On My Way Out

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So I am leaving Shanghai tomorrow, which is going to be the longest day of my life. I will have something like a 40-hour Monday. I am just getting used to this city, and now it's time to leave.

Friday, we went out to a company dinner where there was much toasting with rice wine and delicious food. One of the guys drew caricatures of each of us as a present. Mine is fantastic. Afterward, we went drinking at a bar in the French Concession on a street of many bars. Beers were expensive, decor was awesome, and the music was American. Pearl Jam and Eminem were in heavy rotation.

Yesterday, I struck off on my own to head to the Shanghai Museum in People's Park. The painting and calligraphy sections were my favorite. I was mesmerized by not only the art, but the lights that dimmed and lit based on whether people passed by the sensors. This energy efficiency also keep the old paper from getting too much light.

I bought delicious food on the street, and headed back to Nanjing Donglu to go shopping. I like clothing here since it's stylish without being slutty. However, I am definitely am on the larger end of Chinese sizes. A salesgirl saw me looking at shirts, and shook her head when she saw me with a small. She handed me what I think was a large. It fit perfectly.

We took the team out to dinner last night where we had the opportunity to try chicken feet and fried jellyfish. I wasn't brave enough to have either.

Today, we went to Suzhou, a small city about an hour outside of Shanghai that is known for its Chinese gardens. We took a rented van out there I got to experience crazy Shanghai driving from the back seat.

We went to two gardens and a temple in Suzhou, as well as took a boat ride and got lunch. I also got to use a clean, well designed hole in the floor for a toilet. It was like peeing into a marble trough with a door on the stall.

After a week in a busy, hectic city, it was a refreshing change to be somewhere that had a much slower pace, as well as some architecture that wasn't brand spanking new. Buildings were old, laundry hung everywhere. Inside the gardens, the constant sound of horns disappeared.

Driving out of the city, we took the local roads. Everywhere I looked there was either brand new non-descript, sprawling buildings, or such construction underway. Roads were being ripped up, old buildings knocked down and apartment complexes of frightening uniformity that houses thousands were on their way up. Construction in this country is impressive.

Overall, my trip has been fantastic. My hosts have been unbelievably kind and generous. As if feeding and taking us around town for a week wasn't enough, David got a stamp made for each of us with our name in English and Chinese characters. I also got a beautiful etched glass bottle.

I can't quite describe the charm of Shanghai. Everything is just a little different, yet somewhat familiar. I haven't once missed Western food, I've gotten the hang of playing chicken with the traffic, and am starting to like the sour plum candy. I can't wait to come back, at which point I hope to explore more of China.

And now, I need to pack for my 15-hour flight back to San Francisco. But before we leave, we're getting one last breakfast of wonton soup and dumplings.

Wandering in the Cold

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So I've learned that Shanghai is COLD, everything you buy comes in pretty bags and packaging, and I really need a tripod since most of my night pictures come out blurry due to camera shake.

Wednesday after work, David took us to the Oriental Pearl Tower, a silver and pink phallic, space needle thing built so tourists can go to the top to snap pictures. When it was built it was the tallest building in Shanghai, but it no longer. However, its views were spectacular.

We had dinner at the revolving restaurant in the tower. Ironically, they had the lights too bright to see the view out the windows. Which sucks since the food wasn't the reason to visit.

After dinner, 3 of the 4 of us were wusses and decided it was too cold to walk around outside. We had drinks at a bar along the Huangpu River, and looked at the pretty buildings on the other side.

Jet lag was in full force Wednesday so I went to bed early after spending much of the day feeling sleepy and out of it.

Yesterday I woke up very early and laid in bed pretending to be asleep until I heard the horns start up, which means its around 6. In Shanghai, I am an early riser. It's amazing how clear the horns are for the 21st floor.

I had a FABULOUS two-hour massage for not a lot of money. I'm considering staying here so I can continue to have this girl (literally) crawl around on my back and wrap my face in hot towels. Hilariously, the music in the room was Kenny G, instead of the nice soft Asian music that is usually played when getting a massage in the US. Even Kenny G couldn't dampen the relaxing joy of my massage.

We went shopping at the Chinese equivalent of Wal-Mart to get Sergio a new coat. I could've spent an hour wandering around there. I was mesmerized by the many decorative packs of tissues and the food section.

After work, we went to the Old Quarter, which is faux old. The streets are narrow, and the buildings are more of what you expect to see. They have been refinished to look like the old buildings, but aren't in fact, ancient. The main streets are popular shopping destinations where you haggle with the shopkeepers to get a bargain. My only haggling experience was fun. There is much hand waving and sighs of fake exasperation.

This weekend I hope to go to the Shanghai Museum, a Buddhist Temple and an art collective.

I think the jetlag is wearing off. I stayed up until midbnight last night and slept past my alarm. Ahh, back to normal.

Competing for Attention

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So Shanghai is unlike anywhere I've ever been. Imagine the busiest, loudest place you've been in the U.S. and multiple it by 2. If you've never been to New York or LA then multiple by 5. Crossing the street is terrifying. Cars, nor bikes, nor other pedestrians slow down or get out of the way. Thank goodness there is liberal use of horns.

Says the guidebook: "Traffic is a major danger in Shanghai; it is essential to look in five directions at once (including above you, in case of falling construction debris) whenever you cross the street."

Shanghai is growing incredibly quickly. There is literally a shortage of US steel because China is buying it all to build here. Incredibly tall skyscrapers are under construction everywhere you look. And they have all been built in the last 5 years.

Building architecture looks like contestants of an extreme design show were at work. Sergio, a friend and co-worker here with me, says it's like all the buildings are competing for attention. They are taller, brighter and more fantastic looking then their neighbor.

Food here is incredible. Tables come with a lazy susan in the middle, to make the many small dishes of different food easy to get to. So far I've tried goose, duck, lotus and a variety of food I like prepared in new and exciting ways. Wonton soup is meant to be eaten for breakfast.

I'm spending most of my time in Pudong, which is the new business area of Shanghai. It's already larger than the old part of Shanghai. Last night we went to the decadent Bund area, which is along the Huangpu River, and was built up by the French in the early 1900's. We strolled along Nanjing Donlu, the most famous shopping street in China. It is home to the many neon lights in my pictures and an impressive amount of upscale shopping and advertisements for American companies.

Our hosts are extremely generous and total life savers. It's isolating being somewhere where you utterly don't understand a word of the language. I've been within 10 feet of a fluent Chinese speaker, which is making it much easier to get around. Maybe too easy. I haven't ordered food yet. No matter where I go, it's clear I am a tourist, which is also new. Traveling in Europe, I sometimes passed for a local if I kept my mouth shut, and even if I stood out like a sore thumb, I didn't feel like it.

I am getting more comfortable though. I love the clausterphobia and noise. My Chinese words - please, thank you, yes, hello, and no - are almost second nature. I'm working on some phrases next.

On the agenda still is to the old quarter and French Concession sections of the city, a museum and a temple, as well as some shopping, where bargaining in Chinese will be required. Tomorrow, I hope to get a massage. And I mean a legitimate massage, and not the dirty happy ending massages that are offered up on the streets and at "barber shops."