Tuesday

The weather was hot and hazy. I headed for the Bund for a walk, the breeze was nice and the walk pleasant.

The Bund:

Is an area on the Huangpu river. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas.

The word "Bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Urdu word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms, bind and band, German term, bund, etc.).












After strolling up and down the bund, I walked up Nanjing Road (a pedestrian shopping area). It was an interesting walk, a lot of shops/boutiques etc but none of the luxury stores, souvenir places nor the fake shops. Still had a few people soliciting. I had some students talk to me and this time it wasn't about practising english, they wanted me to know go see their art exhibition.







The road lead to People's square and people's park. I took a stroll around the park, hopped into a cab and headed back to the neighborhood for a break and lunch.





We went to sushi for dinner and had a walked a bit along Fuxing Road - interesting architecture and boutiques.

Monday

Monday:

I know what day it is but have completely lost track of the dates....

My sister had to work. I woke up after she had left. Went to Coffee Bean (didn't that used to be called Gloria Jean's Coffee Bean?) for a coffee and muffin and headed off to see the Yu Garden. This is in the old part of town. The garden itself is behind walls and the area is full of older buildings with shops (tourist type place). There were a lot of people looking for some business.

The architecture was interesting. I eventually found my way to the garden



The gardens were not as crowded as the area outside (almost 1/4 of the crowd) and was interesting to see. I just meandered about and took lots of pictures. There is little in the way of historical information/facts, which is fine as it probably would have been in madarin. I enjoyed the time here, it was a nice break from all the shopping hustlers (lady you want bag, watches, t-shirt, I give you good price). I was actually a bit annoyed with the constant bombarding by the people trying to sell you something but I guess they're just trying to make a living.




http://picasaweb.google.com/v.in.the.fog/ChinaTrip2008/photo#5194591498447458642



There are some cats that live in the garden. I was busy with the camera taking a shot and out of no where a cat jumps down and leisurely walks away, I followed him and we walked up by the little pond and hiked up to an area where there was a little pond he could drink from, after he was done he went back.



A side note - I've noticed pretty black butterflies (or moths) - they are pretty and fly by day, so I assume they are butterflies but when they sit still, their wings are downwards, like a moth. I've seen them at the Yu garden and in the little park downstairs of my sisters apartment.





The exit of the garden takes you right back into the shopping area. Amongst other stores, they have a Dairy Queen and a Starbucks here. Outside of a teashop is a huge fountain(i guess it's called a fountain) teapot and cup - I had to take a picture for S.



The shops continue but as you get away from the main area, the stores get a little more interesting. More regional things, less agressive sales people, and they're just happy to see you appreciate their work. I walked about in a frame store, a statuary, little places with antique type things.

I decided I was going to go back to the apartment for a break and lunch so I started walking in the direction of the main street where it would be easier to find a cab. I've noticed that in this town, the trash is collected in small dumpsters hitched to the back of bicycles. As I was approaching the main street, I heard two cats incessantly meowing and I started looking around to see where they were. I finally noticed, as did others, that there were kittens in the dumpster. I could clearly see one guy struggling to get out. As I looked into the dumpster, I noticed that there were 3 cats, one was dead, the other was laying there meowing and the third guy was trying to get out of the dumpster. The whole scene just got to me, no one was doing anything, just looking at the meowing cats and then stepping back. I saw a box in the side alley and went and got it, used an empty plastic bag and got the kitten into the box. The other cat had died by the time I went to get him. The guy I got was furiously trying to climb out of the box, too. I found a convenience store right there and bought some milk. People were giving me strange looks and I had a crowd surround me as I tried to put some milk in a cup for the guy. He was tiny but not new born, i wasn't sure if he could see so I didn't know how to get him to get the milk, so I put some on him, so he could just lick the milk off. At this point, I was getting distraught by all that I had seen. I went back to some of the nicer store keepers, hoping they would take in the kitten but it was tough with the language and they were just shaking their heads.



So I brought the cat back to my sisters apartment. I cleaned him up a bit, feed him some milk with a straw - he was still very agitated but eventually calmed down and fell asleep. I wrapped up in a towel and put him in a shoe box. I went to work online looking for a shelter in Shanghai, there are no such things! I found two links for rescues but only one link lead to an actual site. I spoke to them and with a donation, they would take the kitten in and care for it until it's adopted. So after the lady got off work, I took the kitten there. I visited with the lady for a bit and then headed back.

