This is a nearby park where all the grandparents take the toddlers.
picture of Renmin park from 38th floor lobby lounge of Marriott--where I walked away and left my camera. Paniced 15 minutes later and came back and found it laying on ledge right where I left it!
Observations of China
Chinese beds are very firm—actually, hard!
Most taxis now have meters which makes traveling much less stressful. There were cab drivers that wanted to bargain on Hainan so thinking that outside of the cities you still have to negotiate taxi fares.
Trains and subways are dependable and relatively easy to navigate and mostly quite comfortable.
Renmin subway station in shanghai is NOT the place to be during rush hour—a crush of people. We found that out the hard way. However, I would say people were not purposely rude or obnoxious, it was just a lot of people trying to make their way where they needed to be.
One needs to "stay aware" when crossing the street, even when light is green. Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way. Buses trump cars, cars trump bikes, bikes trump people.
China has the biggest billboards ever!
Lots of smokers although we have seen non-smoking sections in restaurants which I don't remember the last time we were here.
We have been surprised at the number of restaurants that have at least some English on menus and street signs. Guessing its not that way where there are fewer foreigners. Hainan had Russian signage also.
Shanghai is quite ethnically diverse. Many Japanese, Taiwanese, Koreans, Germans, Africans. Tammy has found Korean restaurants that pass her high standards. Also architecturally diverse as from its consessionary days during the turn of the century. Many of these old buildings are being restored now but many are just remnants of what once was.
If we have been approached once, we have been approached 300 times by people trying to sell us a "very good price" Rolex (knock off?) watch. You can get rid of these people much quicker with a smile and a wave of hand and a no-thank-you than to try to ignore them or get angry. They will follow you down the street if they sense a glimmer of interest. Showing anger during any kind of negotiation will get you nowhere.. This only happens in touristy areas so I am sure all foreigners are besieged.
Clean bathrooms are a challenge to find when we are out for the day. Although, I would say they are easier to find now than 9 years ago. Never leave the house without a pack of tissues for obvious reasons.
Shanghai is hosting the 2010 Expo which is the next World's Fair and the city is rising to the occasion. It is a very big deal here. Advertising for the event is everywhere, "Better City, Better Life" is the logo and shows up in most unlikely places. The city is putting its best foot forward and sprucing everything up for it, much like Beijing did for the 2008 Olympics. Construction scheduled to be completed by the beginning of Expo in May of 2010 is all around. The financial crisis is hard to determine here.
You can get chicken prepared a myriad of ways here, but most likely it will still have bones in it. We lovingly call it "smashed chicken"; they just don't debone chicken in China.
The Chinese are light years ahead as far as the average guy on the street and technology. Everyone uses their cell phones to access internet instead of being tied to a laptop like we are. Texting is a national pastime.
We are on sensory-overload all the time here. The cacophony of sights, smells and sound is amazing. It is all so different than our quiet life in Tucson. Some things seem so bazaar to us while others are so impressive—like how slick the Asian airlines work in comparison to flying in the US. Sometimes we look at each other with bewildered looks as we have no clue what is going on. It is all very interesting. We are not so uncommon here but we had a couple of occasions outside of Shanghai where we got stared at, and a couple of times people wanted to have their picture taken with us (the foreigners.) We got pointed at a lot more when we were here 9 years ago
Tammy does not have a dryer and thinking it is not uncommon to not have one. Most people still have clothes hanging on balcony or on a pole out of their window. Tammy does have a little room off her kitchen that is inside the apartment but has full opening to outside and that is where she hangs her clothes to air dry. Actually that is where the kid's maid hangs their clothes to dry. But it is so humid that it takes a long time to get anything really dry.
Doug and Tammy have a comfy apartment on the 21st floor in a convenient location close to Jiang An temple—if we would get lost we can always just tell a cab driver to take us to JiangAn as everyone knows where that is. We did a walking tour suggested in a guide book of the old French Concession area which is very close. There are lots of turn of the century western architecture in the area, some restored, some not, but now is an eclectic blend of homes, trendy shops, local markets, old mansions, parks, restaurants and hotels. Was an all day stroll. We spent a lot of time at a Chinese cultural arts and crafts museum where we could view artists at work making traditional crafts such as paper cutting, silk embroidery, ivory carving, etc. It was all for sale, of course. I resisted.
