Shanghai 14th - 20th May

We had 3 days in Shanghai - a modern, wealthy and cosmopolitan city of 24 million people.  The  Bund is a wide esplanade along the Huangpu River, and our  hotel was one of of the very few actually on the Bund.  On one side of the river are skyscrapers which are lit up at night with all sorts of spectacular lighting and advertising and our side was a combination of heritage listed and modern buildings.   With Alan still a cripple, and Justin doing his own thing, I walked along the Bund early every morning before the tourists flocked in their thousands later in the day. 

I don't think there is ever a time during the day or night when there isn't anybody on the Bund, and I shared my mornings with an assortment of locals.  Mostly they were involved in some form of exercise which included slapping their heads, pulling their ears, walking backwards, squats, playing shuttlecock, kite flying and the normal garden variety joggers.  There are some beautiful hidden tracks among pockets of trees where solitary people did Tai Chi, but also groups of women with their own CD players.  In between tracks the women would chat together until pulled back into line by their instructor.

Early morning fishing, although I'm not sure I'd eat anything out of this river

Tai Chi practice

On our first day in Shanghai we caught a fast train (299 kph) 1.5 hours south to visit a supplier. We had a great day with him and loved how friendly he and his staff were.  Joe’s assistant Mandy giggled while she tried to take notes in the meeting, and tried to hide her excellent English.  The factory workers were relaxed and happy – so different from any other experience we've had in China.  Joe invited us to lunch and Mandy and another pretty girl Kitty came along so they could both practice their English. 

We arrived from Sydney into Shanghai late at night, so only had 2 nights to explore dinner options.  The guy who detailed the Kedron before we sold it had lived in Shanghai and suggested Di Shui Dong, serving Hunan style food, including the best pork ribs.  The ribs are different to what we’d have back home and are dry rubbed with cumin, chilli and green onions.

No need for these meals in our diet

It’s a large cafeteria style restaurant with bright lights and no atmosphere, but the food was sensational.  Each meal we had, or saw on other tables was loaded with cayenne peppers.  We decided against a variety of bullfrog and gizzard dishes but had the Dumb Duck, and after a few mouthfuls we wondered what was going on as our tongues and inside of our mouths went a tingly numb. A sick feeling came over me when I thought what we were eating was fizzing because it was rotten.  After arriving in Ningbo later and having Sichuan pepper oil on our pre dinner snacks, we've discovered exactly the same phenomenon.

Our second night was at Grandmothers, a favourite find from our last visit, but we agreed that Di Shui Dong was better food.  Just outside Grandmothers was an assortment of illegal street vendors and while we waited for our table word must have got out that the police were on their way.  The vendors grabbed their trolleys and absolutely tore down the middle of the street, in-between cars, bikes and scooters and raced down an alleyway, locking the gate behind them.  10 police stood guard waiting for them to appear but I guess they'll probably turn up again in another dingy street hoping that their lookout works as well as it did this time.

Justin left us after dinner and went clubbing with some Dutch ex-pats he met along the way, and didn't get back to the hotel until 5 am!  The next day while Justin slept in, Alan and I went out exploring before our car pick up for the 3.5 hour drive south to Ningbo to visit our supplier.

During our Alan-paced meandering along the Bund one day, Justin was accosted a few times by women who wanted their photo taken with him.  He was pretty chuffed and took it all in his stride.  They love a tall handsome westerner!

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Our handsome son

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During our 3 days in Ningbo, Alan and Justin visited our supplier one day, while I wandered around the shops, trying to make myself understood and buying a few things in a Chinese Tesco.  When I tried to withdraw some money from an ATM, it ate my card.  Thankfully a friendly Chinese guy came to my rescue, and although we couldn't understand each other, he had no problem ringing the bank to help me out.  Before long my card ejected and I could stop panicking.  Justin's 28 Hour credit card had been hijacked 2 days before and $1,000 spent in Bangkok by the thief, so we were all pretty nervous withdrawing money.

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 Our supplier's new factory

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Assorted sea creatures - Justin and William choosing lunch

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The Bund

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The next day the 3 of us and our 2 Chinese business associates caught the train further south to Rui’an to visit their rubber manufacturer.  It's a 2 hour train ride each way (197 kph), and we were picked up at the station by the owner of the factory.  While Justin and Alan talked business, I spent the relaxing in his very fancy massage chair.

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 We spent the day there, and arrived back at Rui’an station with an hour to spare before our train back to Ningbo. The rail system is incredibly efficient so we sat patiently until we could go through the barrier and onto the platform.  While we weren't watching the platform number had changed and our Chinese friends were oblivious to everything around them while they chatted together.  Next thing we saw on the notice board was that our train had arrived, and was now departing!  We tried to run to the new platform (in Alan's case hobble quickly), but the train left before we got there. William and Kevin were horrified and apologised profusely, but we had to wait a further 2 hours for the next train back to Ningbo.  It was a very frustrating 3 hours, plus 2 hours on the train, so by the time we got off the train we were happy to say our goodbyes and get back to our hotel.  The worst thing was that we missed complimentary drinks and snacks in the Executive Lounge and had to pay for dinner in the expensive restaurant downstairs.

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Watch your fingers on the escalator!

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Alan had organised for a car and driver for our 3 long driving legs in China, and paid each driver at the end of each leg.   When we arrived at Shanghai airport we were shocked to find a group of guys waiting for us, claiming that on our first leg the driver hadn't been paid the full amount.  Things got very heated and Bruce, the owner of the company who accompanied us on our trips, had nothing to say while Alan stuck to his guns.  He must have known the men would have been waiting for us.  The driver was very upset as he really believed he had only been paid 100 RMB, not the full 500.  We left them standing there and rushed into the airport with our bags, thankful they didn't follow us, and that the situation didn't get worse.

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Marriage proposal Shanghai-Style.  each umbrella advertised either a man or women looking for a partner in life.

It's the parents who do the advertising for their children.

Multiple advertisements by a marriage dealer

Justin trying to find a seat belt in our minibus for another hair raising trip to the airport. 

The driver and passenger always have a seat belt, but not the poor passengers.

As interesting as China is, I'd hate to live here.  As far as you can see are thousands of towering apartment blocks. New apartments are springing up everywhere, but these are “ghost cities” and empty of people.   If the 1.35 billion people in China already have a home, why are they building more? All to do with raising the GDP apparently.  Everything is a depressing shade of concrete grey, including the sky, buildings, roads and paths.  We’re looking forward to our flight to Vancouver and getting out of the smog to give our throats, eyes, nose and skin a chance to clear up.

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