Goodbye Shanghai!

---

Happy Birthday Sam! The big 21 occured for him while we were here and as can be expected...it was an all day party for everyone's favorite midshipman. The plan for the day was to head downtown at aroundd 5 PM for some cocktails at a swanky bar at the top of the Shangri-la but upon arrival we found out that they weren't open until 6 PM. After some aimless wandering we decided to get some cigars and head to Laris, another swanky bar on the other side of the river.

The Chinese ferry was an experience. Say the word ferry, and imagine it in your mind...a nice boat, a breeze, some seats out on the bow maybe? Not here....it wasn't so much a ferry as a floating platform that transported people. It was almost as if the government said 'We need to remove 500 people from the streets of Shanghai for a few minutes...lets just move them back and forth in these floating boxes'. After purchasing your ticket, you go down the metal ramp and get ready to board. All around you are people, bikes, and motorcycles (yes.) pushing their way past you to get a better spot. It felt cattle.

The ride itself was not bad, nice cigars with good beer and better company, a quick stroll down the Bund and we found ourself in an amazing plush lounge sipping cocktails and conversing. With dinner time fast approaching, we left for the Japanese steakhouse where we were to enjoy all-you-can-eat/drink for the rest of the night.

The restaurant was really nice, and because of a booking mistranslation (tyler wanted to book for 14 but ended up booking for 40....) we had an entire upstairs room to ourselves. Probably a good thing because some of the other people got pretty rowdy. Really rowdy actually and we felt pretty bad for the waitresses...

The food however, was amazing. Delicious sushi, sashimi, beef, scallops, tempura...anything and everything and all we had to do was write down a number and out it came. Add sake and beer and you have a recipe for fun. Sam did his part to celebrate his 21st birthday and by the end of the night was leading us in renditions of Eidelweiss, Country Road, America the Beautiful, and assorted christmas carols. At the end of the two-hour Bacchanalian feast we caught a few cabs to I <3 Shanghai, the nightclub Sam chose for his birthday.

The club was very dark, very smokey, and really kind of lame except for one thing....it was 'Pole Dancing Lessons' night and as the birthday boy, Sam spent the majority of the evening spinning (or just trying to stay up) around and around a pole as the shirtless guy tried to instruct him. The rest of us sat back and laughed (or slept in Dupont's case) for a bit before heading home.

In the morning, we went to pick up our custom suits and clothes at the fabric market. They fit perfectly and look great. Makes us feel like a million quai. Pretty low key evening...just went to dinner and watched The Big Lebowski in Tyler's appartment.

The next day (yesterday for those of you playing along at home) we went to the Yuyuan Gardens and to climb the Jin Mao tower. The gardens area was really nice....lots of old pagoda style buildings however it was VERY commercial. Lots of stands and knick-knack shops and people trying to con us into going upstairs to look at free art...without being told purchases are required. It's rediculous...everyone who stops to talk to you nicely turns out to be trying to sell you something. For lunch...we went to a small back street to eat dumplings, and were completely and totally ripped off simply because we didn't speak Chinese. This after we spent some time attempting to talk to the owners and smiling/talking to their 3 year old. Really left a bad taste in our mouths.

The Jin Mao tower itself is absolutely amazing. Its one of the tallest buildings in the world and the observatory is on the 88th floor. Gorgeous views of Shanghai. We spent about an hour up in the tower before heading home for dinner. Dan went back to Banana for some dancing fun and came back ready to wake up, pack, and head to Bangkok!!

---