A bit of Europe in China

I made it to Shanghai with a first strange experience, but this being China... nothing is really all that strange. I found the taxi line outside the airport (no more crazy tourist help ladies for me!) and properly lined up. I got in my taxi and showed him the address to my hostel that Wade and lonely planet suggested. We drove off and before exiting the airport he belled someone, spoke some nonsense and we veered off to pick up a lady friend of his. I was convinced I was either being robbed or we would need to stop at an hourly rate place for them as I wait in the car. Thankfully neither of the two happened... but they did try to rip me off. Curiously she accompanied us on our ride to Captain's hostel- whatever, you just have to go with the flow in China.

Captain's was a hotel and a hostel in one. The entry was beautiful, filled with white marble, white cotton covered furniture and English speaking employees! The hostel itself was not very cheap, but after all I was in Shanghai now. I got to my room which had beds for 9. The room was a freshly painted white, with wooden built in bunk beds and cut out circular openings in the wall to create a cute nautical theme. Most importantly it had air con and clean linens! I met a really nice woman from Beijing who was in Shanghai for the film festival. I appreciated meeting her as she gave me some insight into that world and some great tips for Beijing.

Captain's is conveniently located around the corner from the Bund. The Bund is the promenade along the river on the PuXi side that faces the new structures of Shanghai or the PuDong area. Here you can see the Pearl tower and other modern buildings. Along the bund, are older buildings which look like they have been transported from Europe. At this stage of my trip, it was a welcomed change! They have been described as Gothic, Romanesque, Classicism, Baroque and Renaissance styles- I don't know enough about architecture to say so, but I'll steel the description and say it was beautiful! I walked along the water front in the afternoon before returning to Captain's.

Deciding I needed to make some friends, I grabbed some brochures and sat in the lobby area. I met a nice guy named Harry, who then introduced me to his traveling mate, Yuin. They were well informed on the to do's of the city and graciously invited me aboard their days in Shanghai. These were to be my new traveling buddies...

We went to the French quarter for dinner. It is a very clean and posh part of town which is filled with western eateries, bars, art galleries and all of the shopping one could want. After we walked around the beautifully lit part of town, we stopped for dinner at a delicious Thai place. After dinner we stopped for an ice cream at Haagen-Daaz which I must mention is not just a place to get a scoop. Here in China, Haagen Daaz is a waitress served parlor. You can sit outside and order the most decadent of ice-cream delights. I just opted for a cone of Dulce de Leche. I love not being lactose intolerant (what is the US doing to it's dairy that wont allow me to enjoy it?!).

We ventured back, in a cab, to the Bund. We overpaid for a night cruise along the river. As it was late, we thankfully caught the last tour. We were not sure what was in store for us. Rather than getting on a boat right there, they took us (as they instructed us by yelling at us in Chinese) to a bus, which drove some 20 minutes to a dark dock in the middle of no where. I had a strange feeling we would return there with no way back to the bund.

The cruise was very nice. We got a chance to see the skyline again, all lit up in it's glory. While I think the cruise is not all that necessary, it is a nice experience and you do get to see both sides of the river which greatly contrast each other. Unfortunately a few boats tours go at the same time and we were stuck to the side of a boat which killed our view a bit. Once again a perfect example of China almost getting things right but doing something to hinders ones experience... why couldn't our boat just go behind this boat?! As we paid for a longer tour, it took us beyond the tips of the skylines to a very dark and residential area, which then turned into an industrial area. I suppose it was somewhat interesting, but completely unnecessary as it grew colder with the nights air!

As guessed, the boat brought us back to our strange and deserted starting point. There was no direction as to what to do and definitely no bus in sight. There were however a good twenty cabs ready and willing to overcharge our return ride. We opted to walk and easily found our way back. Strangely though on one bridge that we had to cross, there were food vendors. They were all selling the same thing- a huge sheet cake of what looked like fruit cake. It was really odd and seemed completely out of place.

This busy day called for an early night. I was exhausted and excited for an even busier next day with Harry and Yuin.