So, while taking the bus to Central Bazaar, we passed by a large building that said "Bazaar" and in one of the windows we saw huge stuffed animals. Of course, I had to promise Sophia that we'd go there!
On Saturday, 24 October, we went for the first time. I was so proud of myself, not needing any help in getting there. I knew the bus that went there, and how to get there. The bus ride was very long, and for a while I worried that we had missed our stop (although the word "Bazaar" is written pretty prominently on this rather large building). But we did not miss it. It was pretty obvious--immediately after passing the large building, we turned onto a street that was overcrowded with buses, and when our bus stopped, perhaps everyone got off. We crossed the street. We were a short ways down from the building marked "Bazaar" and I decided to stop in the first building in front of us.
This was a lucky pick for me. On the front, it does not look special--one story, old. Inside it is an indoor bazaar or market, much like Central Bazaar but smaller. It is very cramped and crowded, and, like Central, nothing has price tags. You must bargain for prices.
The first "shop" we stopped at (really, a stall or a cubicle), the over-eager Kazakh man working there asked Sophia what color boots she wanted and then helped find her size and fit her into some nice-looking black boots. The boots are lined on the inside, helping to keep her warm in the winter weather. I'm usually the sort to learn a price and come back, but when he said 3500 Tenge, and Sophia said she wanted them, I wasn't in the mood to drag this process out. I accepted.
He had to pull out his cell phone to show me the price, as numbers beyond one hundred are still tricky for me.
The stall across from him also belonged to him, or his friend, and Sophia tried on a nice, long blue coat that she liked. It didn't say what the lining was--I want down, as Christie has said that is best. They lowered the price from around 5500 T to 5000 T but in the end my instinct to not buy first won out.
We soon found another stall and Sophia tried on a pink coat. This one was not long--it came down a bit below her waist--and I don't know what it's made out of. But the saleslady lowered the price from 3500 T to 3300 T and Sophia liked the coat. I bought it. A winter coat for $42, not a bad deal!
We looked at boots for me at another place; I asked the price and the saleslady said 5000 T. At the time I thought that was too much.
We then wandered over to the huge building marked Bazaar. This is Artyom. It is like a huge shopping mall, Kazakh-style. The first floor is mostly a grocery market, stands of fruits and other items you can buy by the kilogram. There are a couple other stores or markets, too, on the first floor, and even a hardware store. The second floor is more mall-like. It is filled with shops, shops that are more like large cubicles. The walls of the shops are glass, which makes it nice--you can easily explore what's ina store before going in.
The second floor has plenty of household item-stores, and a pet store Sophia loved. Here the bargaining mostly ends, as items have price tags on them. However, in one store I asked the price of an ironing board--5000 Tenge!--and as I was walking out, the price was lowered. Still too much for me. I need an ironing board, but I hate to iron! (The school should reimburse me for a board, though, so really I shouldn't be so concerned about the price. I'm also concerned about carrying the thing home.)
The next three floors are mostly clothings shops. The boots are all about 10,000 Tenge or above--so 5000 T is a good deal after all! I wanted a long-sleeved shirt of some sort, to wear in the school when it's too warm for a sweater. I get strange looks when I wear short-sleeves.
I finally bought two nice turtlenecks for 1700 T each--about $16. I spent forever trying them on, and Sophia played with one of the shopkeeper's son (or grandson?) They ended up running outside the store, he fell down and got a bump on his head, and at that point I figured I had better by something! The lady was very nice and spoke a little English.
There were many toy stores, and Sophia finally got a stuffed animal--a small tiger for 1000 T. I bought her a pink Magna-Doodle (not name-brand) for 1500 T - $10.
That was the end of that day, and the next week we returned. Valerie was bored and came with us. She was impressed by the prices at the indoor market/bazaar that was across from the bus stop. She said some of the prices were cheaper than at Central Bazaar (where she had gone with her boyfriend the previous week.) She bought a soft turtleneck sweater for 1800 T, cheaper than the 2500 T she had paid at Central (when she even had her boyfriend to bargain in Russian.) The turtleneck had a genuine-looking tag that said "Gap" and "$150." Does it really sell for $150 anywhere? I bought another turtleneck sweater for 1800 T.
My Russian is getting better, and while we still needed people's cell phones to learn some prices, some prices I could tell without the use of cell phones. We found mittens for Sophia. The guy first said 2000 T, but immediately lowered it to 1000 T when we looked like we were about to laugh. (We're not dumb foreigners! We know that mittens should be cheaper!) We got him to lower it to 800 T (100 T than the gloves I had bought at Central Market) and we bought.
We found ballet shoes for Sophia (she can't go to dance class until she has them!) but they didn't have her size. I managed to understand the Russian word for "34"--stall 34 had ballet shoes her size. On the way to stall 34, we looked at shoes for me. I found the perfect boots--tall; black' nothing funky or gaudy on the front (as is common around here); large, flat heel about 2 inches (the perfect height for my feet, I've found); warm material on the inside; and for traction on the bottom, circles that could perhaps be described as suctions. Christie had mentioned that in the winter here, people where shoes with suction-cup-like bottoms. Oh, how perfect! Except they didn't have my size. I could fit in a size 40, except I was wearing thin trouser socks, and once winter hits, I'll be wearing one or two or three pairs of thick socks. I wouldn't fit then.
We bid a sad farewell and went to another place. I found another nice pair of boots; however they did not have them larger than size 40. Valerie said that since my foot's a bit large by Asian standards, and since I want something a bit odd--a heel that's not stiletto--I may have trouble finding what I want in my size. The saleslady found me a pair of boots in 41. They fit, they were 5000 T, they weren't perfect, but I bought them. I realized that I would most likely only wear them outside, and change once I got to school, like most people do. So I don't need perfection!
Although, I realized once we got outside, how nice it is to have a higher heel--the mud puddles are so deep! With higher heels, you can walk on your heels and keep your pants dry.
We then went into Artyom, and bought some basic supplies at one of the markets downstairs. Valerie and I don't like bargaining, and it's so hard when you can't speak the language! Sophia had 600 T of her own, which she happily spent on glittery nail polish, tiger stickers, and 2 balloons, with 300 T left.
I grudgingly bought a sewing kit--I need one, but does this mean that I now have to sew? (The bottom button has come off Sophia's coat.) I also got a surge protector and a night light, and even though I bargained the price down, upstairs in Artyom I saw surge protectors for a whole lot cheaper!
We went upstairs but then Valerie had to return home (her boyfriend was off work). I wanted to buy a lamp, as the 2nd and final hallway light had burnt out, and replacing the bulb had not helped. Since I use the hallway lights when I take a shower, I really needed a light in the hallway! However, small lamps were selling for 3500 T, and I overheard one person try to bargain the price down with no luck. Oh well, I have a flashlight, I can still shower!
We bought sweets and a Fanta from a small shop. The "Double Doozie" (two large cookies with frosting inside) tasted rather different than those in the malls in the US, and Sophia did not like it. I liked my pudding-and-cake cup.
On second-to-top floor (4th or 5th, I can't remember), there is a sex shop. I steered Sophia away from it. We ended up in a large toy store, where Sophia bought a Barbie-like mermaid doll for her remaining 300 T. Real Barbie dolls were selling for much more. A My Little Pony was selling for 150,000 T--count those zeros, as I had to many times! That's $100! Sure, it's larger than a regular My Little Pony and speaks Russian, but, still!!!!
So... Artyom is like a mall, fun to shop through, but not really cheaper than a real mall. The tiny place across from the bus stop is cheap and a little bit easier to get to than Central Bazaar.
Shopping is fun!
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