Walking The Bund at 8am

Adam & I got up early and left the hotel at 7:30am for The Bund. We walked Nan Jian Road to see how close we came earlier in the week to reaching the Bund. Then, we walked the Boardwalk section from beginning to end. We were there before the street hawkers, which gave the place a serene and different experience. At the end of the walk, we saw several older gentlemen flying kites, which a long way away. They weren’t selling anything but just doing it for their own enjoyment. Kind like seeing retired men fishing at the river.

We found the I Love Shanghai store and took photos. Returned to hotel at 10am and I found Dee (Gem contact) to ask if we could have a round table to discuss the trip. Dee agreed with us and we “circled the wagons.” But, Dee was stuck on the format and talked with the group, which became like a Oprah episode. Had pizza Hut for lunch but most of the boxes were seafood pizza—different. We settled on a Curry flavored supreme pizza with ham, pork and beef, chicken and veggies. Our tour guide Cassandra then ordered more pizza with U.S> traditional toppings (e.g. pepperoni).

We had 10 people’s luggage in our hotel room, and the U.S. return group left at 2:15pm. Went to a DVD “store” and got 7 DVD’s at $1/piece. Credit cards are not used much here, or anywhere else for that matter. Kathryn, Solstice, Nicole and Mike T. and I went to the Shanghai Art Museum and then walked down Nan Jiang Road. Had a snack at KFC (I never eat here in the States.) The lights on this road were quite flashy and similar to Las Vegas and Broadway. Shopped the Shanghia No. 1 Dept. Store Which is the worst designed and merchandised store I’ve ever seen. This supposedly is the place for Chinese to shop and is an “anthropological visit.”

While we waited by the Samsung building for Mike S. and Hyun Su. We saw a toddler, just squat in the middle of the sidewalk to go #2. Toddlers here have clothes similar to the posterior region of Lakes Region. The mom used a street cleaners broom and dustbin to clean up the deposit. What was interesting is that a) the kid knew what to do b) the kid knew to stop vs. go I the stroller and c) no passersby even flinched at the sight. Then, the kid went #2 again. Good God!!

We took cabs to Xian Tan Di and headed to an Italian restaurant, Ven Be. Waited for an hour and had drinks (Tsing Tao, a Chinese beer). I ordered black noodles with crab, lobster & peppers and a side of roasted potatoes. Good food, especially the bread with butter/hummus, and when I returned to the hotel, I began packing up my luggage.