Shanghai

Our Shanghai adventure started with a pleastantly short and easy flight over the China countryside with a gorgeous ROYGBIV sunset peaking (peking..?) through the windows of the plane. After cheking into our hotel, the ladies enjoyed a traditional vegetarian dinner of beans and eggplant and dumplings, then we ventured out to a plethera of unique venues that Rosalie recommended from her summer internship in Shangahi. First was the British Bulldog Pub that had vitange framed record albums, sepia photographs and colorful pin-up posters scattered all of the walls and cielings. Next was the "Not Me" bar that featured stranded halloween jackolanters and an unfortanately empty dancefloor that was bordered with bright green couches in egg-shaped "pods". We hitched on to some locals with mbrellas as we trecked through a rainy drizzle to a place full of old ex-pats. We bumped into a couple Swedish businessmen who contract Chinese factories to produce nutritional supplements...they were surprised by our interest in their business endeavors. We started the dancefloor just in time to celebrate Rafat's 20th birthday then taxi'd back for some tasty late night street noodles. After a too-easy google search, we found the "Egghead Bagel" shop to treat ourselves toa rare western breakfast.. or in Conner's case, chocolate moose. A comical mural on the wall depicted quite the comical heroic quest of Mr. Egghead: He discoveres that his eyelashed bagel damsel has been captured by the ferocious fast-food villans; soda and fries. He fuels up on a bagel that privdes him with the strength to defeat the greasy monsters and retrieve his mistress. After a little chortle, we walked through a busteling commerical area around Ren Bin Wan Chan (aka People's Square). We tested out the subway which was the cleanest, most efficient and well-organized underground system I've every seen- DC should take notes. We explored some shopping markets, passed a store that was swarming with fans trying to sneak a peak at a Hong Kong movie star. We grabbed a milk tea at starbucks (their token cultural adjustment to the local menu) and napped before grabbing a late dinner at a Turkish restaurant. I had a babganoush-esque eggplant mush alongside zuchinni cakes. My favorite part of the trip was yet to come, as we walked along the Bund that gleamed with spotlighted European-influenced architecture on one side, and futuristic neon skyscrapers on the left. We went to a lighthouse that was converted into a restaurant/bar and hung out on the scenic rooftop that provided an epic view of the skyline from all angles. Our wild sides came out at Club 88 where we danced a lot, met some other travelers and Rosalie spn the DJ's record.

 

Satruday we had a needed lazy morning then a few of us wandered out into the rain to the old historic area of Shangai. The rain lured us into a small bubble tea shop where the young owner attempted to give us directions to a nearby temple, but happened to direct us through a street filled with quaint massage "parlors" ( a place with 3-4 comfy recliners). After a walk and travel-filled weekend, Gemma Sam and I treated ourselves to masssages. While Gemma got a head massage (turned body massage), Sam and I got hour-long foot massages, and it was the best 5 dollars I've ever spent. With well-oiled feet and zenned-out minds we explored the nearby neighborhood where we caught glimpses of some mysterious stone warrior statues (maybe some leftover Terracotta wariors?). Our last night we all got a little dressed up (boys finally clean-shaven) for a late dinner at the Radisson hotel restaurant. IT was a circular spinning room on the 45th gloor that provided a gorgeous evening view of the city lights below. Many of us got traditional foods like duck and  jiaozi (dumplings) while others indulged in some sushi and tempura- overall it was a delicious feast with a great group. I giggled a lot when Rafat and Rosalie held up their arms as if they were on a roller coaster.. as they soaked in the thrill of  having the dinner table ratotate around the city once every two hours- quite the adrenaline rush but I don't think it'd make it to Cedar Point. The excitement continued as we walked down the eerie stairs of a bomb-shelter-turned-bar that had domed tiled passageways and concrete tables that nested against the walls. Pipes lined the cieling and there was weak lighting that emphasized the creepy aura of the venue, it was really fun nightlife vibe.

 

Our morning consisted of subwaying to the Xintonging district which is filled with savy restaurants and shops that are sandwhiched along gorgeous renovated stone arhitecture and tree avenues. We found a place for brunch that gave us really high expectations in the atmostphere and delicious menu, but the service was beyond mediocre- in an ultimately funny way. They tried to make up for the innaccurate orders and 3-hour wait by serving us 16 unwanted side orders of french fries (there were twelve of us..)- a whopping value of about 80 american dollars. We wandered around the district a bit then headed to the airport for a quick flight back to Changsha- which welcomed us open armed with rain and cold weather for most of this week. We rationalized that this is a representative taste of what home is like in the northeast as winter is right around the corner! Christmas carols are slowly seeping in to our frequent break-into-song moments.. I ancipate some great sing-along bus rides once December rolls around even though we'll be basking in the glory of the summer sun! 5 more days in Changsha- it's wild how fast this leg of the program flew by, will hopefully submit one more update on China before we're in the next continent. Happy singles day!! (11/11/11- a celebrated day of the year here in China!)