Lauren Shenzhen Journal

March 24, 2005

Today we are still in Shenzhen.  None of us really want to shop, except my mom, so she got up early and went to do some "surgical shopping."  Well, that was fine by me.  So we ate breakfast without her, then met her at 1:00pm.  Then we headed to a theme park called Windows of the World.  It was interesting...  The park was filled with different sections, each section representing a different place in the world.  So, in the short hours we were there, we saw a 20 foot Mt. Fuji, mini Mount Rushmore, and many other small scale monuments.  After that interesting excursion, we went to the shopping mall to pick up my dress.  It fit perfectly, so we ate a quick dinner and hopped on the train home.

March 23, 2005

Ever since we arrived in Hong Kong, my mom said that we shouldn't' buy anything because we are going to Shenzhen.  At first I thought she was crazy because all the stuff at the markets was so cheap and cool!  But I obeyed her wishes and kept all buying to a minimum level.  Well, we finally got visas and hotel reservations.  So, one day we got on the train to Shenzhen.  By the time we got there it was around 2:00pm.  So, after we checked into our hotel, we had a light lunch, then caught the shuttle van to Lowu Shopping Center.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  5 floors of the cheapest, coolest stuff I had ever seen!  First, we went up to the top floor and on the way up I saw Louis Voitton toilet paper holders for 6 US dollars, MP3 players for 12 dollars and all sorts of jade and pearls.  At the top, we went to a tailor.  My mom had 2 jacket/shirt combos made and I got fitted for a cheongsam (silk Chinese dress).  After that we shopped for hours.  Then at 10:00pm, we caught the shuttle back to our hotel.  Me and Katie played Game Boy, then went to sleep.