Well, it's up early (not too early, about 7:30am) and breakfast. Then out at 9am, armed with a couple of maps none very good but hopefully between all of them we'll get where we are hoping to go. It seems easy enough if we are prepared to do plenty of walking, which we are. We headed out from the ship to the other side of the bridge where the Bund starts, which is about a 35-40 minute walk. The Bund is a beautiful promenade all along the riverfront, overlooking interesting large buildings and skyscrapers on the other side of the river (Pudong). We walked about 10 minutes down the Bund to Nanjing Street which is a long, bustling street full of department stores, designer clothes, some little shops, KFC, McDonald's, etc. It is very westernized although it retains an asian flavor. Sean bought a sesame bun filled with bean paste from a street vendor. He was thrilled! They are one of his favorite treats and we've only found them in Chinatown in San Francisco and Honolulu and he hasn't had one in ages. We also bought a cute little brown jub of "Confucious Family Liquor". I have no idea what it is, but the jug was really unusual, we loved the name and it was really cheap.
Then we found a knife and scissors store and Sean got a really nice chinese knife (looks like a big cleaver) for a very good price too. Awhile on down the road, we found a store with liquor and cheap cigarettes and I tried to buy a carton of Sevens Ultra Light, but for some reason they wouldn't sell them to me. Since no one speaks English, we could not figure out why not. We had no problems anywhere else, in spite of the language barrier - we would point to things until they hit the one we wanted and then we nodded and paid. It got a little trickier in places where the prices weren't marked but we still always manaaged to communicate just fine. We went way down Nanjing to the Renmin Park and Square. It was beautiful and peaceful in the park and we saw people doing Tai Chi and exercising and just relaxing. There were several ponds that must be beautiful in the summer when the waterlilies and lotus are blooming. There were a few small rides there too - so small they were sort of humorous. One was a little water bumper car sort of ride that looked like people driving big tires in a small swimming pool. Part of the park was under construction so we couldn't see it. We also saw street doctors with stalls on the street treating people, giving them shots and medicine and all sorts of things. That was different.
And we were right next to the Shanghai Museum but we didn't have the time or stamina to see it this time. I've heard it's really excellent. We were having so much fun taking in the street sights though that we had to give the museum a pass. We were also on our way to Yuyuan Gardens and Old Town and that was a long walk away so we headed off again. We did make a brief stop at a McDonald's for coffee. We just really needed a cup of coffee and that was handy. We also stopped at several various toilets along the way. Each one was a new and different adventure. The first potty break was at the Peace Hotel, right at the beginning of Nanjing Road. This is a wonderful old hotel that we'l love to stay at, assuming it is at all affordable (it is very plush). It had great western-style bathrooms with toilet paper even! Then Sean hit a street toilet off the main street that just had a trough that you did your business (all of it) in. We both hit another toilet in the gardens and the women's room was typical chinese. Toilets on the floor that you squat over and no toilet paper. ALWAYS bring toilet paper (or kleenex), it is very rare that you will find any. The toilet on the floor with places you put your feet on is pretty standard. In case you were wondering (I did at first), you face the back wall when you use them. They all flushed that I went to and were pretty clean. I think a few Sean went to were a little more grotty.
We worked our way by trial and error over to the circle that is the boundary for Old Town (Renmin Lu and Zhonghue Lu). Actually, we did pretty good getting there surprisingly. On the edges of Old Town are tons of shops selling all sort of junk - sort of like a flea market. When you work your way further in, there is an enclosed (by walls) area that is the real center of the interesting, tourist-oriented (chinese tourists) part of Old Town. There is a large pond with fanciful statues and colorful sculptures of waterlily blossoms and fish coming out of it, surrounded by pagodas and pavilions. Off of this in all directions are little stalls and shops selling all sorts of interesting things. Bargaining is big here too, so bargain away. And things are very cheap (especially if you bargain). I bought several beanie babies (fake, but fun) like the Billionaire Bear, Maple and Brittania for a few dollars each (like 25 yuan for 2).
Also to one side is the Yu Yuan Gardens. It cost 15 yuan per person (about $2). It is a walled in section with beautiful winding paths, rock formations, ponds and pavilions. It is very compact, but makes very good use of the space, with a new view around every corner. It was getting time to head back since we had a very long walk back to the ship. We were a little confused on which way to head, but we asked a few people (pointed to the map and where we wanted to go and they pointed the direction we needed to walk). On rickshaw driver was very nice. He wanted to take us but when we indicated that we were walking, he got us going in the right direction and then passed us a littlewhile down and pointed out the turn we needed to make. Heading out of Old Town, we had a long walk down a tiny street full of little shops and vendors. It was quite off the beaten path and people found us very interesting. I stopped and bought a pair of chinese style shoes and then later, a pair of slippers. They were 8 yuan and 5 yuan respectively, which is a little oer $1 and about 60 cents (7.1-7.7 yuan to a dollar). Each time I stopped to try on shoes, a large crown gathered to watch. We provided a lot of entertainment for everyone and had a great time ourselves. Had a time trying to figure out what things cost but they were helpful and would show us the amounts in cash that we needed to give them. Once we thought it was 5 yuan and they added 3 yuan to show us it was 8 yuan.
