Sprucegoose
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2003
- Posts
- 8,168
Really only need to speak the local lingo if you go somewhere where tourists aren't normally found - and even then google translate or finding a picture of what you are looking for using google images will usually get you through. Trying to find what you want over there can be a very frustrating and time consuming thing - hardware stores are usually no bigger than about 4 x 5 metres - so you have to visit about a dozen different ones just to gather the things you need for even a small project - you lose hours and hours of time trying to find things - and once you find a store that has something you mark it on your google maps so as you can find it again next time.
From my observations, something like a hardware store would be a booming business....Everything looked well-worn at best.
I changed hotels from the Intercontinental to the new Sofitel (old Conrad), which was the difference between night and day.