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Published: March 2nd 2006
Shanghai felt like we were in Europe. The architecture and the feel of the city were very European. If it wasn’t for the droves of bicycles you would forget that you were in China. We really only had one day in Shanghai and we decided to stray from the tour group (finally!) and go on our own.
We started the morning at the Bund which is the walkway by the river. We were able to watch the ballroom dancers and people doing their morning Tai Chi. We then went to the Chinese Gardens which we were so thankful to see; very classic, very beautiful!
We had the hotel write down the name of a local antique market and took a taxi. The taxi driver just dropped us off on a street and pointed. We didn’t see a market? We walked around a little….still no market? I flagged down a couple of nice people with a smile and handed them our paper…they continued to point in the same general direction. So, we decided to walk down this narrow alley with laundry hanging over our heads, bicycles, and garbage. When we turned the corner, there it was….just “stalls” on both sides
Lunch?
Bird on a stick (beak & all). These seemed to be in everybody's hands and the line to get them was huge. The people thought it was funny that we wanted to photograph it and gladly let usof a neighborhood street. There was a lot of neat things at the market and we were able to get some more old Chinese carved wood pieces. We were heading back to a certain stall when……I saw Katie Couric. I told Matt, “that’s Katie Couric.” He said “no way,” but I was positive, so we turned into stalking groupies and hung around as she went into one of the stalls. She was with two other ladies who were outside in the street. We struck up a conversation with one and asked if Katie would mind taking a picture with us. The lady was very nice and said she wouldn’t mind at all…she hadn’t been recognized all day. Her husband worked with Katie and they lived in Shanghai. We spent several minutes talking about our China experiences and she suggested some other placed to see in Shanghai. Katie emerged from the stand and was so nice. She had her friends take 2 pictures of us in case 1 didn’t turn out. She chatted with us and shook our hands before climbing into a van a leaving. Wow…what a small world and a weird place to have a celebrity sighting!
River Cruise
Beautiful Shanghai at night...it was COLD! We were off to another market….this is where the serious shopping began!! I’m talking about miles of purses, luggage, jewelry, sunglasses, one dollar DVDs, and much much more. We had a blast and had to buy another suitcase just to bring everything back we purchased. It is a very intense shopping experience. As you make your way through the market everyone is coming at you saying “Ello, Ello, Ello!!”” Which is what “hello” sounds like. They will follow you a long way with little photo albums of their purses they have or trying to get you to go back to their stall to look at DVDs. You have to barter your butt off to get what you want. They usually ask 200%-300% higher than what you end up paying. This is the down side to shopping…it takes a long time. Each item you purchase is a potential 10-15 minute “session,” but it’s all worth it in the end!
We met up with the rest of the group for a final dinner and river cruise to look at the beautiful city. It was such a wonderful ending to a magnificent experience. China left us itching for more
adventurous and cultural travel. China will be a country we know we will visit again. There is so much more to see…it is a welcoming country with so much to offer!
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