On Tuesday, Dawn and I went to the Bund. This is the most popular tourist attraction of the city. It is a view from the older part of Shanghai to the newer part called Pudong across the Huangpu River. It's really quite something - a broad sweeping area overlooking the river and the amazing view of the steel modern high-rises across it.
 |
| The Bund - looking from the old city to the new |
We spent quite a bit of time out here, walking, sitting. At one point a city guard came over and pointed to Dawn, telling her to not sit cross-legged on the seating ledge - proper respect was required here, so she had to sit with her legs over the side of the ledge.
There was allegedly a food court somewhere and we wandered a while looking for it. At one point a signed showed it was nearby, but the arrow was pointing down. Eventually we gave up and found a small local coffee shop and had some snacks and coffee to get our brains working again.
Of hilarious note was the public restroom. Dawn stopped in and then reported that there were individual stalls, but also a "trough". Later, when I was about to use the restroom, I said let's go to the one farther back in case I had to do something weird like pee on the wall. Insert ironic silence here. I had to pee on the wall (it was a wall of perpetual flushing - water was running down it. Still.)
Another weird note: I had just taken the "christmas postcard" for a nice western couple when a couple of girls came over and wanted me to take their picture. I'd read there was a scam about this, that they would then want me to go spend a lot of money somewhere in a "traditional tea ceremony". However, what they actually wanted was for Dawn and I to be in THEIR picture with them. No idea why, but we did it and they left. Bizarre. Reminded me of my trip to Paris where a Spanish woman introduced me to her daughter as "an authentic North American man".
It was probably about 40 more minutes to sundown when all the lights would have been lit on the skyscrapers, but it was really windy and cold. It was very warm during the day so neither of us brought jackets. So we decided to hoof it back to the hotel. We were told the main streeet here (that leads back to our hotel) is a great pedestrian walking area, called Nanjing Road. We walked...and walked... for about two hours. There are tons of shops and a lot of people. Finally, after 3 1/2 miles, we reached the hotel, sore and very weary. We had a light dinner and called it a night.
Today we are being a little less ambitious, but will go shopping in a nearby mall. We'll probably head out to the science and technology museum in Pudong which boasts a great pedestrian mall in the area as well with lots of more "fun" or "funny" items. Fake Rolexes, etc.
So - it's been a fun, interesting trip so far. Lots to do in the next few days, but we're also going to try and get some relaxing in. We're on vacation, after all.
For now - some pictures!
 |
| Trees in a garden on my walk to work |
 |
| A street on the way to work |
 |
A typical workday lunch. Tomato and egg-drop soup, rice, shrimp and vegetables
and pork of some sort. All very very good |
 |
| Construction on the walk to work |
 |
Typical workday subway ride. I had to
take out the camera at the previous stop
because I wouldn't be able to move my arms |
 |
| Westernized breakfast |
 |
| Noodles - WIN! |
 |
Traditional handmade noodles. Spicy dish, but delicious. I put the
whole bowl away. Note the "hamburgers" and Coke. |
 |
| "Where am I?" "When am I?" |
 |
| Day one for Dawn - a little dazed |
 |
| Small park near work |
 |
| City areas |
 |
| Near Jing'an temple, some converted some trucks into lethal ninja robots |
 |
| How do you say "worst nightmare" in Mandarin? |
 |
| More than meets the eye? |
 |
| Jing'an temple |
 |
| Jing'an temple and shopping area |
 |
| Jing'an temple closeup |
 |
Very familiar view near the hotel: Jing'an temple nestled amidst
the mall and other businesses |
 |
| Photo op |
 |
| A very popular photo spot |
 |
| A wall of flowers, approaching the Bund |
 |
| Looking down the street on the Bund |
 |
| Staggering view |
 |
| Looking right from the skyline.line, a little to the right |
 |
Really hard to show scale here. The city is vast. Note the cruise ship.
This is looking "left" from the Bund. |
 |
Wider view of the skyline. The tall building on the right that looks
like a bottle opener is the tallest building in Shanghai. |
 |
| Pearl Tower and the modern side of Shanghai |
 |
| Customs House. The bell would ring every half hour |
 |
| We thought this was a government building but it was a bank. |
 |
| Bull on the Bund |
 |
| It's nice to find quiet places like this amidst the vast crowds |
 |
| A small park off the Bund. Good place to rest from all the walking. |
 |
| Dawn by a park off the Bund |
 |
| Many of the streets in this part of Shanghai look like this. Nanjing Road. |
 |
| Street Sharks |
 |
| Looking west down Nanjing Road |
 |
| West Nanjing Road - shopper paradise |
 |
| Don't forget your Hair Produce |
Posts
