October 29th -- Shanghai!
Each evening, towards the end of dinner, it's Ernie's job to fetch the Princess Patter (or as we call it, the "Pitter Patter"). This is the ship's daily newsletter, which comes out by the time everyone is retiring for the night. It provides information about the following day's activities, and on port days, the details pertaining to disembarkation.
All along (since we booked the cruise a year ago), it had been our understanding that we would be able to leave the ship at 7:00 am in Shanghai. Nothing to the contrary was ever disclosed. Thus, we were quite alarmed when we read that the first shuttle bus, for non-tour group passengers, would be leaving at 8:30 am. Our friend, Randi Ponek, now lives is Shanghai, and had arranged a van to pick her up at 7:00 and then proceed to the rendezvous point where the shuttle would drop us off in Shanghai. It was evident that priority disembarkation was being given to those passengers who had signed up for Princess tours on shore. We never use the Princess tours because we are comfortable exploring on our own, and we strongly dislike being stuck on a bus with a large group of tourists.
So, off we went to complain, with Jan and I taking the lead in giving the Purser's Desk a piece of our minds for the confusion, misinformation and a suggested remedy for getting out of the commercial port sooner than 8:30. Although we received empathy, no solution to our dilemma was offered. Even though it was nearing 11:00 pm, we thought we'd best call Randi, and give her a "heads up" about the newly discovered problem. She thought it would be best then to meet us at the dock.... although Al (always the wise one) questioned whether she and her van driver would be allowed access into the secured area of the commercial port.
In the morning, we got off shortly after 7:00 and called Randi. She and the driver were already at the port's gate, and preparing to negotiate a way to gain access to drive to the ship. Within five minutes here comes a FULL SIZED sightseeing bus, with Randi hovering next to the driver. We couldn't believe our eyes! Were the nine of us really going to be touring in this giant bus all day?? Where would it park?? Not so. Leave it to Randi.... she literally hijacked this bus because the port security would not let the van within the secured area. Now at least we are united with Randi, but how do we get out of the port?? Wow, we are impressed as Randi starts rattling in Chinese to the security guys, who are standing around. But, it didn't lead to any success. Next she told them that we were just going to walk out, which caused the one guy to get very upset. She told us, "Come on, what are they going to do... shoot us?". Uh, well, we are in China after all, and they just might! Since that wasn't going to work, Randi proceeded to begin negotiations with some other van drivers, representing travel agencies. They wanted $2 per person, which she felt was outrageous (by local Chinese standards); the rest of us didn't think it was so bad. At least it would get us off the dock. Comically, the boss of the van drivers finally got fed up, and wasn't about to deal with us further. Now we were stuck. I asked Al to give me a $20 bill, and I would talk to the boss of the van drivers.... a different face might be a good idea. Sure enough, he took the money, and we were finally able to depart towards the gate, and meet the van that Randi had arranged for our day of adventures. We all got quite a laugh out of the way our day started. By the way, the next day Princess refunded us the $20, as an apology for the inconvenience their lack of clear information had caused. That was appreciated.
Our ship was docked at pier 3988. Randi taught us that 8's are lucky numbers, so most likely all the piers have 8's in the number.
How fun to see Randi, who has been living in Shanghai with her family for about five years now. It's just too bad that on this trip we won't get to see Steve, her husband, or their daughters Qing Qing and Julia.
We began by strolling through the French Concession, which is considered the most graceful part of Shanghai. The streets are tree-lined, with French influenced architecture. We visited a local park, and were very amused by all of the outdoor exercise machines. A local gentleman very willingly showed us how to use the various pieces of colorful equipment. Although he spoke no English, he was quite the ambassador, and was enjoying being our trainer. The park was also popular with granmothers and toddlers. Very very cute little children, all smiles. I didn't use the restroom in the park, because I would rather hold it, than use a squat toilet. Those who did reported seeing the caretakers' living quarters behind the toilet rooms! A member of the household was prepping food in the sink between the men's and women's WC! We fraternized with a group of older men, who were discussing life, sitting in the park's gazebo. They were very welcoming, and were pleased to have their pictures taken. We all bid each other a friendly good-bye, and they invited us to stay longer in Shanghai.
On a nearby street corner, a couple of friendly younger men approached us with catalogs of handbags. Randi explained that Shanghai is trying to eliminate the "knock off" trade, so the vendors have gone underground. Rather than displaying their wares on the sidewalks, they now approach you with pictures. The guys seemed very nice, but we would have never followed them on our own, because we had no idea what they were up to. Because we had the good fortune to have Randi's language skills, suddenly we were following these two down a back alley, and into a shabby doorway. Surprise! We rounded the corner, and there was a perfectly lovely, well lit store, stocked with handbags, samples of shoes, wallets, scarves, watches. The Xiang Yang Lu fake market. Here's an example of how the haggling works. A "Prada" bag started at 1200 yuan, which Randi negotiated down to 280 yuan, or approximately $38. Most foreigners (certainly including us) wouldn't know enough to haggle that far down.
