Another Day in Shangahi - March 4, 2010

Today we got up and had a leisurely breakfast. Then we decided to go out and walk around the town. It is very cold here so we tried to go buy some jackets. Everywhere you go there are street hustlers who ask you to buy everything under the sun. They can be very persistent and Andy has taught us the best thing to do is just ignore them and keep walking. If they are very persistent, and many of them are, it is best to not make eye contact or acknowledge they are there. Sometimes if they keep pestering you, you can finally say no or go away and they will. We had one yesterday that followed us around for 15 minutes and finally Andy had to very firmly tell her to go away. It made me a little uncomfortable but eventually she got the message.

We went out to the main shopping district and the first hustler that approached us we engaged and asked her if she could take us to some place to buy a jacket. Andy told her this by pointing to my jacket and then to his lack of a jacket. She understood and walked us about 4 blocks off of the beaten path and through more than a couple of back alleyways to a unmarked door. Inside this door was a shop of knockoff merchandise but they didn't have the right sizes. So she took us to another store where the price was way too high. Then she took us to another store where the quality was terrible. Eventually we just walked away and didn't buy anything. It was interesting to watch Andy work.

We had lunch at a McDonalds and dinner at a "sports bar" type place that was under a hotel and you would never find unless you knew where you were going. Then we walked around the downtown area that is much like Times Square in New York. Shanghai is really beautiful at night. While wandering around we found a shop that had very inexpensive merchandise but most of it was junk. Finding true bargains - good stuff at reasonable prices - is not that easy. There are millions of options, but finding quality at a great price takes work.

We rode the subway today which wasn't really any different that riding the subway anywhere else. However, we did ride the Maglev train which is a magical experience. This is the most expensive train ever built in the world and it is also the fastest. It reaches a top speed of 431 kph which is 268 mph. It is amazing to ride that fast on something that is not an airplane. We went out to the airport which is over 18 miles away in just over 7 minutes. That was really fun.

We spent most of the day wandering around The Bund and on Nanjing Road. These are very well know parts of Shanghai. Nanjing Road is a pedestrian only road that has thousands of stores, shops, restaurants, and offices. The Bund is a world famous financial district that is along the river and sort of ties the old Shanghai to the new Shanghai. Both are amazing places to walk especially at night. Everywhere we have gone so far has been extremely crowded with people. The city has about 20 million and at least half of them seemed to be riding the subway today. But even with all the crowds, everyone moves around the city pretty easily. One thing to note if you ever come here: pedestrians never have the right of way. If you don't pay attention when you are walking, you could easily get hit by a car or bus. Bicycles have barely if any more right of way than pedestrians. And there are bikes and scooters everywhere you look.

Just crossing the street sometimes can be quite and adventure. That is a good life maxim, but it can be a life or death lesson in Shangahi.