The Battle of the Bund

Well, it's been about a month since my last post. I felt that if I gave it a longer amount of time between posts, then I'd have more to say. As I start this, my mind is empty again, but maybe something will come up while I write. Here goes.

May 1st is May Holiday in China, also known as 五一, or 5.1 (as in May 1st). This is exemplary of most Chinese logic: very straightforward. I asked for a forward from my May paycheck and received ¥2000 ($300) for a vacation to Shanghai. I'd thought about going to Hong Kong and Macau, but given the time I had off - only 3 weekdays - this wouldn't happen. Unfortunately, my Aston franchise is miserly when it comes to days off; most other Aston teachers I know received the entire weekend off, along with Friday, but I only got one day, with my usual two off days a week tacked on. Disappointing, to say the least.

Off I went, though, to Shanghai. Well, almost. I got to the Hefei train station at 8:15, about 10 minutes before my train departed, but went to the wrong waiting room. I asked people to help point me in the right direction but, alas, they were just as uninformed as I, because they ended up pointing me in the wrong direction. I missed my train to Shanghai and ended up having to take a bus. The train would have taken 3 hours, the bus took 7. Add to that being wedged against a window next to a mother AND her 6 year old son, and the bus ride ended up being rather painful.

Nevertheless, I finally arrived at Shanghai (albeit 4 hours tardy), quickly picked up the metro system (easy considering there was plenty of English, and I'd done some studying beforehand) and made my way to Captain International Hostel, my home for a few days of travel. The hostel ended up being wonderfully situated, just next to the Bund and across the river from the new financial district. The Bund is Shanghai's historic waterfront on the West side of the river that Shanghai sits on. It's buildings constituted the first Western banks and businesses that began trade with China in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Contrastingly, across the river lies the new skyline, a powerful vista of +80 story buildings in a variety of architectural styles that dominates the skyline from anywhere in the city. The image is a starking contrast between old China and new China, and the center attraction of most tourist visits to the city.

However, tourist I am not. Explorer and adventurer, I am. I met up with another Aston teacher, an American-Egyptian, who is teaching in Wenzhou, a smaller coastal town about six hours south of Shanghai (by train). He had several friends in Shanghai who he knew from Wenzhou and, as the sun set, we all became acquainted over drinks on the Captain's rooftop cafe. The night that followed was full of drunken debauchery, ... well not so much debauchery, because these folks tended on the tame side... so just drunkenness. We intended to attempt an ascent of the Shanghai World Financial Center, one of the tallest buildings in the world, but arrived too late, so instead got dinner at an Italian restaurant, then proceed to a bar, afterwards a bar / club. Altogether a relatively successful first night, given the circumstances by which I left Hefei.

Day two started strongly, with bacon and eggs in the morning at the hostel. I had to pay extra for the bacon and eggs, about ¥24, or $3.50. Expensive by Chinese prices, and the following day when I asked for the same dish, I was a little taken aback, because I distinctly do not remember paying that much money for bacon and eggs, but apparently I must have, for I feasted on a proper English breakfast. After my friends had some hotel difficulties, we ventured out into the city with several goals: first, to find a Chinese phrasebook (for one of my friends) and some English magazines and books (for me); second, to buy train tickets back home; third, to rent bikes so we could better explore the city.

The first goal went smoothly. I found a book by Taleb that is on my reading list, fortunate considering if I hadn't found one I would be waiting another few weeks until I can buy books en masse from Amazon and ask my 'rents to ship them thisaway. My friend found a nice little phrasebook. Success.

The second goal hiccuped. I found my train ticket OK, and decided even to stay an extra night, returning to Hefei on Thursday morning (I wouldn't have to work Thursday until 2 PM). However, my friend indecisively teetered between bus, train and plane, and ended up not only not buying anything (much to my chagrin), but also (to my exasperation) prolonging our train station adventure to a near five hour diversion. So much for the bikes. So much for watching the sunset from the top of the tallest building in the world.

Nevertheless, I spearheaded an attempt at the third goal. We took the metro to the stop closest the bike shop where the cheapest bikes were available and began making our way towards the bike shop, asking pedestrians to help direct us (since I wasn't quite sure exactly where Fuxing Road was). Before we found it, however, we ran out of fuel and had to stop for dinner. Coincidentally, the bike shop is near the French Concession of Shanghai, or 新天地. This area of town is the nicest part of Shanghai, the most sophisticated and cosmopolitan, with a very European feel and a plethora of small bars, cafes and bistros. We almost chose to eat at Papa Johns, but instead discovered a small alleyway with a quaint little Italian place where we ate outside under the evening sky. The atmosphere was perfect, for me, but they thought it was a bit pricey. The food was well worth it. I had tortellini. It was awesome.

After dinner, I made another push for the bikes, but my comrades were fatigued from the day's wanderings and called off the bike quest. Instead, we went by foot (and metro) to the World Financial Center. We stopped by the 87th floor of Jinmao tower (2nd largest building in Shanghai) and the 100th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center. On top of Jinmao tower, there is a bar called Cloud Nine, where they serve overpriced beverages and food. We hung out there for a while. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Being 87 stories above ground level is an eye-opening experience. For me, it provided a little insight into the insignificance of the individual in society, the disconnect between corporate executives and everybody else, and the lives of the elite. When I decide to focus on philosophizing, I will do so from the top floor of the nearest skyscraper. On top of the SWFC, there is a jazz bar, where we also hung out for a few minutes, but didn't buy anything. Once again, the cheapest thing on the menu was ¥65 ($10), which isn't too bad, considering, but relative to our budgets was impractical. We called it a night.

The third day was the most adventurous. My friends must have reconsidered the bike idea, because they proposed it too me directly in the morning. After a little snack on the roof of the Captain, and some goofing around with some Chinese hats we found in the bar, we made off towards the bike shop. Inevitably (after a mandatory stop at The Coffee Bean, perhaps the greatest coffee shop on the face of the planet), we picked up the bikes. We even haggled the (very nice) Malaysian bike shop owner down to ¥50 a day for each bike, rather than the advertised ¥80. Much success. After both of my friends had a shaky start (each one took a spill a.k.a. fell off their bikes), we were on our way. We biked around the city, got my friend's bus ticket home (he finally decided...), grabbed some barbecue, stopped by Old Town, and saw a good amount of the city. My indecisive friend had to leave for home that evening, so we returned the bikes around 9 PM and the two of us remaining headed to the French Concession for drinks. I tried to meet up with a buddy of mine for further drinks and a longer night, but his phone ran out of batteries, and that was that. The rest is history. I made it back to Hefei without any major difficulties (although I did have to stay on the train an additional stop because I thought I'd lost my cell phone... then take the train BACK to Hefei... minor difficulty).

That ended up being a nice piece on Shanghai, so I'm retitling this post from "May happenings..." to "The Battle of the Bund", which happens to be the name of the facebook albums for my Shanghai trip. The "battle" was my immune system's fight against swine flu, which was suspected to be hiding somewhere in Shanghai while I was there. A Mexican citizen flying to Hong Kong had stopped through Shanghai on the 28th of April and the Chinese government took decisive action by quarantining everybody on his flight in a variety of hotels across China - one was in Shanghai, and the cab drivers he came into contact with (two of them) while in Shanghai. The infected individual was quarantined in Hong Kong. Everybody in Hefei made a big deal, and even asked me not to go to Shanghai, because of the massive amount of panic instigated by the media at the end of April. I went anyway, aware of the situation but with no fear. Instead, choosing to be cautious. Hence, "the battle". To see some pictures of my adventure, check out the facebook albums.

That's it for now, I'll post again soon, in less than a month, I promise.

Later!