The streets are remarkably clean. We see various sorts of litter collectors, with their designated form of litter stacked high on their bicycles. Sometimes you wondered how they could even see over the top of cardboard, styrofoam or bags of who knows what. We enjoyed watching the "conveniece store" carts, also pulled by bikes. What an assortment of goods they offer. Shower caps, toothbrushes, detergent, hair accessories, etc.
Still in the French Concession, our next stop was a restaurant called "Grapes" for lunch. A fantastic assortment of local food, served family style. For all nine of us, including the local beer, the cost for lunch was $23 US!! Now you can appreciate why Randi was beside herself at the idea of paying $20 for the ride from the ship to the port's gate. Randi would have been fine eating Italian food, since she tends to be wary of how food is processed here, but she had heard that "Grapes" has a good reputation among the ex-pat community. We were all happy with the meal (and no one got sick!). When Randi comes home, she returns to China was a suitcase full of maple syrup, organic peanut butter, spices, canned salmon, vitamins, nuts, dried beans and lentils (she trusts none of this stuff locally).
Dongtai Lu (Dongtai Road) is where the French Concession meets Old Town. Dealers of old and "new" antiques line the streets, in an ecclectic atmosphere. This was a really fun area to wander in. Items for sale include pictures of Mao Tse Tung and the "Red book" of Mao's teachings. English translations are also available. I asked Randi who would want this stuff. Western tourists. Sitting in the cool afternoon sun, clusters of people were playing Majong, a popular table game with tiles.
Old Town is a remaining remnant of what life used to be like throughout Shanghai. Laundry hung out to dry, people emptying their chamber pots, older folks sitting around passing time, restaurant workers shelling shrimp on the sidewalk, homemakers perhaps fattening up a duck for a future meal. Rather unfortunately, the government is now consistently seizing block after block of Old Town, and moving the people from their neighborhoods into the suburbs, to make room for more high rises. Shanghai recently "topped off" a building under construction, which is currently the world's tallest skyscraper. That is, until a building in Dubai is completed. The Shanghai skyline is beautiful. The amount of building and development taking place is virtually unmatched anywhere in the world. But, hopefully they will retain some of the charm of the old ways.
We visited what remains of the old Shanghai Wall. In reality we couldn't quite tell if the bricks were really that old, or rebuilt as a local attraction. No matter, it was interesting anyway. Our next stop was a Taoist temple. In the center courtyard stood several large burn pots, where worshippers can offer their sacrifices. A shop sells the various things one can burn, ranging from incense to intricately folded lantern-like objects and cardboard houses, the size of a little girl's dollhouse. Inside the temple, from floor to ceiling, are dozens of deities, some peaceful and others fierce looking. Each seemed to symbolize certain Chinese years. For instance, one was sitting next to a large tiger, for the Year of the Tiger (Al and Ernie's year). Another was holding a monkey, for the Year of the Monkey (Janet and Gary's year). I didn't find one with a horse (my year), but I'm sure it was in there somewhere.
We walked past the local "supermarket", outdoor style. You name it, you could buy it from the vendors. Rice noodles, produce, seafood of all sorts, eel, eggs (chicken, duck, quail), and even have your duck or other poultry slaughtered fresh for dinner.
The YuYuan Gardens & the Mid-Lake Pavillion Teahouse are a very popular tourist attraction. A zigzag bridge over the glittering ponds leads to the Teahouse. The path is not straight because evil spirits can only travel in a straight line. Although a tourist spot, it is pretty and colorful. No doubt there are times when it is overly crowded, but that wasn't our experience. Surrounding all this is the restored bazaar area. It's a bit Disneyland-ish, but not a bad spot for souvenir shopping. There are more than 100 shops and restaurants underneath the old pagoda style of Chinese architecture. Neon dragons light up as the evening light dims.
Our last stop is The Bund. The Bund gets its name from Hindi, where "band" is an embankment built up to discourage flooding. Randi chose this area because after dark there are dazzling views of night lights of Pudong, and the Bund's buildings. We had dinner and wine in the elegant New Heights restaurant. It really was lovely and a relaxing way to round out our wonderful day in Shanghai. Gam Bei! Simply put, that means "Cheers", but more literally it is "dry glass". We dined and visited for a couple of hours before it was time to return to the shuttle bus boarding point.
As we boarded the bus, of course there were vendors selling Mont Blanc pens -- I think Steve got them down to something like 15 for $10. No doubt they'll last at least a week. The vendors were jolly, and it was great fun to watch Steve dicker with them.
