Shanghai Noon

We were practically professionals at the night train by our trip from Xi’an to Shanghai. We even felt comfortable enough in the erratic crowd to finally take some pictures of the pure madness as we waited to board to train. I apologize for the poor photos- it's not easy to snap a good picture when you're being shoved!

This train ride was a long one, and we left earlier in the evening than our previous rides, so we downloaded a movie to kill some time that evening as we rode. We immediately ditched our stuff on our beds (which this time were in different suits but still in the same car), and claimed two of the few seats in the aisle. There isn’t room to sit up on the beds unless you have the bottom bunk, which neither of us did, and there are not enough aisle seats for everyone who has a sleeper ticket. So we grabbed a pair right away and started watching.

Directly across the aisle from our ‘movie theater’ was an old Chinese gentleman in the bottom bunk. He would get up and walk around, then sit back down every few minutes, probably just stretching his legs. Eventually, he started poking his head in our direction to see what we were watching. We assumed he spoke no English and was simply interested in the on-screen action.

I am not sure how the conversation started, but he spoke very clear English and seemed to be an accomplished professor. He was 86 years old and quick to share that Xi'an was the best city in China (his hometown!). He visited the states twice: once to Durham, North Carolina, and the other to Atlanta, Georgia. He "must be honest" and admitted he enjoyed the UK over the States. He was frank, warm, and honest, with very clear, soft brown eyes that gained their twinkle with old age. He chatted with us for quite some time, talking of his travels and of ours, sharing some other places we should visit. He scolded us for spending so much time in large cities, missing the charm and culture smaller, older towns have to offer. The next day, he came to find us and let us know ours was the next stop and say goodbye. Exiting the station, we saw our wise old friend again with his young welcome crew. They were trying to force him into a wheelchair. He put up a lovely fight, arguing that he did not need the chair, and rolled his pale eyes in our direction as we smiled and waved. I bet he's a master ninja and the wisest person in the world. What a neat person to stumble upon on the train.

Shanghai was a blur of bright lights and city life, enjoying the comforts that large cities bring: hustle and bustle, easy and quick access to everything, ample English everywhere, convenience stores, infrastructure… it was a nice change from the rural areas we had spent the last week in.

We stayed at a modern little hostel with a café and decent décor. The cheapest option were dorm beds in separate dorms; I stayed in the all girl room, Will the all male room. It worked out fine, and I even had the room to myself for most of the stay. We never spend that long inside our hostels, let alone our rooms, so as long as there is Wi-Fi and showers (preferably hot), we’re ok. The shared space was cute, so it felt like we were in a cool café when we needed the internet or wanted to read. Ikea was the decorating store of choice, and we recognized many of the adornments and designs.

Our first night in a new city, we typically get settled and explore our neighborhood, locating a convenience store, local market, or grocer for anything we may need and scout out any restaurants we want to try. After finding 7-11’s on almost every corner, we quickly settled into a restaurant that was busy with local people filling their bellies with huge bowls of soup. Soup sounded great on a chilly evening, so we found a table and attempted to figure out how to order.

Will walked up to the counter and pointed at a customer’s bowl, meaning, “we want that.” In response, the woman pointed at a hand written sign hanging on the wall behind her and said how much it cost in broken english, to which Will agreed and placed the order. After Will sat back down, the woman took the sign off the wall. Whatever Will ordered, there was no more. We anxiously awaited our meal, as the last time we blindly ordered, we ate fatty pig skin and it was terrible.

The sound of a swinging kitchen door prompted me to turn around, hopeful my hot soup was being delivered. Out of the kitchen came the server, toting our piping hot soup, following a giant rat. She set the soup down, smiled, and returned to the kitchen. The rat scurried out to the street.

I didn’t eat any of the meat in that bowl of noodles.

We spent the evening walking the Bund, the waterfront area along the Huangpu River, with our friend Ryan. We met Ryan during our adventure on the Great Wall. It was such a cool experience and so neat to share with someone else. A Salt Lake City native, he was working in Shanghai as an architect at HKS. He wrote a few posts for an HKS blog article (Will referenced his Great Wall article here). He’s a great writer and captures the spirit of his adventures (a few places we’ve also seen!) well. Here’s a link to his post on Shanghai. And take a peak at his sketches of his time in China while you’re reading his stuff, too!

From the waterfront, you see Pudong, the district of Shanghai located east of the river, that houses the wonderful architecture and vast skyscrapers that create Shanghai’s skyline. The Shanghai Tower is still under construction, but will be the world’s second largest building upon completion, after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. On our side of the river, known as Puxi, the architecture is very European and vastly contrasts anything we had seen up until this point. Think Beaux-arts or neo-classical design; columns, stone, very ‘White House.' It was a nice walk with good company. The weather felt a bit warmer, too, so we were significantly more comfortable and didn’t have to wear all of our clothes.

Ryan brought us to an incredible little area known as Tianzifang. The windy back alleys housed many boutiques and shops, restaurants, and bars. I have no clue how he found the bar he wanted to bring us to, because there was no rhyme or reason to the alley structure. Wiki Travel describes the area as a labyrinth, so it was no small achievement!! We really enjoyed our cocktail and conversation at Bell Bar, a dark and swanky little spot that was totally up our alley (HA- I love proof reading and finding these silly little puns. I didn’t mean it!). It’s funny how well he knew us. A taxi ride later, we were saying our goodbyes to our kind, generous new friend. I can’t explain how refreshing and comforting it is to see a familiar face. Constantly experiencing new things is hard. There is no such thing as familiarity. It was absolutely amazing having Ryan tote us around Shanghai. He’s a great person, and I hope we are able to keep in touch.

