9/17/2008
Day 20
Happy to be in Shanghai.
Got in this morning at 5am.. checked into our splendid hotel-- quite stylish digs, honestly.
The city is really cool; tall buildings, high population density, good food, etc.
Walked around the old city, went to the observation deck of the Jin Mao Tower, took across the water.
Awesome.
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9/18/2008
Day 21
Beautiful day today- spent most of the morning at the Shanghai Museum, then to the Shanghai Biennale- which was actually kind of a let down.
Went to the Taikang Lu district- it was full of white people.. got a big pizza.. it was tasty. Unfortunately, the apparent arts district didn't offer much more than that and women's clothes..
Worked out and took a dip in the hot tub- later hit the streets for dinner. Bypassed the crazy restaurants for some street food 5 yuan for delicious noodles. Mmmm.
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9/19/2008
Day 22
Spent the day at Suzhou, a beautiful suburb of Shanghai- known for its beautiful Chinese gardens and canals channeling throughout the city.
We started at the incredible Humble Administrator's Garden, then walked all over, at one point separating into smaller groups.. observing the hutongs (neighborhood), the depressing pet shops, and public announcement signs that spoke of raising the quality of life by abstaining from doing things like public spitting..
We also went to the zoo.. The animals were beautiful, but it was so bittersweet as the care provided seem pretty inferior to anything I've ever observed elsewhere.. also depressing.
The last stop before home was The Lingering Garden, which set my mind at ease.. I wish New York had the luxury of something like this.. Chinatown is too urban.
Back in the city a great meal discovery was made- I guess I'll just call them street noodles. Simply incredible, the easiest and most delicious food (maybe not the most delicious in general, but the best combination of easy and delicious)
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9/20/2008
Day 23
Spent the day at malls and shopping areas. The weather was shitty, and as you can imagine most malls and shopping areas, so were my surroundings.
Later on I met up with a friend of a friend, Stephen. I was really excited to catch the advice of a semi-local (he'd been in the city for a year). We went to some small dingy restaurant, and checked out this club called The Shelter. It was packed full of really uninspiring expats.. all of a sudden it dawned on me that Shanghai, like most expat centers (Berlin likely the best exception to this), is generally pretty boring- it revolves around an arbitrary expat job (English tutoring, tourism, bar work, and of course- business) coupled by a substandard nightlife that always includes heavy drinking and conversation severely hampered by language obstacles.
The music was decent- but it couldn't make up for all the white ass expats. Highlight of the night was walking with Stephen and his girlfriend, and the bootleg video store that we stopped into.
