LOS CHINOS

For all the ex-pats living on the Costa Del Sol, one thing I noticed missing from the Spanish high street is Poundland or similar. However, in El Rincon that gap in the market has been filled by these marvellous Asian emporiums affectionately called Los Chinos (the Chinese) by my aged parents.

Los Chinos sell everything from pants to pliers at rock bottom prices. Need a loo brush? – Los Chinos. Run out of energy-efficient light bulbs? – Los Chinos. Got a hole in your socks? – you guessed, Los Chinos for needles, thread or even a replacement pair. There is almost nothing you can’t buy in these places; they’re like a cut down version of Amazon on your doorstep.

These Asian emporiums are huge too. Set out in a fiendish labyrinthine layout rather like the Hampton Court maze, once you’ve tracked down the sought after article, it’s a job to remember how to navigate back to the tills. Trapped in a dead end between cleaning cloths and cake decorating equipment, I thought I might have to ring the Spanish rozzers to instigate a rescue and that would have been tricky as who the hell knows what the Spanish word might be for piping bags or cookie cutters.

Having made it safely back to front of house with my eclectic basket of loo brush, fancy candle for Grandson’s next birthday and a pair of oversized gent’s boxers to use as shorts in the garden, I skipped out into the glorious sunshine thanking my lucky stars for the entrepreneurial spirit of Orientals.