What an incredible way to experience Shanghai. We are so grateful to Randi, who was a magnificent guide! Tai xie xie le! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
All along (since we booked the cruise a year ago), it had been our understanding that we would be able to leave the ship at 7:00 am in Shanghai. Nothing to the contrary was ever disclosed. Thus, we were quite alarmed when we read that the first shuttle bus, for non-tour group passengers, would be leaving at 8:30 am. Our friend, Randi Ponek, now lives is Shanghai, and had arranged a van to pick her up at 7:00 and then proceed to the rendezvous point where the shuttle would drop us off in Shanghai. It was evident that priority disembarkation was being given to those passengers who had signed up for Princess tours on shore. We never use the Princess tours because we are comfortable exploring on our own, and we strongly dislike being stuck on a bus with a large group of tourists.
So, off we went to complain, with Jan and I taking the lead in giving the Purser's Desk a piece of our minds for the confusion, misinformation and a suggested remedy for getting out of the commercial port sooner than 8:30. Although we received empathy, no solution to our dilemma was offered. Even though it was nearing 11:00 pm, we thought we'd best call Randi, and give her a "heads up" about the newly discovered problem. She thought it would be best then to meet us at the dock.... although Al (always the wise one) questioned whether she and her van driver would be allowed access into the secured area of the commercial port.
In the morning, we got off shortly after 7:00 and called Randi. She and the driver were already at the port's gate, and preparing to negotiate a way to gain access to drive to the ship. Within five minutes here comes a FULL SIZED sightseeing bus, with Randi hovering next to the driver. We couldn't believe our eyes! Were the nine of us really going to be touring in this giant bus all day?? Where would it park?? Not so. Leave it to Randi.... she literally hijacked this bus because the port security would not let the van within the secured area. Now at least we are united with Randi, but how do we get out of the port?? Wow, we are impressed as Randi starts rattling in Chinese to the security guys, who are standing around. But, it didn't lead to any success. Next she told them that we were just going to walk out, which caused the one guy to get very upset. She told us, "Come on, what are they going to do... shoot us?". Uh, well, we are in China after all, and they just might! Since that wasn't going to work, Randi proceeded to begin negotiations with some other van drivers, representing travel agencies. They wanted $2 per person, which she felt was outrageous (by local Chinese standards); the rest of us didn't think it was so bad. At least it would get us off the dock. Comically, the boss of the van drivers finally got fed up, and wasn't about to deal with us further. Now we were stuck. I asked Al to give me a $20 bill, and I would talk to the boss of the van drivers.... a different face might be a good idea. Sure enough, he took the money, and we were finally able to depart towards the gate, and meet the van that Randi had arranged for our day of adventures. We all got quite a laugh out of the way our day started. By the way, the next day Princess refunded us the $20, as an apology for the inconvenience their lack of clear information had caused. That was appreciated.
Our ship was docked at pier 3988. Randi taught us that 8's are lucky numbers, so most likely all the piers have 8's in the number.
How fun to see Randi, who has been living in Shanghai with her family for about five years now. It's just too bad that on this trip we won't get to see Steve, her husband, or their daughters Qing Qing and Julia.
We began by strolling through the French Concession, which is considered the most graceful part of Shanghai. The streets are tree-lined, with French influenced architecture. We visited a local park, and were very amused by all of the outdoor exercise machines. A local gentleman very willingly showed us how to use the various pieces of colorful equipment. Although he spoke no English, he was quite the ambassador, and was enjoying being our trainer. The park was also popular with granmothers and toddlers. Very very cute little children, all smiles. I didn't use the restroom in the park, because I would rather hold it, than use a squat toilet. Those who did reported seeing the caretakers' living quarters behind the toilet rooms! A member of the household was prepping food in the sink between the men's and women's WC! We fraternized with a group of older men, who were discussing life, sitting in the park's gazebo. They were very welcoming, and were pleased to have their pictures taken. We all bid each other a friendly good-bye, and they invited us to stay longer in Shanghai.
On a nearby street corner, a couple of friendly younger men approached us with catalogs of handbags. Randi explained that Shanghai is trying to eliminate the "knock off" trade, so the vendors have gone underground. Rather than displaying their wares on the sidewalks, they now approach you with pictures. The guys seemed very nice, but we would have never followed them on our own, because we had no idea what they were up to. Because we had the good fortune to have Randi's language skills, suddenly we were following these two down a back alley, and into a shabby doorway. Surprise! We rounded the corner, and there was a perfectly lovely, well lit store, stocked with handbags, samples of shoes, wallets, scarves, watches. The Xiang Yang Lu fake market. Here's an example of how the haggling works. A "Prada" bag started at 1200 yuan, which Randi negotiated down to 280 yuan, or approximately $38. Most foreigners (certainly including us) wouldn't know enough to haggle that far down.
