Qingdao, a clear day with clearly awesome people

Today I went looking for a coat. 4 of my friends here took me out to look for a Coat. If you know me I like to pack lite whenever I go anywhere, and in an effort to save room I did not bring a coat with me to China (thinking I would be able to buy one here). So we went to find a coat. Little did I know that I was in for a day of absolute fun and beauty.

First off in china days where the air is clean and the sky is clear come few and far between. When I woke up this morning I found the sky perfectly clear. I my excitement I left the apartment early to go see my favorite ocean view on a clear day. It just so happened to be right next to the place where I was meeting my friends to go coat shopping.

As you can see it was a beautiful day for an adventure (Click it to see a bigger picture)

After meeting with my group of friends we left for the major shopping area in Qingdao (the Chinese name is evading me for the moment). We went there so that one of our group could pick up a shirt that she had tailored. In going there I was informed that I could get a custom made suit for about 200-300 kwai or about 50-60 dollars. In this group of shops there was literally any fabric you could possibly imagine. From the absolutely ornate to the dastardly ugly and everything in between. Lest it go unsaid I will be going back there. Soon after this we left for another shopping place. This one a little less formal and more barterish in search of a cheep knockoff coat (also reffered to as a northfake). Once we got there I tried on about 10 different coats before I found one that was comfortable and didn't look like it was made by a 10 year old. Once the coat was found the negotiations began.

It was a very good thing my friends are good at haggling in Chinese because the bidding started at 450 kwai or about 70 dollars. As one girl haggled with the stern saleswomen my friend Karen would let me know what price they were at. In the end I bought my Northfake for 350 Kwai or 50 dollars.

The rest of the day included walking around the city and enjoying the day. I also witnessed my friend Justin get an awesome tattoo of the lion of zion.

Here are some pictures:
This guy and his friend really wanted a picture with us. I thought it would be a good idea to get a picture of him with us.

This a small part of the Qingdao skyline.
This a a kind of awkward picture of me on the peer where the rest of the pictures were taken.
This is the awesome group of people I spent most of the day with.