Then we met up with former students who have turned into dear friends, WenLe and LiJi, and the 6 of us had an amazing dinner together. Was fun to introduce them to Doug and Tammy. LiJi ordered an array of amazing dishes, some that were new to Doug and Tammy. We have kept in contact with WenLe and LiJi over these past years and last visited them 4 years ago. Such a neat couple. They are both back in school, she is working on her doctorate and he is back in business school also.
Today Will and I took the Metro subway across town to Pudong and up to the top of the tallest building in Shanghai—World Financial Building. It was an amazingly clear day in the city so was a great day to view the city through the glass floor of the observation deck. Did a Japanese lunch and then made our way to Renmin Square to the Urban Planning Museum. It was much more interesting than the name would suggest. The hallmark is a futuristic scale model of Shanghai as it will look in 2020 that takes up an entire room. We can attest to the fact that this city is under a major construction boom—doesn't look like any economy slow down here..
Flights were long but thankfully uneventful. We had 5 hour layover in Soule and because we arrived at 4 am local time it was a long quiet, 5 hours! Couldn't even find a coffee shop open. But then a short leg into Shanghai and the kids were there waiting for us. About an hour drive to their apartment in center of the city. Tried to stay up the rest of day to get on Shanghai time but could only make it to 7pm when we both felt like we were dropping off the end of the earth. A good night's sleep can do wonders and we woke up bright and early Monday morning ready to go.
We quickly found out that a former student from our teaching days back in 2000 just happened to be in Shanghai so we decided to meet up for coffee. Was so fun to see him again. Wasn't long before Nick decided that what we really needed right now was a good Chinese experience. So off the three of us went to find a message parlor for an hour long Chinese foot message. I wouldn't call it relaxing, sometimes it was almost painful, but was certainly invigorating and a interesting experience. The theory of this is that there are points on your feet that can effect your whole body so by manipulating those pressure points you can cure what ails you! Then we went out to a dumpling restaurant for "jaotze". In typical Chinese fashion, Nick ordered way more than we could possibly eat but we gave it a good try!
Back to the apartment in time to freshen up and join Tammy and Doug and a some of their friends for dinner at a restaurant near the Bund. Unfortunately it is not possible to spend the evening strolling the famous Bund riverfront because the city has the area under construction. Going to be great when it is finished but right now the famous Shanghai icon is pretty much an eye sore. The city is getting ready for Expo 2010 next year so there is a lot of construction and urban renewal going on trying to put the best face on for this World's Fair. Begins in May of next year—and given the obvious push the city is giving it, its going to be a big deal.
Since we couldn't actually get down to the Bund, and we were so close, we took a cab to the Hyatt and went up to the View bar on the 60th floor for a drop dead view of the Bund along the HuangPu River, Shanghai beyond it and Pudong and famous Pearl Tower across on the opposite banks. Pretty amazing.
Yea, it works! I had Tammy send a picture to my blog from China and it apears that it works. So watch this space for a running commentary of our time in Shanghai. By the way, aren't they a handsome group! That's Doug and Tammy and friend Roman in the middle.
Thanks, Steph for the beautiful bouquet. All in sunny yellow!
That was to celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary! Pretty neat, huh. Our anniversary was a couple of days ago but celebrated with dinner last night at Bob's Chop House. New restaurant in town and when I read the raving review in the paper, I tapped Will on the shoulder and told him we were going to break the piggy bank and go on our next anniversary. We were not disappointed--very good. We sat outside, drank a bottle of wine, enjoyed amazing steaks, and a complimentary (because we told the waiter it was our anniversary) chocolate desert that was decadent and droned on and on about how Blessed we are. As it got dark, the patio lights began to draw at least a dozen night hawks silently swooping over the desert vista. Sweet evening with my honey.