Will and I said our goodnights (he snuck into my room to tuck me in!) and I slept very well. It had been a long many nights of mostly moving sleeps, so being still and cozy in my bottom bunk was just what I needed. I think it’s so funny that as an adult I sleep in bunk beds as often as I do.

With a list of recommendations from our ‘local’ Shanghai friend, we started at the Shanghai Museum and People’s Square the following day. Will especially enjoyed the extensive coin collection, as he collected coins as a kid. I can’t make fun of him, since I collected stamps. We are really meant to be…

We walked from their to The French Concession, a beautiful neighborhood in Shanghai that was also highly recommended and a must see. The streets are lined with poplar trees and more classical architecture that made it seem we were plucked right out of China and dropped in the middle of a Parisian street. Oddly enough, we stumbled upon the Iranian Embassey as we explored the nightborhood. At this point, I was still waiting to hear about my paperwork regarding our hopeful visit to Iran. I joked with Will that I should ask the guards about it.

Will had heard of a unique massage experience available in Shanghai, and we had very anxiously awaited our arrival to enjoy some rest and relaxation. It had been weeks of very active travel. Our bodies were sore and tired, and our minds ready for such an extravagant splurge. After our lunch at a dumpling shop, we attempted to find our serenity, which was unfortunately closed for good. We were determined to experience this kind of weird massage, so we traipsed about the city to find another 'spa' offering this service.

A few bus rides and neighborhoods later, we found another spot that offered the same interesting massage experience. We quickly ordered up two 1-hour massages, were ushered to a large room with many massage tables, and anxiously awaited for our massages to start.

Moments later, two blind masseurs were being led to our beds. It is believed that the blind are exceptional at relieving muscle aches and pain with their heightened sense of touch, allowing them to pin point a patients pain better than any other well trained massage therapist. We laid face down, clothes on, side by side, and the therapists draped a towel over our backs to get started.

There was no warm up. No easing into it. This massage was extremely aggressive and very firm. We were smashed and poked and semi-painfully jabbed for an hour. It was not relaxing at all. But I did leave feeling loosened up. My muscles had no choice but to succumb and relax for fear of continued battery. It was $13 each for the hour, which was quite a splurge for our budget, but obviously a great deal if you like a rough and tumble massage session every once in a while. We laughed all the way to dinner, and felt good until the lactic acid settled into our muscles again. Will is convinced his kidney was massaged. It was probably good for him. We chugged plenty of water and would recommend any Shanghai visitor to experience a massage from a blind person (jeeze, as I write this I feel so wrong!! Should OSHA get involved? It just feels weird…).

We spent the following day exploring the Yu Garden, a recommendation from a friend in the States who used to live in Shanghai with her husband. We strolled through the gardens, enjoying the architecture and greenery. The Yuyuan Tourist Mart is located directly outside the garden entrance. Plenty of kitschy souvenirs and local treats are for sale, along with many peddlers pushing their goods. Within the center of the mart is The Crooked Bridge that leads to a beautiful tea house and continues towards the garden entrance. Although we did not stop for tea, we practiced our selfie stick skills on the bridge, along with numerous other visitors. I overheard a tour guide explaining the significance of the zigs and zags in the bridge has something to do with restricting demons and evil from crossing. It’s common among Chinese architecture.

Later that evening, on our way to the airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong, we stopped for a Bubble Tea, something we had been eyeing our entire time in Shanghai. We opted for a rich chocolaty version, chewing the gummy ‘bubbles’ between sips. In lieu of lids, many to-go drinks have a plastic circle sealed directly to the top of the container. Simply punch the straw through the sealed plastic and enjoy.

On the plane, I settled in as I always do, flipping through all of the magazines as I impatiently await a soaring altitude where I can turn my phone or computer on (Will always reminds me that Myth Busters proved a cellular connection can take down a plane… I’m just not convinced). As the flight attendants started their normal safety spiel, Will grabbed me:

“Sara, LOOK!”

“No, I know exactly what they are saying. I glanced at the safety card, the nearest exit is, in fact, behind me, and I know how to buckle my seat belt. I will put my mask on before assisting others. My phone is off. And anyway I don’t even think that’s a real thing…”

“Noooo, look at all the other passengers!”

As I glanced around, I was dumbfounded. Every single passenger’s attention was on the flight attendants. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. The passengers were so attentive that they were practically pushing heads out of the way to improve their view (we were in China, afterall). I have never seen an entire plane pay attention to the safety demonstration before. There are typically fewer people who pay attention than there are flight attendants. I think I saw one guy taking notes. It was so strange. I know, it’s clearly the right thing to do, but this was unprecedented. The flight attendants had the stage, and no one was going to miss the show.

Lucky for every single person on that plane, we landed without needing to test our knowledge of the safety demonstration. Per the usual, every person immediately got up, pushed and shoved their way through the aisle, and moshed towards the cockpit until they could exit the plane. Will and I remained seated and laughed. I don’t even want to know the reaction if we needed to exit the plane under anything but ideal circumstances…

From China, with Love,

Sara + Will