Advertisement
Published: November 24th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Hello everyone. I have now been in Shanghai for 8 days. It took a bit of settling in but I’m into the swing of things now. Well I’ve been up to quite a lot since my last entry. I must dedicate a lot of this blog to food!! The Shanghainese are obsessed with food. There are so many street vendors and restaurants. Nearly everyone is eating, or at least carrying food at most times. I personally have eaten a hell of a lot since being here. The food is really nice. I’ve realised more MSG has been added than I previously though. It’s still very nice. I have certainly eaten quite an array of food. One of the most spectacular things was last Sunday. Apparently all the 5 star hotels here do it. We went to the four seasons. You pay 450 quai (£30) and it is an all you can eat buffet. But the food is remarkable. It is the best gourmet produce. Everything from sashimi to pasta to cheese to puddings. They have lobster, scallops and oysters. Alex managed to eat 31 oysters. It was quite an amazing sight to behold. He beat his brother Ed’s record by 1!
Also included in the price was all you can drink champagne. Veuve cliquot, no less. So I was drunk by midday. I couldn’t believe the food, no where in London could you get this, even if you had all the money in the world.
I have been getting out and about in Shanghai. Been to quite a few gay bars. Had an invite to a gallery opening on Friday. It was actually quite good. I was expecting it all to be pretentious wank, but it wasn’t. A mix of East versus West in functional furniture (apparently). Also free wine! It was all quite swanky. Being western over here opens a lot of doors for you. Quite interesting to see. After that we celebrated thanksgiving with an Italian meal and some of Alex’s friends. First time I’ve done that too. Went to an incredibly posh bar after for martini cocktails.
I have been introduced to the delights of acupuncture. You will see the photos. Alex goes twice a week so I went along. I had to think up some ailment to be treated for. Fortunately I am very healthy, so had to make up a reason for acupuncture. So
Pu Dong
And the Prada bag! I decided on weight loss! The Dr is very good. She has trained for 11 years to do acupuncture. She is actually going to America next year to practice. And don’t worry mum, they are all clean needles fresh from the packet. The other patients re-use theirs though. The place was a hospital. A far cry from the good old NHS. It was quite a small room with 8 beds in, divided into 4 pairs. The overwhelming sensation was the smell. As you see from Alex’s pic, they put this kinda moss onto the needles then burn it so it heats up the needles. I didn’t require this. Although, that said, when I went back on the 2nd time on Thursday she produced an electrical generator and proceeded to attach electrodes to some of my needles!!! She was obviously bringing out the big guns now (don’t know whether to be offended or not). I didn’t get a photo, but when I go back for my final session I will get a pic then. She also sent me away with magnetic dots all over my ears, which I need to press 3 times a day til it hurts! She said I
should lose 3-4kg in 3 sessions. No noticeable difference as yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
I went to an ancient town today just outside Shanghai. It was very nice to get away from the city. It is so manic here. Constant car beeping, and whistle blowing. There is also a decided lack of anything green. No parks or anything. The town was called Zhu Jia Jiao. It is on a river, so a lot of bridges. Saw the Qing dynasty home with beautiful gargens. Went with a Chinese girl called Cici, and her mum. We met them at acupuncture. Had a lovely day. It was lucky because today has been the only day it hasn’t rained so far! Apparently it has been raining more than even in the monsoon season. It is due to continue raining too till I leave typical.
Hope you are all enjoying these little (or not so little in this case) updates. Loadsa love xxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 5; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0344s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Naomi
non-member comment
Emmy you seem to be having a wonderful time. Glad to see you're meeting some new friends. You've made me really want to visit Shanghai. The accupunture looks fun!!