Whew, Shanghai! Yesterday we docked and after going through customs and meeting up with everyone it was about 11 or so, and we hit the town! We headed to Nanjing Rd. where we got really good food. And the yuan is about 6.8 to $1 right now, and we each got a full, delicious meal for about 28-38 yuan. Crazy! Then we were off in search of a huge jade Buddha, but we got sorta lost….but then headed over to the Pearl Tower and around there, back to the ship to regroup, and then back out to explore the night life. This city is amazing. It is so futuristic and I honestly expect to see hover crafts and space cars zipping through the sky. Also since it is the Chinese New Year there are celebrations going on, especially at 8 at night, when fireworks go off all over the city. It’s amazing!
Today Molls headed off to Beijing with an SAS trip while her roommate Heather and I wandered around town. We meant to go to a market, and the cab driver said he would take us to the colorful market….which was a huge grocery store. Oh well, we got to see a completely different side of town. And don’t worry Aunt Cheryl, Shanghai is a super safe city and it was daylight and Heather and I are strong women. J We finally made our way over to this market and wow, what a place! Stall after stall of vendors, all saying, “Hey lady, pretty lady. You want purse? Rolex? Good price for you. Chinese New Year.” It was so intense. I was bartering without even knowing! I honestly was walking out of a stall when the vendor kept going down in price and I was just trying to leave. But Heather and I both found some pretty good deals, grabbed some yummy food, and metroed it towards the ship and then walked from People’s Square to our floating home. Then we met up with our friend Jeff and went over to Jinmao tower, which is 87 stories high! On the 87th floor is a bar called Cloud 9 where the three of us had a drink overlooking the craziness of Shanghai. Tomorrow we head down to Quilin (sp?!) and there are a couple different independent groups going, plus an SAS one, so it’ll be fun to travel with different people.
I can’t believe that this is already our 3rd stop. It is so weird to say, “Oh yeah, back in Japan….” We were in Japan! And this has really changed my perspective of foreigners traveling. I always tried to be helpful when I thought someone seemed lost or confused, but oh my gosh, I am definitely going to go out of my way to help people, especially with the language barrier. In Japan EVERYONE was insanely helpful, even when they usually didn’t speak English. In China people are helpful but not as much in a friendly way. The next time I hear someone saying that people visiting the US should speak English I might just have to buy them a one-way ticket to inland China and see how their attitude changes.
But enough for now. Molls and I are traveling apart for the first time this trip, so we’ll have double the stories for all yal back home!
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