Hi all,
All is well in Shanghai...no more scamming so far. As Anders said, I have to revert to being 5 years old and practice "Stranger Danger". It worked yesterday!
Yesterday I went to the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art - why this museum is not in my guidebook is a mystery to me. It had an amazing exhibit called "Couples in Contemporary Art", and featured artists who are also husband and wife. It was really beautiful. I sat on their rooftop and had a coffee and enjoyed the sun for the first time in 3 weeks.
Then I took the subway down to Nanjing Lu, which is a pedestrian shopping mall. When I exited the station, I am not exaggerating when I say that there were millions of people. You had to swim through the crowd, or with it, just to get any where. So I swam with the crowd down to The Bund - or waterfront - that overlooks the river and the Oriental Pearl, which is Asia's tallest building. The crowd was overwhelming, so I chose not to take a river cruise or cross the river to go up the Pearl.
I was of course the only westerner on the waterfront. All of China is here in Shanghai for the Chinese New Year it seems. When I stopped to eat my sandwich and drink my water, people literally stopped, gaped, and took out their cameras. It was hilarious and awkward. I was a zoo animal to them!
My guidebook failed me again when I tried to find the waterfront museum, where you can supposedly sit and have a drink and be free of the crowds. Curiously, every building on the waterfront is closed and construction cranes are everywhere. Perhaps the city is beautifying for the Shanghai Economic Expo? Nontheless, my trust in the Let's Go guidebooks has been thoroughly broken. Someone send me a Lonely Planet!
Enjoy a few pictures...I love you all!
Kendall
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