Seeing and Eating

It seems an unlikely destination for a holiday but today we visited the opticians to get me some glasses. The experience was quite unlike that in UK. We entered a very large building of 4 or 5 stories which was exclusively for the selling and fitting of glasses. Independent open fronted shops lined the thoroughfares with rows and rows and rows of glasses frames on display. At the back of each shop there was eye testing equipment. You could just walk in and have your eyes tested - no appointment needed.
We went into the recommended  one and within 15 minutes I had a professional prescription for long and close up glasses and could choose any frame I liked from upswept diamante to round wire to heavy tortoiseshell to rainbow flowers.  
They would be ready in 2 hours and the cost was £20.00 each! My last pair in UK cost over £70.00.
To while away the time the boys said we would have a buffet lunch in the mall next door and this  was quite unlike any eating experience I have ever had. The tables each had a heated metal grill, set into it. Behind the tables were a number of long aisles filled with more sorts of food than I could imagine. One stretch was just meat - duck, lamb beef pork chicken sausage, offal etc   , another seafood and seaweeds, another leafy greens,  another fruits, another mushrooms, another tofu, another salads, another spicy and chilli sauces and so many other things I had no idea what they were. You grabbed a plate and filled it and then grilled all your bits at the table. As soon as the grill became sticky an attendant with a huge pair of tongs came and removed it, replacing it instantly with another. Most of it was delicious, although the pink shells in the picture smelt of seawater and weed and were an acquired taste. On the one hand it was very interesting seeing such a variety but at the same time the blatant consumerism made me feel rather nauseous. Particularly those items such as tiny crabs and seashells that contained less than a pen-nib of flesh and Chris said were 'tongue food' . What disregard for life.
Later in the evening my other son arrived and for the first time in years we were a family group again.