STARBUCKS IN PARADISE

Today, I found a Starbucks in the most unlikely place: the ancient Yuoyuan Gardens. This magical place is where you can go see authentic Chinese gardens, bargain down bric-a-brac merchandise from vendors in the narrow lanes, and look at children feed the thousand goldfish in the lily pond. Right smack in the middle of the bazaar, where tourists normally go enjoy the centuries-old big hat pagodas, you can now purchase your non-fat caramel macchiato.

There were other eccentric stuff there too, mind you. In one of the shops, I saw this woman demonstrate this iron-like stapler contraption that allows you to actually cut a plastic bag filled with water into two completely sealed bags without the water bursting out. It was really cheap- only 25 yuan- and I was tempted to buy it, but then I wondered... exactly when would I ever need to do something like that?