Days 8 and 9: Shanghai

This post will be short and sweet, and surprisingly (and even sadly) devoid of pictures.

Friday was our last full day in China and the only day we did not have a single thing planned! After running all day and night each day we've been here, Josh and I took our last and only free day as a luxury to be savored. We slept in, ate breakfast, poked around shops, ate lunch, and soaked in the overall ambiance of the city. Sadly, I forgot to charge my camera, but I have taken over 1,000 pictures in a little more than a week, so that should last me. :)

This morning, we were up early to catch our flight back home to the United States. I am writing this on my Blackberry while we wait for our flight. I cannot believe we have only been gone a week. It seems as though we have seen several weeks' worth of amazing sights! Although, China is such a huge, tremendously diverse country, and so I'm sure we've only had a small taste of all that is here to experience.

That said, although I am sad to leave and go back to the grindstone, I am looking forward to seeing my dogs, house, and eating some In 'N' Out stateside. Of course, I'm sure my normal activities will not make nearly as interesting posts. Good thing we are already brainstorming for the next trip!

A few random reflections on the trip as it comes to a close:

• Although I have wanted to go to China for a long time, I must say it surpassed my expectations. The people were so friendly and the history and sights went far beyond my expectations. Sadly, I'm sure my camera captured only a fraction of the beauty of the gardens, water villages, and cityscapes we saw. Suffice to say that, if you are considering a trip to China, go and see all this in person!

• Many people looked at me like we were crazy when I said we weren't going to travel with a group, but it was the best decision, in my opinion. We got to see what we wanted to see at our own pace, avoid many crowds, and have a truly custom and intimate travel experience. A private guide is the way to go. The Chinese government licenses guides after they have passed several tests (including national history, foreign language, and foreign cultures/cultural sensitivity), so the guides we encountered were knowledgeable and professional. Also, they are relatively inexpensive if you book them directly (as opposed to through an American travel company). We paid approximately $45 per day for our guides. If you are going to Beijing, we highly recommend Mary. She was, by far, our favorite guide.

• Even when we weren't with a guide, it was relatively easy to get around. I printed out the names and addresses of our hotels in Chinese and carried them with us. Most taxis were able to get us back to our hotel after we handed them this paper. If we wanted to go somewhere, we just had the bell hop at the hotel tell the driver the name and address of our destination.

• Despite the friendliness, we did get a lot of local people staring at us like we were aliens. Mary told us that many of these people were domestic tourists and had likely never seen a foreigner. It was pretty wild being the only westerners in a large crowd and having multiple sets of eyes taking you in. At times, it was a bit unnerving, to be honest.

• Chinese people are teeny tiny compared to us, so I felt like a giant whale next to many of the 80-pound women! Definitely good motivation to work out when we get home.

• I loved blogging about the trip as it happened. Before we left, I wondered if blogging would become a hassle or a burden on the trip, but it did not. Rather, I looked forward to organizing our pictures from the day and putting together a recap instead of writing in a travel journal, which is what I usually do. The blog was great because it became an interactive travel journal of sorts, and I loved sharing our experiences with our family and friends as they happened! Technology is so amazing!

Alright, off to wait for the plane. Get this: our flight leaves from Shanghai at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and we arrive in Los Angeles at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday . . . gotta love the time change! Next time you hear from me, we'll be back in the good 'ole U.S. of A.

再見中國 (Goodbye China)!

Day 7: Shanghai (Day trip to Tongli and Zhouzhuang)

The wake-up call Thursday morning came about three hours too early, in my opinion! Josh had to wake me up and shake me a bunch of times before I was finally semi-conscious. A little tea did the trick to perk me up, and we were downstairs to meet Neil at a little after 8:00 a.m.

We hired a car today to take us on a day trip to the "water villages."

Our first stop was Tongli.

On the way, we stopped to have some dumplings for breakfast!

(The pictures are a little hazy because of the grease cloud around the stand.)





Yum!



The drive was about two hours long, and the scenery was incredible: acres of green farmland and local farmers. Just gorgeous!

We arrived in Tongli and the first thing we saw was this gentleman playing some traditional music in the park.



I love him!



The main street into the city.



There are little waterways all through the city and many locals use boats as a way to get around.







Rickshaw!



It was hotter than hell (and maybe even more humid). I stripped down to a tank top (and I never roll around in a tank top) and I was still completely drenched. Josh's entire back was soaked. I almost took a picture to prove the point, but I thought that would be gross.

So, when I saw this guy, I wanted to grab his watermelon and run for it!



These birds are trained to catch fish and drop them back in the boat! Pretty good trick!



More pics of Tongli.

















So incredibly serene and beautiful!

We said goodbye to Tongli and piled back in the car to drive to another water village called Zhouzhuang, a city known as "Venice of the East."

To get in, you walk over a long bridge to the city, located on a little island.



Flowers at the end of the bridge.



Our first stop was Quanfu Temple. Quanfu Temple is a Taoist temple, built in the eleventh century, that is completely surrounded by water (Nanhu Lake).



It may be my favorite temple on our trip so far. The water surrounding the temple makes for a tremendously serene and spiritual scene.



















Prayer tree.





There were turtles all around the temple. Some of the temples we visited had turtles you can buy to set free!



Turtle porn!



Incense burner.







Just spectacular! After leaving the temple, we started in toward the main part of the city. In both Tongli and Zhouzhuang, there were a ton of shops and stands selling a very famous delicacy in the water villages: pig hoof/leg! Apparently, it was a favorite snack of several emperors.



Zhouzhuang is so picturesque.











Zhouzhuang is famous for its bridges. This one was built so that the reflection in the water is always a straight line. Pretty clever!



