A few months ago we got an invite from a friend to come over for lunch. We were chuffed because, while she is the only Korean woman we know that can’t cook, she’s got a fat wallet and can order some mean catering. The door was open when we arrived at her home so we let ourselves in and found her sitting in front of a mirror. She was literally covered in thousands of pearls. She looked ridiculous, but that is not the point. The point is that she was weighed down by too much jewelry to get off her duff and answer the door. That is, seriously, only a small exaggeration. She was covered in pearls and not much else. She had even glued some to her face. Even with her black hair, we thought we had walked into Lady Gaga’s dressing room. Apparently, that was what she intended. Upon first sight, we couldn’t help but wonder, and not for the first time, when her credit cards were finally going to be canceled.
This is all just a roundabout way of explaining how we finally made it to the Pearl Market. You need only live in Suzhou for a few weeks before you see or hear something about pearls. Like canals and live bands in restaurants, they are ubiquitous within our fair city. However, any good Suzhouvian (it’s a word, trust us) knows that pearls are easily faked. Moreover, you usually have to bargain hard if you want the real thing for a decent price. At least, that is what we had always thought, until recently. Our jaws dropped when she mention the paltry sum of money she paid for everything. We were intrigued and we quickly made plans to go to the Pearl Market. Unlike our Korean friend, most of the MORE staff find driving terrifying. So, we took the 84 bus from Qimen Road directly across the canal from the train. It’s a long ride, but Qimen is the first stop on the route so you’re guaranteed the seat of your choice.
Inside the building you find over a hundred vendors. The prices were so cheap that it would have been laughable to bargain too hard, but we were shithouse drunk so we did it anyway…for kicks. It’s hardly a convenient location but the hassle of a long bus ride is way less than that of dealing with street vendors.
 "Suzhou Pearl Market")
 "Suzhou Pearl Market")
 "Suzhou Pearl Market")
 "Suzhou Pearl Market")
H: o