Met up with my sister for dinner and had thai food, it was soo good. After dinner, she headed back to get some work done and I walked around a bit before returning. As I was heading back, a young lady came up to me and wanted to walk and talk with me so she could practise her english, I was a bit reluctant at first but all she did was talk, she wanted to know if she should listen to english music to improve her accent etc. Nice girl, it made for a nice walk.

Sunday

Day 3 - Sunday
We went to place called Taikang Road (it's a long winding alley), a bit off the beaten path and full of flavor.

We had a great breakfast at Kommune. I ordered the "double" coffee, expecting just a larger version of the single, omg it was 4 times bigger!! The food was great and very reasonable.

After breakfast we walked around the alley (many restaurants and boutique shops). It really was a fun little place and we spent a couple of hours there. Many of the pictures on this post are from Taikang Road.

We set out for the pearl market after (the breakfast was enough to be keep us going all day). I have come to realize that most of these markets are not what I had invisioned (an outdoor location with stall after stall) but instead a building with store after store. It was a bit out of the way but a fun visit. The first and third floors were more the same type of products we saw the other day. The second floor on the other hand was all jewelry, pearls, beads, jade etc. In most cases, here too you had to bargain to get the right price. I found some vendors to be a pleasure to shop with and the prices incredibly reasonable that it wasn't worth the headache of haggling.

We stopped by the cyber mart on the way back home - yet another market, here exclusively for electronic products - very much buyer beware!! My sister picked up some speakers after a great deal of hangling (down 50%)

We watch a movie (Juno) and then headed out for dinner with my sisters friends.

The sites so far.

I promise that there will be pictures to show, just a bit of a technical challenge!. The relic that is this computer will not (amongst other things) plug and play, hence will not recognize the camera via usb cable! Will hunt for card reader today (sister assures me that will work). Haven't seen any big box stores that i can run into for it. Mostly luxury items, souvenir places and clothing boutiques.

On to what I've been doing. I arrive here and to the aparment by around 1pm. Took a shower and walked around the area. It's an interesting mix of new, upcoming and old! Construction every where. I enjoyed the walk into Xiantindi (a park, some intersting alleys and historic buildings), got some Starbucks (sometimes you need one!) - my sister was kind enough to leave me directions on how to find Xintiandi, some money and told me there was Starbucks there.

I found that the people working here were very friendly, the touristy stores were fun to look at but they didn't want you taking pictures (doesn't stop me, hehe). I had been warned about the restroom situation (not very clean, no tp, etc, so I came well prepared) but the restroom here were very clean, with an attendant, nice contempary fixtures (vessel sink), I could go on but you'd think I am nuts.... only problem is people don't believe in lines here, so unless you edge your way into the stall around the others, you're likely to be standing there until the cows come home!

Came back as the jet lag started to catch up with me. My sister arrived from work later that evening and we set out for dinner. Many choices in cuisine here, and my sister was particular in pointing out the many regional options under "chinese" - we went to a schezwan. The restaurant is called Leting and the food was very good, but a bit slow in arriving. We took a walk around the area, some interesting stores (the luxury mall), etc, got some Hagen Dazs and eventually got back here and crashed.

Day 2
The plan was to do things that would be beneficial to have my sister with me (speaks some of the language). So after a light breakfast (where my sister comments on why I must take pictures of food... why not?), we head out to the "market" for some shopping. I had thought this would be some outdoor type of place but it was in a building, 3 floors and store after store of "product". There were some interesting handicrafts and chinese clothing stores but mostly it knock off products from high end makers - purses, jewerly, clothing, etc. Shopping here is not for every one. Why? 1. The minute you touch anything, the sales staff swarm in on you to try and get you to buy it. 2. They expect you to bargain, so the price they give you is bogus 3. Foreigners beware. 4. The sales people are very pushy. I am a leisurely shopper and all of this just made it rather tedious. My sister is quite the bargainer and knows how to talk them up. I was curious as to why both her and sales clerk was laughing at a particular location and the clerk caved on her price - she told me that she said that is the price she wanted to pay and told the clerk she is very pretty! Ha ha, this is something they normally say to butter people up. After a couple of hours here, I walked away with a lot less money and some very interesting cultural items (a little girls chinese outfit, some chops, interesting abstractish asian theme small paintings, etc etc.



















