I have been meaning to write for a few days now that the only sign of Internet censorship we found here is that we cannot read our blog (although we can post to it - go figure). So we cannot see comments - better email them....
Back to our regular programming:
Shanghai is China's economical and business capital and that was evident immediately upon landing - a very modern skyscraper-rich skyline and some very beautiful modern buildings mixed in a peculiar fashion with old, run down buildings with laundry hanging out to "air" in the smog. The hotel is Japanese-run and very fancy. And the Shanghai population immediately proved true to what we heard about them - much less friendly and pleasant than the other Chinese we met (and supposedly much more stingy too), with many more educated and very affluent-looking people and a very high population of expats - foreigners who work here in the many international companies in the city.
Our guide this time was 'Victor', and he was extremely annoying. He kept changing the program on us, talked on the phone incessantly, tried keeping us on a very short leash by barking short commands at us, and doing very little guiding in between. We started in the Shanghai Museum which is one of the best museums we have ever seen with amazing bronzework and pottery dating back all the way to around 2000 b.c.e ! We could have stayed there the whole day....
The next stop was a typical tourist trap - a silk factory with an attached store. Notwithstanding, the silk manufacturing process is very interesting and we ended up bying a duvet...
We continued to the Jewish section where, to Victor's surprise, we insisted on leaving the van and seeing the synagogue. The synagogue keeper was half Jewish and gave us a nice explanation which was very hard to follow due to his most peculiar accent. But we loved the way he pronounced the Jewish holidays' names (mostly in an Ashkenazi accent, but he had a good grasp of the difference between Ashkenazim and Spharadim - at one point Shanghai boasted of 3 synagogues!) and we got an idea of the Shanghai Jews' history from the pamphlets and posters there.
Then we were herded to the Yu Gardens - an amazing oasis in the middle of the bustle of Shanghai surrounded by an Arts & Crafts Market. This part of town really reminded me of Kyoto but Avi denies the similarity.
Lunch won the 'worst meal so far' award - similar to the bad meal experiences we had 4 years ago in China, although truthfully the food was no worse than mediocre.
By then we were so fed up with Victor we decided to have them drop us off at the hotel so we can get rid of our bags and continue on our own (without tipping Victor - I am afraid we have created another antisemite...)
We took the subway (very modern and easy to navigate) to Najing St. - a bustling pedestrian street lined with stores and much less interesting than advertized in the book, and continued to the Bund - a promenade on the riverfront with a view to Punong - the very modern section with high-rises. We were disappointed by the lack of cafes on the Bund but had a very pleasant stroll and then walked back through a pretty park and a bamboo grove. We were hoping to get back to the Arts & Crafts section but ended up in a local food market and then a local general market - both places lacked tourists and tourist-geared merchandise completely and were lots of fun.
At this point we hailed a cab and started going to the hotel but stopped the driver when we he drove through a modern area full of malls which looked like having a high coffee-potential. We ended up in a Haagen-Dasz and just as we ordered, Karin - Judes's cousin called and came there to meet us. She is working here for Pepsi, and we spent a very nice evening with her - had the best Chinese meal in a very hip restaurant and then took a stroll in the local SoHo - there definitely is a lot of money in this town!
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