Sunday, May 20, 2007

Blast from the Chengdu-related past!

We have so much video that we shot that we are rolling it out to the public as we post it. So even though we just landed in Beijing tonight, I now present to you footage that we shot in Chengdu a few days ago.

We spent the day trying to find a bookstore because I had finished the Da Vinci Code, which I feel compelled to say is actually not a terrible book. Despite the fact that it's annoyingly written it is still quite a page-turner. In the words of I believe the San Francisco Chronicle, I will admit that it is quite "unputdownable".

On our way to the bookstore, however, we passed by what appeared to be an abandoned building with tons of high-school age kids walking in and out of it. Not ones to pass up buying Tshirts, we go in and find that we have entered a 5 story building crammed to capacity with hole in the wall stores. Merchandise is literally spilling out of the "shops" and it's almost all clothes. I do a little question-asking and discover that the ENTIRE structure is women's clothing. Not a stitch of men's anything anywhere.

Gentlemen, if you are an Asian Fetishist, allow me to introduce you to this mall. You will lose your mind because it is the apotheosis of your creepy dreams. Simon and I looked around in a bewildered daze -- the population is approximately 98% Chinese high school girl:



The remaining 2% is comprised of the exasperated boyfriend population. What do the boyfriends do the whole time, you may ask? Well, they hang out on Exasperated Boyfriend Island:



Trust me, fellows, in this environment we are hopelessly outnumbered. It's just girls pawing and bargaining over clothes and shoes, and the men all have shellshocked expressions.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

hahaha i knew this was your post even before i scrolled to the author. i believe what gave it away was the quote "unputdownable".

another thing: what are you doing reading da vinci code in china?? tsk tsk.. you are not absorbing mainland culture to the fullest reading dan brown in internet cafes.

other than that, loves the random footage of the "apotheosis" of an "asian fetishist's dreams" and the photo of "exasperated boyfriend island"!!

A+.

corinachou said...

It is the best way to find a girlfriend in this place.Just kidding,don't do it.
According to survey said from family feud TV show:What is the number 1 thing that men don't like to do with women together? The answer is shopping.No wonder 98% is women.Simon and Woody are belong to 2% because you are special.

Unknown said...

They have those vertical malls in Seoul too - 8, 10, even 14 stories with aisles only 4-5 feet wide between "shops" and packed to the gills with kids. I haggled my way into some sweet Bathing Ape knockoffs in those things - keep your eyes out for key bootleg deals!

Unknown said...

Hi Woods, we've been catching up on all your posts in the last 2 days. looks like you guys are covering a lot of ground and i'm amazed at how much video you've shot and edited. the music videos are priceless - i almost peed in my pants laughing. looking forward to more posts.