One big difficulty is that they count on their fingers differently than we do. We were taught the hand counting that evening, but didn't know it then. It's funny that even that is different. 1 to 5 is the same as we do it. Six is just the thumb and pinky out. 7 is like a gun with 2 fingers out and the thumb up. 8 is like a gun again, with just the first finger out. 9 is with the palm out and the first finger croked (rest of fingers against palm). 10 is a fist. This comes in handy for figuring out prices. But where there is a will, there's a way and we all had a great time working thru the language barrier.
We also saw several young men being herded out of a store by the police and put into a police van. The looked VERY unhappy and the police looked very scary. A crowd gathered and the police quite sternly sent us on our way. Along this road I also saw many underwear/lingerie shops. We didn't stop but it would be a great place to get new underwear cheap. Next time we'll just bring a few raggedy pairs and stock up while we are there. Then we hit the Bund and walked along the waterfront to the bridge (which is a pretty walk although very long - about 45 minutes at a brisk walk). Then after the bridge it's not so pretty - it just the last grueling bit before you get to the ship and it seems forever... There was a big blue building right where we made the turn to the dock for our ship which help a lot for figuring out where we were and how far we had left to go.
We got to the ship about 4:30pm and naturally missed all the food times and had to wait until 5:30 to get dinner. We were starving but it was nice to sit and dinner time came soon enough. My feet were very sore and I had a couple blisters but I wore my GREAT Danskos (like clogs with backs) and they held up very well. I think my feet were 3 sizes bigger by then.
After dinner, about 6:30 we headed off on a tour to the Chinese acrobats. George, our guide, was very good and we had excellent seats right in front for the show. It was spectacular. I can hardly describe it except to say, if you can see them, you will be amazed. It was funny and beautiful and amazing. I think we saw a slightly abbreviated version of their full show, but it still lasted about 1 1/2 hours and was mind-boggling. It also felt very good to sit. By the end of the show my feet had recovered, but my achilles tendons had tightened up and walking up and down the stairs was a challenge. I was also seated next to one of the dance hosts from the cruise and he was pretty obnoxious. One of the performers was doing a card trick and tossing cards out into the audience and one landed on my lap and the dance host snatched it right out of my lap and then bragged about getting a card the whole way back. Sean also got a card so it was OK but I was amazed at his rudeness.
Then one of the lecturers and a woman from the crew sat behind us on the buss back and George taught us a few words in Chinese, one of which was "Ni Hao" which means "Hello" and the woman kept saying "Ni Hao George, Ni Hao" in a very loud strident, annoying voice the whole way back until we wanted to kill her. She and the lecturere were having an "interesting" conversation about the "state of the world" too which I could have lived without. I was initially impressed by the lectuer at his first lecture, but quickly changed my mind after hearing him a bit more. You'll hear about that later, but basically I felt he was a chauvinist beaurocrat who basically spouted the American Party Line and who had no intention of describing what is really the situation in the world and in China, only what we are supposed to believe, given that the United States wants to do business with China and is working hard to explain away all the things China does that we are actually sending in troops to stop in other parts of the world. But it is funny how money and economic opportunities will let people get away with anything. I understand why, but let's at least be honest about it. Iraq invades Kuwait and we send in troops. China invades Tibet and we do nothing. We send troops and peacekeeping missions to Croatia, we send troops to Kosovo to force them to stop the ethnic cleansing and ethnic genocide and yet we allow it to go on in Tibet without a murmur. We support the independence of countries but refuse to recognize Taiwan. And on and on...
Anyway, we then stumbled back to our cabin and fell asleep instantly. Thank goodness tomorrow is a free day. Originally we were planning to leave at 1pm tomorrow but due to the tides, we leave at about 10am - to early to really do anything else in Shanghai. Actually, if we were energetic, we'd get up early and head to the Bund - I guess there are a lot of people early mornings doing Tai Chi. But we've done enough.
The main thing to remember in Shanghai is that if you are up to walking, get a map and head out on your own. It's the best way to see Shanghai.