An introduction to Shanghai

I was very excited to board the train to Shanghai on Saturday afternoon from Qingdao. While it was fun to be on the beach for a few days, Qingdao was just too sleepy for my taste. After being in the metropolis of Beijing, which already had a slow pace of its own, this off-season resort town didn't seam to offer much beyond the sea and the food it provides, the latter which this valley girl has never really embraced. Call me crazy, but my idea of a good meal does not involve picking the thing out while it is still squirming in a small plastic tub sitting out on the sidewalk, but to each his own, as demonstrated by Ted's exuberance in finally having his choice of creepy crawlies from the ocean deep to dine upon.

While our taste in food shall eternally divide us, we did both enjoy the European architecture seen throughout the city, which are remnants from Qingdao's time as a German concession. I was disappointed that all the trains coming and going from this beach community had been diverted away from the old town through the Sifang station, as the original train station is a beautiful 100+ year old building which is being renovated in anticipation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics sailing regatta to be held in Qingdao. Even through the rusty scaffolding and standard green construction screens blocked the work from view, its beauty still showed through, half timbers and all.

After a pleasant 19 hour train ride (which gave me plenty of time to knit on my new hand-made needles from Beijing), Ted and I crawled out of our soft sleepers and onto the streets of Shanghai. To our great relief, our very cute hostel was only four subway stops from the train station, so we dropped off of our bags and ran out to see more of the city. Because we hadn't really done much research into the best places to go, we both decided to head for the most popular spots for tourists: People's Square, Nanjing Road, and the Bund.

This, needless to say, was overwhelming. Being a beautiful and mild Sunday afternoon, these areas were absolutely crawling with tourists. Ted and I, who had become accustomed to being some of the only laowais around, were taken aback by the sheer number of western tourists, as white people were everywhere. We quickly became judgmental and competitive, making fun of those sporting hiking boots, safari vests, backpacks, and Asain girls that looked like they were not enjoying being paid company.

Yeah, Shanghai is just that kind of town. After leaving the very conservative Beijing where you see families and couples everywhere, Shanghai sports lots of singles, partial nudity in subway ads, and at least two cathouses within a two block radius of our hostel. If it means anything, the girls look largely bored, as they are usually dolled up with nowhere to go, resulting in the funny sight of scantily-clad women zoning out on a torn up couch watching TV in a small, nondescript office.

But don't let this fool you; Shanghai is a great town. Even though we got taken to the cleaners today for a very mediocre lunch (the guy tried to charge us 40 yuan each for some Tsingtao beers when they cost 5 yuan at any corner store - we laughed at him and still offered to overpay at 20 when he looked at us pathetically), there seems to be something to do on every type of budget.

And, of course, there is all of the shopping. This town has everything from Gucci to bargain basement deals, and they are usually on the same block. One could say that there is too much, but all of the selection just makes for a fun scavenger hunt, and gives you a great reason to explore all the different areas of the city.

Finally, just like in Beijing, there are some great parks here in Shanghai. While they are not incredibly extensive or elaborate, they are relaxing in their simplicity and stillness in a city that is always moving forward. While we have only been here for two days, I can tell that we are going to have a great time in this town, and will hopefully return to Beijing a little better dressed than we came.