After lunch, we were ready for a quick once over of Shanghai.
As I said at the beginning, all the stuff people want to see is either in Beijing or Xi'an.
The only thing I had heard about in Shanghai was Disneyland. It didn't take much research to realise that Disney would be over-run with queues up the wazoo. Talk about free Chinese massage!!
Avoid!
Figured a quick tour would catch the high points before we head home tomorrow.
We get picked up by Frank (another traditional name) and his driver, and we are off.
First on the agenda was an area with traditional townhouses converted into a modern area overflowing with upscale cafes and restaurants.
Oh yes. That's Frank
This area rolls into the French Quarter.
It is really cool!
We may have been a tad hasty. If we came back to Shanghai, I would definitely stay in this area. Lunch and dinner in a different cafe every day. Such a beautiful restoration. Impressive.
Oh look. Bikes in China!
The yellow ones are the rentals. Unlock with the app, and ride off.
Like I said, they are very advanced in many areas.
Next stop was a garden in the middle of the city.
Bit of a hike through some very old buildings
The further in you get, the more people.
Free Chinese Massage
Crazy zig-zag bridge into the garden.
Beautifully tranquil.
You don't even notice all the people in this place.
Remember what I said a while ago about tours? There is always shopping.
Guess what? Sarah forgot this simple rule. Somehow we thought that this would be a drive around the city, looking at views and buildings. Somehow we thought that we wouldn't be getting out of the van for the four hours, so didn't bring any cash. Amateurs!!
In the middle of the garden is a quaint little souvenir shop with lots of good quality products.
It seems that government-run venues have the good souvenirs. Outside on the streets is where you find the crap.
There is some kind of irony that the Chinese government is struggling to reduce the manufacture of knock-off souvenirs, while the rest of the world sees China as the knock-off capital of the world.
So having elected not bring cash, we find a few things we may have bought.
There is a guy there who does amazingly detailed landscapes with his fingers. No brushes, just skin and fingernails. We watched him for a while. His pictures are pretty reasonably priced too.
And then there are the slippers!
A few years ago, Sarah found some cute silk slippers in the MBK market in Bangkok.
In Stanley market in Hong Kong, she found some more.
Next time we went back to Bangkok, she found the same stall and got another couple of pairs.
Sounds like a lot, right? But like the scarves, she gives them as presents. And she wears them almost every day around the house.
Anyway, on our next Bangkok visit, no stall, and no Chinese silk slippers to be found.
And so it went on. Every possible silk shop we went past anywhere in Asia, she would have a look.
No luck.
And then, in this shop, where we have no cash, we see some. Bugger!!
So we go back to the van, Sarah cursing and me chuckling.
Now I know that sounds unkind, but to be fair, its a rare opportunity.
Anybody who knows Sarah, will know that she doesn't make mistakes.
Human or otherwise.
So when I get the chance to say "I told you so", even when I didn't? Gold.
After this garden, we go to look at The Bund.
We are staying over the river, so Frank takes us to the other side of the river, on the old side.
There are some beautiful buildings on this side, counterpoint to the sky-hugging edifices on the new side. While we are on the waterfront, Frank takes us to a pearl wholesaler, who has some jewelry to show us. Sorry not interested in pearl jewelry, but there are some beautiful pieces there.
He wanted to take us to a tea ceremony and a jade outlet, but we did that in Beijing.
As we were the only occupants of this afternoons tour, we finished early.
So that is Shanghai.
We surprised ourselves, and really liked it. I think we will come back.
As I said at the beginning, all the stuff people want to see is either in Beijing or Xi'an.
The only thing I had heard about in Shanghai was Disneyland. It didn't take much research to realise that Disney would be over-run with queues up the wazoo. Talk about free Chinese massage!!
Avoid!
Figured a quick tour would catch the high points before we head home tomorrow.
We get picked up by Frank (another traditional name) and his driver, and we are off.
First on the agenda was an area with traditional townhouses converted into a modern area overflowing with upscale cafes and restaurants.
Oh yes. That's Frank
This area rolls into the French Quarter.
It is really cool!
We may have been a tad hasty. If we came back to Shanghai, I would definitely stay in this area. Lunch and dinner in a different cafe every day. Such a beautiful restoration. Impressive.
Oh look. Bikes in China!
The yellow ones are the rentals. Unlock with the app, and ride off.
Like I said, they are very advanced in many areas.
Next stop was a garden in the middle of the city.
The further in you get, the more people.
Free Chinese Massage
Crazy zig-zag bridge into the garden.
 |
Made it! And this is just the entrance...
You don't even notice all the people in this place.
Just beautifully done
Remember what I said a while ago about tours? There is always shopping.
Guess what? Sarah forgot this simple rule. Somehow we thought that this would be a drive around the city, looking at views and buildings. Somehow we thought that we wouldn't be getting out of the van for the four hours, so didn't bring any cash. Amateurs!!
In the middle of the garden is a quaint little souvenir shop with lots of good quality products.
It seems that government-run venues have the good souvenirs. Outside on the streets is where you find the crap.
There is some kind of irony that the Chinese government is struggling to reduce the manufacture of knock-off souvenirs, while the rest of the world sees China as the knock-off capital of the world.
So having elected not bring cash, we find a few things we may have bought.
There is a guy there who does amazingly detailed landscapes with his fingers. No brushes, just skin and fingernails. We watched him for a while. His pictures are pretty reasonably priced too.
And then there are the slippers!
A few years ago, Sarah found some cute silk slippers in the MBK market in Bangkok.
In Stanley market in Hong Kong, she found some more.
Next time we went back to Bangkok, she found the same stall and got another couple of pairs.
Sounds like a lot, right? But like the scarves, she gives them as presents. And she wears them almost every day around the house.
Anyway, on our next Bangkok visit, no stall, and no Chinese silk slippers to be found.
And so it went on. Every possible silk shop we went past anywhere in Asia, she would have a look.
No luck.
And then, in this shop, where we have no cash, we see some. Bugger!!
So we go back to the van, Sarah cursing and me chuckling.
Now I know that sounds unkind, but to be fair, its a rare opportunity.
Anybody who knows Sarah, will know that she doesn't make mistakes.
Human or otherwise.
So when I get the chance to say "I told you so", even when I didn't? Gold.
After this garden, we go to look at The Bund.
We are staying over the river, so Frank takes us to the other side of the river, on the old side.
There are some beautiful buildings on this side, counterpoint to the sky-hugging edifices on the new side. While we are on the waterfront, Frank takes us to a pearl wholesaler, who has some jewelry to show us. Sorry not interested in pearl jewelry, but there are some beautiful pieces there.
He wanted to take us to a tea ceremony and a jade outlet, but we did that in Beijing.
As we were the only occupants of this afternoons tour, we finished early.
So that is Shanghai.
We surprised ourselves, and really liked it. I think we will come back.
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