Published by Swiss James on 19 Sep 2008 at 12:59 pm
Wo Ye Ai Zhong Guo
During my trip to Kunming last week (two weeks ago? Boy time is really flying since I started taking these new diet pills) the handle broke on my little leather suitcase. I love that suitcase like a 15 year old girl loves her cell phone so I wasn’t happy, but what was I supposed to do? It’s not like there are people whose job it is to fix suitcase handles- it’s 2008 for mercy’s sake.
Brass rivets in the handle- better than new.
Then I thought about the guys who make shoes on Nandang Lu (near Xikang Lu, behind Plaza 66)- they’re used to working with leather and must have a few rivets knocking around, maybe they could help me out.
I took the patient to see the shoe doctor and sure enough, he could fix it up better than new for 100RMB.
It was the same when I got a typewriter for my birthday- a couple of the keys were broken, but Emma took the thing to a guy who repairs typewriters. He fixed it up in less than an hour, charged 9RMB and gave her an itemised bill.
In the UK this kind of thing would just be impossible- you’d have to send the suitcase away to the 1950s to be repaired, or else to a guy in China. Back there when something breaks you just get a new one, whether it’s a shoelace or a racehorse.
I don’t know about you, but I’d swap the right to vote for a cobbler on every corner any day of the week.
Hmm, the zipper on my ultra expensive Tumi suitcase broke. Since there seems to be a dearth of Tumi service centers in Shanghai, mayhaps I should take my suitcase to them.
Egads, I’m starting to sound like WoAiZhongGuo. Your experiences are an oppportunity for me to talk about my expensive stuff.
Maybe Tumi is expensive for you T, but I use it to transport my dirty Calvin Klein underwear to my Bosch washer/dryer
*END WOAI*
Would they be able to cope with a zip I wonder? It could be worth a go
You paid 100RMB for the shoe guy to fix your handle? Wow, how has time changed? I remember it used to cost me 5RMB to get a heel re-attached to my shoes.
My gym bag is by Agnes B and I have a Tumi holdall which is delicious (word of the day). It has a bar code inside so I can be reunited with the bag if it ever gets lost, assuming the person who finds it also owns a bar code reader connected to the Tumi database of course.