleria store in Houston or one in some mega mall in Singapore, but there they are whenever I need them.

Carrefour and Wal-Mart: Both of these superstores are about a 10-minute drive from our house, and although they are essentially the same I will say that the Carrefour has more variety and slightly better selections.  I couldn’t even believe that Wal-Mart existed, but after one visit I can tell that I won’t be going there very often.  

The Carrefour is really more than a store because it’s surrounded by restaurants and other small specialty stores (including Sephora).  I had a most scrumptious and refreshing lunch at Wagas, which is like Panera but with an international flair.  Inside Carrefour you can find everything from bicycles to broomsticks and carrots to clothing. The multi-floor shopping experience is made even easier with the magnetic wheels on the shopping carts that grip the moving walkway as you go up or down to the next floor - antigravitational genius!  I’m sure Carrefour will be a madhouse on the weekends, but I bet we’ll be part of the masses taking advantage of the all-in-one shopping experience.

Pharmacies:  I learned the hard way (while I was in desperate need of some medicine) that you can only buy drugs (prescription, OTC, or traditional) at pharmacies… not at Carrefour, FamilyMart, or even Wal-Mart.  I also confirmed that life is difficult when you can’t speak the language.  The first pharmacist I found insisted “Chinese only” over and over, and refused to make any attempt at helping me.  The second pharmacist I found was more accomodating even though her English was quite limited, but some gesturing and sound effects were enough to help her understand what I needed.  Little did I know that she would offer an herbal remedy used in traditional Chinese medicine, rather than the sort of chemical concoction I would typcially buy at CVS or Walgreens.  My biggest mistake was forgetting that there is a Watsons about 5 minutes away from the hotel.  You can be sure I will stock up on all the OTC medicines I might possibly need, in order to avoid such a predicament.

McDonald’s:  So far I haven’t been overwhelmed by McDonald’s on every corner.  In fact, I can only think of one that’s near the house (at the Carrefour of course).  That’s not an unwelcome surprise by any means, but a surprise nonetheless.  On the other hand, there are tons of Starbucks and Costa Coffee cafes everywhere.  Again, this is not a problem because the coffeshops tend to offer free wi-fi.  With my pay-as-you-go phone card and my wi-fi only iPad, I welcome any establishment that provides free wi-fi.

I’m sure there will be more surprises in store for me (pun intended), and I can only hope that they’ll continue to be pleasant ones.