The Bund and whatnot

Okay. We met our group this morning, relatively normal-More on that later…..
We had our first Chinese breakfast this morning. These people GET ME. Noodles for EVERY MEAL!! There were western breakfast options-eggs, bacon, toast, etc. But also, Chinese options. Rice, noodles, miso soup….I have realized that the Chinese just eat 3 meals a day. They don’t seem to differentiate between meals when it comes to content. So, I had a little of everything- I’m already food happy.

We left the hotel and went to the Bund waterfront area. This is the shanghai that I had always wanted to visit. We were amazed at how CLEAN everything is! No graffiti, no dirt. The police have a known presence- they are parked in little buses all along the walkways-we tried to order fish tacos from one-they did not find this funny. But we did. They do honestly look like police food trucks- I would have taken a picture for you but there are signs everywhere saying this is strictly prohibited. We walked for about an hour along the waterway, looking at the huge skyscrapers and…getting stared at. It is quite a culture shock, but not in any of the ways I had expected it to be. For example- my husband- completely bald, white as the driven snow and with intense blue eyes- is apparently a celebrity in Shanghai. I wasn’t aware of this. One woman actually dropped her dumplings and stared so intensely at him I wondered if he had something of hers on. I think they think he’s Vin Diesel. He has been asked for pictures already many times, and I swear one woman tried to give us her baby.

Another interesting thing that I guess I always knew, but never gave much thought about-the Chinese love to imitate. Our tour guide- Billy- explained to us that it is a large part of their culture. So Nicole and I decided to do our usual Jumping picture. This is the part of the trip where we jump and our husbands spend FOREVER trying to get the perfect shot of us where we BOTH have our feet of the ground at the same time, no ones bra or undercarriage is showing, and our faces look model-esque, not like we just smelled something foul. It takes a few tries. So we began. We found a great scenery area, took off anything not tied down, and started to jump. A LARGE crowd gathered. I don’t speak Chinese, however, if their words were saying anything near what their faces were saying, it was basically – “get a load of these crazy white women….”. When I say large, we probably had 30 locals standing around watching us jump. When we finally got the shot, a handful of them came over to us as we looked through the shots on the iPad, and watched over our shoulders, carefully studying each shot themselves. We suited back up, and began walking again….and we noticed something. Little groups moving off to the side and jumping for their own shots. See attached images…..I pretended to take a selfie to get a few of them in the act.
So between Vin and our jumping revolution, I think China digs us.

We had lunch today at a local Chinese restaurant and ate family style. We sat with a few older couples who didn’t seem too “people-y”. Just our type of people. We also sat with the man I will from here on refer to as “Drover”. Side bar while I explain…..My family- on my fathers side- Drover’s- are over complicate-ers. Now I’m not judging. I received ALL of this gene, and I over complicate things on a daily basis. Like its my job. So, I’m not insulting him here-but he received this nick name because last night, Chris locked our key in our room. China is much like Europe in that you have to place the key in a holder inside the room door in order for your lights and AC to come on. Chris did this and promptly walked to Nicole and Gary’s room because he heard the words “we opened the rum” and lost all track of space and time-locking our key in our room.  Excellent.  I then was nominated to go to the front desk and get another key. I contemplated how I would say this to the VERY limited English vocabulary front desk staff. I was Drover-ing-making this much more complicated then it needed to be. By the time I got to the desk I had come up with an epilogue-including interpretive dance- of how to explain this to them.

I walk up to the front desk and this gentleman from our tour is ahead of me. He is saying-“do you understand? I have to put a key in the key holder. To get the lights to come on…..and if I don’t put it in there, the room gets hot…..so I have to keep it in there…..” –blank look from the front desk staff. “……you see! I have to keep the key in the holder! And I also need a key to get on the elevator! And I want to go out for dinner!”. – front staff: blink, blink….. “ I have left that key in my room!!!!! In the holder!! So that my AC stays on while I’m out!! BUT NOW I CAN’T GET IN MY ROOM. AND I’M GETTING VERY VERY FRUSTRATED”. Front staff: “um………..”-blank stare…… “I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DON’T GET IT!!! I NEED TO GET INTO MY ROOM. MY WIFE NEEDS TO GET IN THERE, BUT THE KEY IS IN THE HOLDER INSIDE THE DOOR!!!! SO I CAN’T GET IN. BECAUSE I HAVE TO LEAVE A KEY IN THE HOLDER IN ORDER TO KEEP MY LIGHTS AND AC ON”. Nervous giggles from the front staff. The man on the desk then turns to me- “Can I help you lady?”. I say, “yes. Can I have an extra key to my room please?”…… “Sure lady. What number?”
So he will forever more be known as Drover.

After our lunch (which was quite good-traditional Chinese dishes…pork, rice, fish, soup and Beer) we proceeded to the “Old City God Temple” area of the city. It is a bazaar of epic proportions. I was able to buy art supplies, purses and pajamas, all at below 1/16th of what it would cost at home. Amazing. It was crowded, but again, not as crowded as I had thought it would be. You obviously have to keep your wits about you when it comes to your valuables as always when you travel (even just out for dinner in Halifax…), but honestly I have been more afraid for my safety in the markets at Paris and Rome then here. So all and all it was a good experience. I wish I’d had more time and energy to shop-but I’m thinking there will be more time for this later…..
Then we were off to the highlight of the trip to Shanghai. The night cruise on the waterfront- “Bund”- area. The Chinese really know how to pull off a light show. The buildings start to light up as soon as dusk sets in (which is around 6pm) and they do a light display until late into the evening. Every city needs to invest in this….it was AMAZING. We had a prearranged boat tour booked-we have 36 on our tour, and I think the boat probably had 200-250 people on it altogether. All standing at the railing waiting for the cruise to begin….we walked to the top of the boat…and noticed an area roped off and a sign which we obviously couldn’t read. We saw seats, beer and wide open spaces with very few people…..Nicole and I gave each other that look- we WILL get in there. We asked the security what we had to do to get into this area and he said, “no no, very very expensive…”. We said “try us. We need to get in there because: beer. “. He said “okay. 50-Yuan.” I don’t think I have ever opened my purse faster. That is $10CAD. Each. We GLADLY handed over the money and walked into the VIP area, grabbed our ice cold Belgium beers and had a seat for the show. We felt like movie stars (how Vin must have been feeling all day).

The cruise will forever go down as one of the highlights of my life. My family. My sister. My husband. My brother. The four muppets. Carefree and happy. Not a concern in the world. Beer in hand. In CHINA. Seeing the things I always dreamed I would see. Ticking another box off my “see the world” bucket list. Lump in my throat. THIS is why we all work hard. And why we love this world we live in. And why we live for May.