We had shanghai-nese dim sum (it was very good but I didn't see why it's shanghai-nese). Headed home for a break after that.



















In the evening, we set out for a pedicure (some much needed pampering for my feet). We went to a place near by, it had one of those massage chair and foot spa things. The ladies that worked there were friendly and very tentative.

After the bit of pampering, we set out to the tallest building, the Grand Hyatt, and the restaurant on the top called Cloud 9. We were still quite full from lunch so we ordered up a sampler dessert and some drinks. My sister says it was a perfect girl day - shopping, pedicure and dessert - indeed. The sights were lovely from up here and considering the location, the prices were too bad (we paid about $35 US).














Observations:
1. Vehicles can make a right on red, but don't expect them to stop just because you're crossing in their path.
2. 2 wheeled vehicles (bicycles, mopeds, scooters) will not follow the rule of the road, including driving the wrong way up a one way street.
3. Signals count down to when they will change color.

Inquiring minds want to know...

1. I flew on a 747-400 (?) from San Francisco to Hong Kong and a 777-300 from Hong Kong to Shanghai

2. The currency here is called Yuan and also RMB (reminbi).

3. They drive on the right side of the street, like us.

4. The airport is called Pudong International Airport. Pudong is the name of the area/district that Shanghai is developing as their Hong Kong or Manhattan.

5. Shanghai was said to be the Paris of the east and now being compared to Manhattan.

6. The development of Shanghai began in 1990 - they've done a lot (and obliterated a lot) in those years. Walking around, you feel like you could be in Hong Kong or Los Angels, except you still see people on bike and in the side alleys you see what was once Shanghai.

7. The air is VERY bad. It's not vehicle emissions as far as I can tell, it's the construction. OMG dust every where. I felt like I was being sand blasted when the breeze was going.

8. Every major luxury product designer has a presence here. There is a mall with just luxury stores - huge stores!

9. One is not to tip waiters or taxi drivers - no idea why.

10. When crossing the streets, not only do you have to watch out of the 4 wheeled vehicles (at the least they follow the signals) you also have to watch out for the 2 wheeled vehicles (they follow their own rules).

First day in Shanghai

Wow, what a city!

I arrived in Shanghai on schedule. The plane ride was uneventful and good - very good service. I views from the plane at the approach to Shanghai showed what an incredibly large and industrial city this is. There were cargo many cargo ships, buildings, construction cranes....

The airport is just another airport (long walks, lines, etc etc). The officials that work both at the Hong Kong and Shanghai airport are soooooo serious and a bit intimidating. In fact at the passport check area in Shanghai, there are huge signs that say "Be quiet, no cell phones, no photography". The second two are common for the area but be quiet???

It's a long drive but pretty drive into town. The landscaping on either side is very attractive and blocks the view of what is beyond for the most part. In areas where I could see, I saw interesting architecture (housing and buildings). The driver must have thought i was nuts with all the pictures I was taking wizing by in a car. The buildings give Shanghai a Hong Kong feel only there is more space between the buildings and more planning to give the town visual interest. There is construction every where I looked - so many construction cranes.

The weather was pleasant, warm with a mild breeze. Very nice to walk in.

My sister lives in a two story apartment near the Xin Tian Di district. It's an apartment complex, with a lovely garden area in between the buildings. The apartment construction is very contemporary and the views are spectacular.

It's 4am right now and I want to get back to sleep. More updates & photos to follow (have to wake sister for usb cable - I haven't seen a place yet where i could buy one).

More info on Xin Tian Di here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xintiandi

In Transit

I don't think my body likes sitting on a plane for 14 hours!!! My flight departed at 1:20am and they gave us dinner once in the air (why? - who eats that late?).

Slept a little, watched I am Legend. Right now I am enjoying a mocha and walking around before my next flight. The airport is nice with some cool stores but not too much of it is open at this hour. Very overcast here, hopefully it will be clear in Shanghai.

I realize I've forgotten the usb cable and the card reader - grrrr - hoping my sister has one.

Pixels from the Orient

On Thursday, April 24, I start a 3 week vacation to Shanghai & Hong Kong. I'll be spending a week in Shanghai with my sister and two weeks in Hong Kong (a place I once called home) with my family.

It's my first visit to Shanghai and it's been about 25 years since I spent any kind of time in Hong Kong. It is sure to be an experience to see it all after living in the states for 20 odd years.