Thursday, November 17, 2011

Shanghai on a dollar or less

Things you can buy in Shanghai with $1 USD or less:

6.3 RMB = $1

.10 RMB: 1 black and white copy from the copy shop
1 RMB: a pen or pencil, pocket tissues, piece of fruit from the fruit stand, 1 color copy from the copy shop
2 RMB: bus fare, a box of paperclips, sticky notes, an ink pen that will do the job, bottle of water, a slice of freshly baked bread from a street vendor, a pocket protector for my transit card
2.5 RMB: 4 dumplings or 4 soup buns, a bunch of in-season vegetables at the green grocer’s, a postcard (postage not included), a can of coke
3 RMB: an ice cream cone, Chinese breakfast ‘burrito’, a Dove candy bar, a plastic disposable shower cap
4 RMB: one-way metro ticket to most places around the city, Snickers bar, a bottle of soda/juice/gatorade, a baguette from Carrefour
5 RMB: your choice from an endless selection of instant noodles and Pocky, my one-way subway fare to work
6 RMB: a piece of specialty bread from the bakery, a donut, a bag of chips, a notebook, an ice cream cone from KFC

Sure beats the stuff you get in the States. I remember a cycle of laundry at the Muir dorms being 50 cents… but they’ve probably upped it by now. You can’t even get an hour of parking for a dollar anymore :( 

And just because I know you’re curious:
10 RMB: A cup of coffee or milk tea from a bakery/donut shop, average price of a bowl of noodles from a mom&pop shop, 2 potatoes/tomatoes or onions from the 'organic' section of the supermarket, a loaf of white bread
25 RMB: A box of cereal, a package of pork chops from the supermarket
30 RMB: average price of a grande blended drink at Starbucks (yes, they’re everywhere here, too, and the coffee is still horrid)



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