Advertisement
Shanghai!
I have a love/hate relationship with this place Newsletter 24
Drugs…
One of my favorite movies of all time would have to be “Ferris Bueller’s Day off.” Fate knows that if I had the opportunity to pull of what Ferris did I would have. Nevertheless I digress; I shall now get to the point. One of my favorite scenes involves Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey. When she finally asks him why he was at the police station he replied: Drugs. While I do not recommend anyone go out and use controlled substances I know of no other way to describe the city of Shanghai.
On my fourth day in Chuzhou it was now time to get on the train for my destination. The feeling of getting on the train and going to the city was very much like a child waiting for Christmas to arrive.
While I was in my right mind I decided that I would simply take a taxi from the train station to the Yes! Inn. Mile-by-mile (or Kilometer) the anticipation of being in Shanghai grew as the four hour trip commenced. Luckily, I was able to get a soft-seat, and you’ll find out the reason as I drag out this adventure. Eventually like a shot in the arm the train, at 4 in the Afternoon, arrived in Shanghai. Step-by-step I was injected into the blood stream of roads, lights and buildings of Commerce City by the sea.
As this is the largest city in China there were allot of people in the train station. My first order of business was to locate a pay-phone to contact my hotel. My goal was for them to send a taxi to pick me up. Well, perhaps I should have made it my goal to simply operate the pay phone. A complete stranger, my Mysterious Chinese Friend, lent me her phone so I could call my hotel. I did so and then handed the phone back to her. She was able to get directions to my hotel; however, she would rest until I was in a taxi and on my way. The funny thing is that my Mysterious Chinese Friend knew no English and I knew even less Chinese.
The first day ended with me getting a small pizza at a restaurant nearby my hotel. While it lacked tomato sauce, it was “Hao Chir” (a good eat). I then took a walk around the block as the sun sat in the horizon. Then it was off to sleep. My hotel room was very clean and comfortable. However, I would not be spending my time sleeping in Shanghai. I was in Shanghai to explore!
The next day was also full of adventure. For professional reasons I made an appointment with an import/export office which is operated by the State of Wisconsin. The Manager of the Yes Inn was kind enough to write the address for me in Chinese on my notepad. So I was in the taxi and then off to my destination.
I was grateful to have learned as much about the relationship between the China and the little State of Wisconsin. I am equally grateful for the women in the office who helped me find the nearest McDonalds. While it may not have authentic Chinese food the 6 Yuan (80 Cents USD) more than made up for it.
The rest of the day would be spent wandering around aimlessly. One of my trips included getting my shoes shinned for 2 Yuan. The gentleman in question came right up to this Foreigner and with his best English (which was better than my Chinese) said he wanted to shine my shoes. “Bu, bu, bu” (Boo) or “No, no, no” I said and walked on. I should have walked faster, because he managed to get the shoe shinning stuff on foot number one. Being the professional he was he wanted 100 Yuan (well over $10 USD). I pulled out two coins worth 2 Yuan (about 25 Cents USD). He then pointed to my pockets, so I pulled out my camera, phrase book, passport and notepad. I eventually gave him the 2 Yuan and he was on his way, muttering something under his breath.
The day continued with me exploring the shopping malls and enjoying a cup of decaf coffee at Starbucks. The following day, however, would be considerably more exciting, and spent with a good friend.
On day number 3 I met my friend in the mid morning hours. This day would see me finally ridding the subway system in this huge city, which did not seem so complicated. Riding the subway also reminded me of Moscow and St. Petersburg two years earlier. My friend and I began the day by going to the Pudong Area of Shanghai. We sat on a bench on the banks of the river and looked at Bund which lay across the river.
Latter in the afternoon, after lunch, we visited the place where Shanghai began. The architecture was old Chinese, but where we visited was converted into a shopping mall, complete with McDonalds and Starbucks. In the evening my Mei-mei and I parted company. A friend of hers had come to Shanghai from Beijing and so after saying “Zaijian” to her I made my way to Nanjing Donglu- a walking street.
A word of advice for single men: go with a friend when visiting this place. It is exciting to see and the view is marvelous. However if you are going alone be prepared to be offered at least 3 non-legitimate foot massages. The only way to avoid this is to walk fast or walk into many businesses like McDonalds. This part of the city is separated into three sections, but the weather was nice and the setting sun was marvelous. Fate knows that I could spend two weeks in this city. Three days was not enough, not by a long-shot. Thankfully, there will be an Expo Fair here in 2010. I will definitely come back then.
Well, my trip has one thing in common with this newsletter: an ending. The next adventure will be going back to Yinchuan.
Zaijian!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.114s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 15; qc: 43; dbt: 0.0563s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb