Another beautiful day in Shanghai. A little cooler than yesterday, the sky is actually blue, deep blue! Wow! I walk to Starbucks for breakfast. There are a couple small tables outside and I sit at one while I eat my Blueberry muffin and drink my coffee. I watch the never-ending parade of people go by. A young western man walks in, we nod to each other, and he soon emerges with his coffee and joins me at the table. Patrick works for Proctor & Gamble, and is in Shanghai for only 2 days on business. He will go back to Frankfurt, Germany later this morning. We talk about Shanghai. As he puts it, it is an "elbow" culture. Yes, on the street it is. On a person to person level, though, I feel that people are very kind and polite. At least they have been to me.
Later N meets me and we go to various streets or markets. Our first stop is just a short walk away. Xiangyang Road Fashion Market is like a giant flea market, with row after row of small shops selling watches, jewelry, luggage, clothing, etc., some of it counterfeit designer label. It is very busy, with both western and local shoppers. I could use a pair of sunglasses, and I would like some binoculars. I don’t find any sunglasses that I like, but I do see a fixed-focus binocular, small. Thru N I ask how much. The answer is 220RMB. We groan, and soon the price is 180RMB. We walk away. Later we come back, and after some more haggling the price is 120RMB, about $14.50. N tells me we probably could have haggled more, but the price is good enough for me.
We then go to Yandang Road Leisure Street. This is a lovely, tree-lined street with restaurants. We find a place for lunch (98 RMB for both of us; very nice meal). We then continue walking generally south and come the entrance of a city park. The entrance fee is 2RMB each. As we enter we see that workers are setting-up various flower displays. There will be a flower festival at the park on the weekend. Many of the flower displays are already in place, and they are quite beautiful and creative. There are flower dragons, peacocks, and elephants, along with many flower gardens. In one garden there are two large birds--I think they are cranes--preening themselves. At the south end of the park there is a bar and restaurant building with several establishments. N tells me that this is a popular place at night, and I can see why. Very beautiful, peaceful, romantic. A good place to take that special person.
We exit the park at the other end and take a taxi to the Shanghai Book Store. This 7-floor establishment leaves Borders and Barnes and Noble in its dust. What an incredible selection of books, including western books. It is similar in size and scope to the public library of a good sized city. The place is jammed with patrons, and it even includes a café upstairs.
We hail a taxi and go to Duolun Road Cultural Street. The street has an entrance arch at each end of its L-shaped path, and on each side there are small antique, collectible, and book stores, along with a few restaurants and tea houses. There are no cars allowed on this street. Most of the buildings are quite old, and the place has a nice, funky, relaxed feel. We go into a couple shops. One of them, a bookstore, has old magazines, posters, photos, and even a couple very old (1930s?) radios. Too bad I am so far from home! I've always wanted one of those.
The roof-top café at the Peace Hotel is our next stop. The café overlooks the Bund and the river. To reach the café you take the elevator to the 9th floor (top floor for the elevator), and then walk up to the 11th floor. The prices are a bit steep--our coffee and hot chocolate cost 100RMB, more than our complete lunch--but the view is world-class. You can really appreciate that the river is a working river. There is a steady flow of barges, container and cargo ships, and tour boats. There are no pleasure boats at all. N tells me that they are not allowed because with so many people in Shanghai there would be too many pleasure boats which would interfere with the commercial boat traffic. Directly opposite are the Orient Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, and the Pudong (east of river) district, with lots of new offices, hotels, and malls. We will soon go there.
We descend and walk across the street to the Bund. Similarly to a couple nights ago, it is busy. We walk south to the ferry boat terminal and buy a ticket on one of the ferries--2RMB each--to get to the Pudong side. There are also ferries that cost only 0.5RMB, and these boats are very very crowded with working class people. The 2RMB boat is not crowded and the passengers are mostly white collar. The ride over is very nice. What a bargain for about 25 cents!
It is time for dinner, so we go back to street level and walk to a nearby restaurant area. We enter a bright and pretty place, staffed at the entrance with bright and pretty young ladies. N orders our dinner. She is so serious about her food. Later I tell her that I have found that most Chinese people seem to be much more serious and passionate about food than most Americans. N agrees. Each table at the restaurant gets a chance to spin a large wheel for a free item at the restaurant. N spins and wins duck neck. She is very happy, and we are soon presented with a plate of cold duck neck, cut into pieces about 1 inch long. Well, I have eaten chicken necks before, so this should be OK. It is, with more meat than most chicken necks, and it is quite spicy. We also get a cold green veggie (also spicy), a fish soup, rice, and thin strips of beef which we cook in a boiling broth at our table. The beef is more like bacon (lots of fat), but it is tasty and fun. Watermelon slices complete the meal, and at 119RMB and great service I am quite pleased. We give the waitress a 10RMB tip, and it appears she does not know what to do with it. Tipping is still very new here.
We then look for the pedestrian tunnel that goes under the river to the other side. I am envisioning a long walk way, but instead we have a space-age ride in a little car that resembles a cable car. The cost is 30RMB each, which is rather expensive here, but you do get a bit of a show for your money. The tunnel is lined with flashing or colored lights, and music plays. The effect is somewhat Disneyesque. While we ride I look down and I can see that yes, this really is a cable car. We are being pulled by a steel cable from under the car. I wonder, why was this thing ever built? It is not designed to transport a large number of people, and it is hard to believe that the ticket price turns a profit.
Now on the Puxi (west of river) side, we go up to ground level and take another short walk on the Bund. The Pudong side is all lighted and bright, and the Bund buildings are bathed in light. The night air is cool but not cold, the sky is clear, there is a light breeze. What could be better? It is getting late, so we call it a day (now night). We share the taxi to the hotel, and then N continues on home. I work on this journal, and think to myself what a lucky man I am.
Shanghai Page 6