I started to compose this last night while sitting in a German bar in a hotel with a Russian name, in China while listening to a Fillipino girl band (live) singing Stayin’ Alive while also watching a Michael Buble video on the TV. So please excuse me if today’s article seems a bit weird … It’s certainly feeling surreal for me right now.
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My impression of Shanghai is that it is a city unique from the rest of China. I understand that this is reflected in the Shanghainese attitude toward the rest of the country, and the country’s attitude toward them.
Some if this is certainly due to its history – like Macau and Hong Kong it felt the sting of European colonialism. Unlike those cities though it managed to remain part of China. I think that last part is the essence of its nature.
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I had a completely unique experience today. Sitting in a restaurant, in China, we were unable to get rice. We ordered it, then reminded them to bring it. Then asked again, and again, and again – it took over an hour before they finally remembered to bring it. It was a nice restaurant, I think that rice in a Shanghai restaurant is that unusual.
Today is a walking day. Which could be interesting because the forecast is for rain, and maybe snow later. It’s supposed to hover just a few degrees above freezing.
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Never underestimate the utility of having a native speaker with you, even when on English speaking tours – that’s something I learned today. We decided to take one of the hop on hop of tour buses around the city – actually it was a network of buses. The people working on the tour spent an amazing amount of time helping Ling go over their maps and work out the best path for us to take. Of course it helped that we practically had all the buses to ourselves – between the weather and the holiday this city seems nearly empty – even by Vancouver standards!
Shanghai is divided by a river into two halves – the west side (where we are) is called Puxi, the east side is called Pudong. Pudong is the Shanghai with all the sky scrapers you see in the movies (including the famous signature building the Pearl Tower). It is the financial district, and the financial capital of China – so I was stunned to discover that when Ling lived here it was marshland. Dozens of skyscrapers have been built since 1999. That’s China’s economic engine at work.
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bit of a word about our morning routine. It feels odd to be sitting in a high end liquor store (which is the translation of the Chinese term for a hotel) boiling all water like we were on a campsite, but that’s the way it goes. I was a little bit rusty, since last time we had access to filtered water, but I’m back in the groove now. The kettle has exactly enough water to brew a pot of coffee, with enough left over to rinse the press and the mugs afterward. Meanwhile we have extra bottles for cooling, so I get up, boil water for coffee, then boil a second pot that gets poured into our “cooling” nalgene bottle, so it’s ready for drinking in the afternoon.
Today we woke up at 2:30 (in the morning) so it was a two pot morning.
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It is 3 AM local time as I write this. We came back to the hotel at 2 in the afternoon for a nap, which extended to 2 in the morning when we actually managed to wake up. That’s jet lag.
First a word about our hotel – we are staying at the Radisson New World, which is right in the centre of everything. Our room is quite nice, and very conveniently located. This is the second time I’ve stayed in a hotel in Shanghai, and both have had a window between the main room and the bathroom – I have no idea if this is something specific to Shanghai, or if both hotels used the same designer, but it is definitely a unique feature.
The hotel offers a breakfast for a mere $30 per person (I will quote all prices in CAD for simplicity). We decided to eschew that, and went outside looking for a breakfast. Stepped out the hotel, turned right (random choice) and about a block up found a fast food place where I got a bowl of congee and two small pork buns for $3 – yup, hotel prices are the same everywhere in the world.
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We made it to Shanghai. 18 hours after we walked into YVR we sat down in our hotel room.
This was not the most direct trip we’ve ever had, but it wasn’t bad. The plan had been to get up at 6AM, finish cleaning and have dad pick us up at 730 -he would drop us off at the airport for a noon flight, then take Tim to soccer. It was a bit of a juggle since Tim needed to be at the soccer field at the same time we needed to be at the airport.
Well, that changed – I got up at 6, checked the phone. There was a voicemail from Air Canada -the flight was delayed until 2 PM. That was a bit simpler,I told dad we could get Tim to soccer, someone else could drive him home, and we could get ourselves to the airport. Then a second call -the flight was now at 5 PM. A five hour delay. What had started as a rushed morning had suddenly turned into an exercise of “what do we do with all this time?”
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Our last night in China we stayed at a Ramada Hotel at Pudong airport, Shanghai. The idea was we didn’t want to have to navigate Shanghai rush hour traffic to get to the airport.
Included in our stay was a buffet breakfast in the morning, with cold and hot dishes, dim sum, and soups. The dim sum and soups are cooked fresh for you at a counter.
I wandered over, read the list of items available and decided I liked it, so waited for the person in front of me to order.
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We have just completed a whirlwind one-day tour of Shanghai. I have to admit it was exhausting.
The day started off with breakfast in a formal setting in the hotel ballroom, once again being served by workers in formal dress. We lingered over coffee (very strong, but drinkable) while organizing how Ling would show me Shanghai in a single day, then set off…
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Oops.
For a minute I wasn’t sure we were going to spend the night in our room any more.
But that certainly describes the look and feel of this place! Except for the creepiness of course[1].
[1] Except for at night, by yourself, in a long hallway, with the red carpet laid along the floor and wood panel doors as far as you can see…
