Shanghai

Today’s forecast is cloudy with no rain. Yay!!  Yesterday practically drowned me.

After breakfast we walked to the subway. On our walk, at an intersection, I almost got smoked by an electric scooter. The driver didn’t honk. Probably hoping for a whitey score. 10 points!  But I thwarted him by dodging at the last minute. Most of the scooters are electric and make no noise so it feels like ghosts zooming by.

This is a picture of the Western Shanghai skyline. Evan told us that the cost of buying an apartment there is 200,000 Yuan per square meter. (Approx. 2 million dollars). And your lease runs out at the end of 70 years.   

On the other hand, if you live in a grandfathered place, there aren’t many amenities but it’s inherited so, free. Except for when the govt decides they want the land your hovel is built on. Then, too bad for you. “Here’s a handful of beans now beat it!”

After an orientation walk along Shanghai's famous Bund river, we were free to explore. 

We wandered the area called the “City Guard Temple Area”. (I may have heard that wrong)

My ankle is killing me so I sat at a cafe and wrote postcards with my free time. 

Evan arranged lunch for us at a chain restaurant that serves the best hot pot in China. A bold claim!  But I think he’s right. The food was delicious. 

And the service unmatched. The servers were all dressed for Halloween.

They even had extra bathroom amenities 

During our meal, a guy came out with one long noodle and did a show of how to stretch it out before putting in the hot pot:

This evening we went to an acrobatic performance. It was pretty good. 

Especially the motorcyclists. They’re nuts! At one point, there were 7 motorbikes in this steel sphere at once!

After the acrobat show we got the Chinese version of Uber downtown and took pictures of the Bund skyline lit up. 

We ended our evening with a visit The Peace Hotel. You have to hand it to the Fairmont. They really know how to do opulence. We had Waygu beef sliders and snacks while enjoying some jazz being played my a band whose average age is 70+.

It was decadent. These old guys were seasoned musicians and played an eclectic set. When we were ready to go, the concierge called a cab for us. It was a large day. 

- Ruth