I Can See Clearly Now I've Got New Glasses in China.

Being a visually impaired person does not really suit me and if I really have to wear glasses I would like more than one option and this hasn't really worked for me in the past due to cost. Of course there is this wonderful myth that everything is cheap in China, which is not entirely true. However in some cases you can do exceptionally well and this is certainly the case when it comes to glasses.

There are several opticians at both fake markets in Shanghai, but I personally elected to go to Yeh Optical. Yeh Optical is opposite Shanghai Train Station on the 4th Floor. There are numerous stalls and of course my white face attracted an enormous amount of attention. I think that one thing I really cannot stand about shopping in markets such as this is the calling out from every stall trying to get me to go inside. I just want to be left alone.

Due to feeling rather overwhelmed I descended down to a lower level to collect myself and come up with a plan of action for my glasses buying quest. Interestingly on the lower floors you can buy make-up, wedding attire, camera equipment, electronic accessories and get your smart phone repaired. On these floors no one bothers you either. The people from the glasses market should go and take some lessons.

Having a battle plan in place I went back up to the glasses market and found the one stall that did not pester or pressurise and was of a very good size. An assistant very politely offered to help me rather than pestering and pressurising me. I was still somewhat of a novelty and other assistants wished to be involved by offering more and more frames from around the stall to select from. In the end I settled on 2 pairs and we discussed price. The frames were exceptionally cheap not costing more than £15. The lenses came in many options and all of which were explained to me thoroughly. The overall price was calculated and then 20% immediately taken off and I was given an eye test free of charge. I probably should have haggled further but the price was so low that I wasn't concerned at all. 40 minutes later I had 2 new pairs of glasses for the bargain price of £75. I am aware that I have low cost glasses that may not withstand more than a year or two but for that price I am not concerned.