After we left Zhouzhuang, we piled back in the car and headed back to Shanghai. We were so exhausted. I must have sweat a gallon of water (we joked that we were our own water villages) and we were both sunburned and dehydrated (although happy to have spent the day in such gorgeous towns). We got to the hotel a little after 7:00 and immediately took long, cold showers.

Since this is technically a vacation, we decided to take the night off. I headed to the spa for an incredible Chinese-style massage. It was the best massage I have ever had! (At least, the first 45 minutes were. After that, I fell asleep!)

It was an early night for us. Friday is our last full day in China, and it is the first day we have no set plans. I think we will probably just poke around, shop, and maybe try out the night life! More soon . . .

Technical difficulties.

I hear the picture posts from Day 6 were a little faulty. I think they're fixed now! Day 7 coming soon . . .

Day 6: Shanghai (Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden, Tian Zi Fang, French Concession, the Bund)

Day two of Shanghai has been incredible! Shanghai is such a magnificent city -- truly cosmopolitan and, for lack of a better word, sparkly! There are so many lights, so much art and fashion, and so many people!

My only minor complaint so far on this trip has been the weather. Not that we didn't know it would be hot in China in the summer, but the humidity is truly a killer. And, we have apparently had "cool" weather while we've been here. Note to self: stay away from the "hot" weather here!

Our day started at 9:00 a.m. when we met our guide, Neil, and headed to our first stop: the Shanghai Museum. The Shanghai Museum is located right across from our hotel next to People's Square.



The location of the museum and People's Square are surrounded by gorgeous high rises. Here are a few pics:





It was hot and humid in line, and a few people decided to cut in front of us. I have been known to say a thing or two in a situation like this, but the combination of the language barrier and not wanting to appear like an ugly American prevented me from opening my big trap. However, I did manage to give one woman the stink eye. I must have a pretty effective nasty glare because she decided to cover up her face. Hehe.



The entrance to the museum. A "modern" lion? I love him.



The museum is seven levels high. I snapped a few pictures of my favorite things.

Grumpy pants.



Itchy lion.





Vases from the Ming Dynasty.





I love this vase from the Qing Dynasty.



Chamber pot from 265 A.D.



The calligraphy exhibit was definitely my favorite.

Poem dating back to the Song Dynasty.



Also from the Song Dynasty (this guy was a little stamp happy, no?).



My favorite. "Ode to Peony" by Zhu Yunming (1460-1546). Even if I could read Chinese, I think I would be SOL trying to read this guy's handwriting. But, it's so pretty!





My second favorite. "Poem" by Liu Jue (1410-1472).



I think the museum has every major coin ever used in China. Pretty impressive.





Next to the calligraphy exhibit, the traditional clothing exhibit was my favorite.



Last but not least, there was a furniture exhibit. I had to snap a picture of these Ming Dynasty chairs because they look like our dining room chairs!



After leaving the museum, we went to the Yu Garden. However, before getting to the actual garden, we passed through a very lively shopping and restaurant area right outside the park.









We went up to a rooftop to get a better view.



Skyline!



Rooftops!











After window shopping and making our way through the crowds, it was time to go into Yu Garden. Yu Garden was "built" during the Ming Dynasty, and it took eighteen years to complete (1559 to 1577). It is my favorite garden so far.



Loved the doorways!



Lion!



So beautiful.



More great doorways.











LOVE this tree.





Round doorway.



Dragon on the wall! Love it.



The fattest fish I have ever seen.



After finishing up at the gardens, we headed to the Tian Zi Fang art street, full of designers, artists, and hipsters, to wander around, take in some of the ambience, and have some lunch.



Our guide suggested a place called Kommune, which is apparently a popular cafe among cafes in this area.



I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that we weren't going to have some traditional Chinese food, but lunch was still very good.

I had a salad.



Josh had potato wedges with chili sauce.



We sat out in this little courtyard and people watched while we ate.



The chairs and tables in the courtyard were so funky and cool.



We walked around Tu Zi Fang a little more and soaked in some of its charm. There were so many interesting shops and designers there, and the clientele was oh-so-fashionable. We also stopped in to see the workshop of the late artist Chen Yifei, which was very cool.

We came across several tables of men gambling, too, which was pretty random but fun.



Our next stop was the French Concession. Sadly, it started to rain a bit then, so I was only able to snap a couple of pictures for fear of my camera becoming completely drenched.



A few minutes after arriving in the French Concession and strolling along the shops on Xin Le Road, the wind began to blow so hard, it was moving vases on the sidewalk. Then, the sky opened and it began to POUR! Luckily, we made it in a cab just in time!

We said goodbye to our guide and rested for a bit back at the hotel. I took the Monkey's advice and took a few pictures of our view at night.

Left.



Center.



Right.



As we were in our hotel, it continued to rain and there was even some thunder and lightning. I managed to catch a picture of the lightning as it moved across the skyline! I was pretty proud of this shot.



After resting up a little, we decided to walk to the Bund. We walked along Nanjing Road where there are a ton of lights, people, and amazing shops.



It was so pretty because the streets were still wet, so it looked like the light was bleeding on to the sidewalk.



Nanjing Road intersects with the Bund, a long street that borders the Huangpu River that boasts buildings representing over 50 architectural styles. Also, it has an amazing view of the skyline in the Pudong district and the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Pudong skyline.



Spectacular!



After our walk, it was time for a late dinner. We went to a little restaurant on the Bund (cannot remember the name) with a good view for people watching.



We ordered fried noodles.



(Josh was especially excited about the noodles ... hahaha, I love this picture.)



Mmmm ... dumplings ...



And some green beans.



So delicious!

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel to call it a night! We have a big day tomorrow, so time to get some rest! More soon ... Night!