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Published: March 22nd 2013
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SHANGHAI DAY TWO - Last night I got some great photos of Shanghai at night from our fantastic berth. The night was clear and cool. After writing yesterday’s blog, I went to bed and reflected on all that I had seen. Most I wrote about yesterday, but I neglected to mention the Bund area which still reflects the colonial architecture of the time. Also, the number of hotels (Waldorf Astoria, Grand Hyatt, Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, etc), fast food establishments (Starbuck’s, McDonald’s, KFC , Pizza Hut, etc.) and even car brands (Buick) could help prevent homesickness.
I was greeted this morning by a light rain, fog and smog. By the time I got to the tour bus though the rain had stopped, just some puddles to walk around, but very gray. I had an hour and a half ride to a traditional waterside town of East China, Zhujiajiao. This is a place which would fit your expectation of what an old China would look like. Narrow pebble walks with lots of vendors, restaurants and occasional points of interest to see. It’s good to go with a guide because a first time tourist could easily get lost in the meandering streets.
There are 36 bridges in the town and it somewhat reminds me of Venice (Italy, not Florida). I walked across several, but the most noted was the five-arched Fangsheng Bridge, a remnant of the Ming dynasty and visited the Daqing Youju Post Office which dates back to the Qing dynasty. The Tongtianhe Chinese Pharmacy dating from the Qing dynasty was the next stop. You might reasonably ask why this is of interest to me and, if you would ask, I’d have to say, it’s not. We took a boat ride back to where the bus was parked and then went to our restaurant for a good Chinese lunch, with the lazy Susan again, and enjoyed the offerings. A silk factory store was next door and we saw the production of silk (again) and visited the showroom ( a staple of most tours I guess).
My tour guide today was a lady with good English skills and pleasant personality. She advised ladies looking for a husband to find a man with an iphone because he would be home every night to charge the battery. We went through slow traffic, and it wasn’t rush hour yet, but made it back to
the ship on time. I had a little sun in Zhujiajiao but back in Shanghai it was very smoggy. I couldn’t believe how dark it was at 5:00 pm when we began our trip downriver to head toward Beijing. We had to go under a bridge with only a 5 foot clearance, but what concerned me more was the number of boats on the river in this most active seaport. I watched the trip for a while from the Crow’s Nest (it was happy hour) and had a pair of couples from Sydney sit next to me; one pair was on their honeymoon and the other was much older. I introduced them after I found out they didn’t know each other. Wonder who is watching the home front in Sydney. It seems like they’re all here! Tomorrow and the next day are sea days snd I have laundry to do. My next posting will be after my first day in Beijing on Monday.
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Elly
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Great history
Thanks for such great descriptions as I'm sure I'll never get to the area. Pictures are fabulous!!! Happy laundry day. Safe travels friend.