The streets are remarkably clean. We see various sorts of litter collectors, with their designated form of litter stacked high on their bicycles. Sometimes you wondered how they could even see over the top of cardboard, styrofoam or bags of who knows what. We enjoyed watching the "conveniece store" carts, also pulled by bikes. What an assortment of goods they offer. Shower caps, toothbrushes, detergent, hair accessories, etc.
Still in the French Concession, our next stop was a restaurant called "Grapes" for lunch. A fantastic assortment of local food, served family style. For all nine of us, including the local beer, the cost for lunch was $23 US!! Now you can appreciate why Randi was beside herself at the idea of paying $20 for the ride from the ship to the port's gate. Randi would have been fine eating Italian food, since she tends to be wary of how food is processed here, but she had heard that "Grapes" has a good reputation among the ex-pat community. We were all happy with the meal (and no one got sick!). When Randi comes home, she returns to China was a suitcase full of maple syrup, organic peanut butter, spices, canned salmon, vitamins, nuts, dried beans and lentils (she trusts none of this stuff locally).
Dongtai Lu (Dongtai Road) is where the French Concession meets Old Town. Dealers of old and "new" antiques line the streets, in an ecclectic atmosphere. This was a really fun area to wander in. Items for sale include pictures of Mao Tse Tung and the "Red book" of Mao's teachings. English translations are also available. I asked Randi who would want this stuff. Western tourists. Sitting in the cool afternoon sun, clusters of people were playing Majong, a popular table game with tiles.
Old Town is a remaining remnant of what life used to be like throughout Shanghai. Laundry hung out to dry, people emptying their chamber pots, older folks sitting around passing time, restaurant workers shelling shrimp on the sidewalk, homemakers perhaps fattening up a duck for a future meal. Rather unfortunately, the government is now consistently seizing block after block of Old Town, and moving the people from their neighborhoods into the suburbs, to make room for more high rises. Shanghai recently "topped off" a building under construction, which is currently the world's tallest skyscraper. That is, until a building in Dubai is completed. The Shanghai skyline is beautiful. The amount of building and development taking place is virtually unmatched anywhere in the world. But, hopefully they will retain some of the charm of the old ways.
We visited what remains of the old Shanghai Wall. In reality we couldn't quite tell if the bricks were really that old, or rebuilt as a local attraction. No matter, it was interesting anyway. Our next stop was a Taoist temple. In the center courtyard stood several large burn pots, where worshippers can offer their sacrifices. A shop sells the various things one can burn, ranging from incense to intricately folded lantern-like objects and cardboard houses, the size of a little girl's dollhouse. Inside the temple, from floor to ceiling, are dozens of deities, some peaceful and others fierce looking. Each seemed to symbolize certain Chinese years. For instance, one was sitting next to a large tiger, for the Year of the Tiger (Al and Ernie's year). Another was holding a monkey, for the Year of the Monkey (Janet and Gary's year). I didn't find one with a horse (my year), but I'm sure it was in there somewhere.
We walked past the local "supermarket", outdoor style. You name it, you could buy it from the vendors. Rice noodles, produce, seafood of all sorts, eel, eggs (chicken, duck, quail), and even have your duck or other poultry slaughtered fresh for dinner.
The YuYuan Gardens & the Mid-Lake Pavillion Teahouse are a very popular tourist attraction. A zigzag bridge over the glittering ponds leads to the Teahouse. The path is not straight because evil spirits can only travel in a straight line. Although a tourist spot, it is pretty and colorful. No doubt there are times when it is overly crowded, but that wasn't our experience. Surrounding all this is the restored bazaar area. It's a bit Disneyland-ish, but not a bad spot for souvenir shopping. There are more than 100 shops and restaurants underneath the old pagoda style of Chinese architecture. Neon dragons light up as the evening light dims.
Our last stop is The Bund. The Bund gets its name from Hindi, where "band" is an embankment built up to discourage flooding. Randi chose this area because after dark there are dazzling views of night lights of Pudong, and the Bund's buildings. We had dinner and wine in the elegant New Heights restaurant. It really was lovely and a relaxing way to round out our wonderful day in Shanghai. Gam Bei! Simply put, that means "Cheers", but more literally it is "dry glass". We dined and visited for a couple of hours before it was time to return to the shuttle bus boarding point.
As we boarded the bus, of course there were vendors selling Mont Blanc pens -- I think Steve got them down to something like 15 for $10. No doubt they'll last at least a week. The vendors were jolly, and it was great fun to watch Steve dicker with them.
What an incredible way to experience Shanghai. We are so grateful to Randi, who was a magnificent guide! Tai xie xie le! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
posted by Sniglet's Mom @ 12:20 AM
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