The Saga of the Watches

So, the funniest thing to happen to our entire group today was me and my watches.

I forgot to bring a watch, I generally just get the time off my Blackberry but I have turned it off while I am in China. So, I thought I might just buy a cheap watch from a street vendor in China. As we were wandering Tienanmen Square, I was approached by a man who was hawking these Chairman Mao watches like the one in picture above. The watches were really funny because Mao's arm waves at you every second. The guy could tell I was kinda interested in the watch so he started bargaining with me.

"Sir, you like watch? See Mao wave? You like?"

"Yeah, it is cute."

"I sell to you… 180 Yuan," (that's about 30 dollars)

"No, that's ok."

"150 Yuan."

"No," I start to walk away.

"100 Yuan, good price," he's following me.

"No, really, I don't want one."

"80 Yuan. You like? I give you for 80."

I just shake my head… I am moving away at a brisk pace at this point.

"60 Yuan," he is somehow keeping up with me even though he is walking backwards and I am moving pretty fast.

At this point the watch is getting pretty cheap... like less than a value meal at McDonald's. I turn to Kathy, she shrugs and says, "well, you do need a watch."

"How about 40 Yuan," I say.

Now he has me. He gets all firm about his price. No way can he sell for lower than 60. I start to walk away again and we finally settled on 50 Yuan, about 8 dollars. I am sure I got ripped off, but the waving Mao watch is funny and is an instant hit with the rest of the group. Everyone is laughing about it and our trip director, Mark (his Chinese name is Xao Feng, I think) says I should not have paid more than maybe 20 Yuan for the watch. I think Mark wants to sell me some swamp land.

Fifteen minutes later, I realize that the watch is just not working. The Mao waving hand is going strong, but the watch hands that are supposed to tell time are not moving very much. Now we are all cracking up at how quickly this watch has broken. It did not even make it an hour without shutting down. I try winding it and other stuff to see if I can get it to run. The Mao wave is there, but the rest of the watch seems to run about 10 seconds late every minute… which is pathetic. I don't really care though because the watch is funny and the whole group is enjoying it.

So, a little later we are exiting the Forbidden City and we are again surrounded by street hawkers. One of them is trying to sell fake Rolex watches. I laugh at the guy and show him my Mao watch, "I got this one an hour and it is not even working any more. I don't want any more of your watches," I say.

The new watch salesman perks up. I'm someone who has been suckered before… maybe he can sucker me too. He says, "we make trade?" He wants to see if I will trade my Mao watch for his Rolex. At first he wants me to also give him some money, but I laugh at that. He then says we can do an event exchange. I cannot fathom why he wants to do this but I know the Mao watch won't work so I make a deal. No money, just an even exchange-- Mao for a fake Rolex.

So, now I am some kind of hero in the group for trading Mao for the Rolex. Everyone is cracking up and this is the big topic of conversation among the group. Of course, 5 minutes later it becomes clear that the Rolex will not work either! I proudly proclaim that even though the watch cannot tell time, at least it is a Rolex.

We go to lunch and as we are leaving the lunch place, another street vendor is there with more watches. Gary, one of the really nice guys on the tour, takes a funny picture of me (I'll post it later) posing with the street vendor and his box full of fake watches. The watch vendor explains that the problem is the battery in the watches I bought. He says the batteries, when fresh, should last 3 years. He even goes into his pocket and gets a fresh battery out of a packet and gives it to me – for free! He is a really nice man and says he is willing to trade my broken Rolex for any of his watches that he swears will work. He had several more fake Rolex watches, but I saw an Omega that caught my eye and decide to make another even exchange deal. I give the vendor a dollar to say thanks for his help (he was not expecting it and was grateful).

Lo and behold, THE OMEGA WORKS!! It has now been about 5 hours since I got it and it is keeping time. I am "Jason the Watch Trader" to everyone on the Duke tour. There is no end to the "Jason can trade for that" jokes and, when we are walking the streets and pass a Rolex store, I proclaim that I am going to go inside and trade my fake Omega for a real Rolex. It is truly one of the most memorable things about the first day in Beijing.

Fun stuff… and the Omega keeps on ticking.