Looking for Wine in China

Today we just literally hung around the house all day and went swimming in the afternoon. In the evening, I walked up to the market in quest of a bottle of wine. It was so hot and humid. As I walked it got dark and I used my mag light on the way back, much to the amazement of many Chinese. I was being briskly passed by all sorts of bicycles pulling and carrying various loads, children and adults walking and peeing; trucks, buses and carts. Crazy, a busy dark street without lights. None of the bicycles have lights either. There are however about three other foreigner compounds I pass on the way, and a brand new golf course.

The market has a large selection of California wines, but I managed to find a red and a Chardonnay “Dragon Seal” Chinese wine recommended by Lucille. I also found some salsa imported from Mexico to go with our tortilla chips from Belgium and our French Evian water.

We sat out on the upper terrace surrounded by mosquitoes and enjoyed talking in a relaxed mode and watching the change of shifts at the Shanghai Fashion Co. right next to us. The whole compound is so concrete and deserted except for the Chinese servants and construction workers during the day. It’s really eerily lit at night too and strangely still. We could also see a Chinese apartment complex across the way.

Tuesday, 17 August 1999