Lady! Lady! Watch, shoes, purse, DVDs?

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Wed, August 20th

Today we decided to brave Nanjing Road East, the pedestrian shopping street, and head down to the Bund, the famous walking area at the Shanghai waterfront. Good thing I brought a small backpack instead of a purse! Every 10 seconds we were approached by usually a man, occasionally a woman, saying, “Lady! Lady! Watch, shoes, purse, DVDs?? Fakes, fakes?”. Needless to say I very quickly learned how to respond, saying bu yao, no need. Sometimes you’d have to be quite forceful and shout “no. Bu yao” multiple times, either avoiding eye contact or making very direct eye contact. This really depended on the person. For example, if they’d come right up to your side waving photographs of fake goods in your face and not leaving that required a little more verbal force. Some people would let up instantly at the first bu yao, and then ask in English, a little more friendly, “where are you from?” Quite the shopping experience really! I recommend that young foreign woman shopping Nanjing wear a backpack instead of a purse, since you will get approached by about 100 hawkers in a 3 mile stroll.

We made it down to the Bund, and boy was it smoggy! It had been raining on and off all day so the air was cooler (maybe 35 degrees instead of 45), but the smog was pretty bad and I found my eyes were a little scratchy. The bund was crowded with thousands of locals - couples out for a stroll, teenagers lolling about, families with multiple generations represented. There were also a few foreigners, and thus the young hawking men were out and about too, but nowhere near as many as on Nanjing.
We snapped a few photos, enjoying the stroll and the cooler air, and then walked back home to the hotel. By the time we arrived we were soaked with sweat - everyday is like a sweat detox here! Every outfit soaked!

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Photos

Photo 1
Nanjing Road East - a shopping free for all - just hold onto your bag!

Photo 2
this photo of the Oriental Pearl Tower was taken around 3 pm - it was certainly rainy and smoggy, hence how cloudy and dark it looks. On sunnier days you can see the brilliant pink colour of the building better

Photo 3
two sweaty people!

Photo 4
many locals out for a stroll along their famous boardwalk

Photo 5
people people people!

Photo 6
smoggy/rainy cityscape

Photo 7
i mastered the art of front backpack holding!

Photo 8
stunning grand colonial architecture, back from the days when the Bund was a foreign settlement (1920s-30s)

Photo 9
more grand architecture - again such juxtapositions in Shanghai, new vs old