A city full of character and ... prostitutes!
Trip Start
Feb 23, 2008
1
2
12
Trip End
Mar 16, 2008
Shanghai, China
Friday, March 21, 2008
After lunch I took a walk around Shanghai, including The Bund which has an incredible view of the high rise financial district the other side of the river and also a look around the Nong (Shanghai's equivalent to the Hutong). There is a great buzz in Shanghai and I have never seen streets so packed with bicycles! There is also a great mix of old and new in the city as you can see it developing and the Nong receding as a consequence.
Stopped for a drink in the French Concession area, Xintiandi - really nice, but expensive. For dinner Charles took a few of us to a smaller local restaurant (which didn't require seating for 14). The street had '24 hr massage parlours' either side, and girls were simply sat in the windows in short skirts - it was so obvious! The restaurant was just dingey! In England I wouldn't eat there for a million pounds (there is no pound sign on the keyboards in Thailand!) - it looked unclean with the cat roaming the tables and electric plugs taped with duck tape! The food however was the best yet! And cost little more than 2 pounds including beer! The 'restaurant' owner didn't speak any english, but when Charles told him I was from England he got very exciting saying (with Charles translating) how his son goes to the Imperial College in London and he even got the prospectus to show me - bless!
Day 6 - Spent the morning in Shanghai Museum which has an impressive collection of old Chinese artefacts.
The rest of the day a few of us roamed around Yuyan Gardens, which are very serene and peaceful and went on to wander around the market. It was in Shanghai that I learnt the Chinese less blatent attempt at selling - "You're very beautiful.. would you like to buy this watch/bag/steamed buns?"!
Saw an acrobatics show in the evening - apparently the best in the country! It was really impressive and great to watch and had a finale of 5 men of bicycles riding full pelt inside a steel ball! Quite like nothing I've ever seen before!
Day 7 - Had breakfast at "Pauls" - a Patisserie in the French Concession area - had coffee and unsweetened granary bread - heaven! Sarah (Canadian) and I got the tourist tunnel which is a gondola under the river filled with neon lighting and loud sound effects(!) under the river to the Financial District and afterwards wandered down Nanjing round, taking in the Shanghai atmosphere.
In the evening it was time for another sleeper train, however this one featured a drunk Chinese man who walked about in his underwear and then proceeded to hug me, before I pushed him off and he fell backwards onto the floor! I did not sleep well that night!
