Well how about a late-night update lasses and lads? Shanghai, a bit like Disneyland. February 19th - 22nd First thing I did on February 19th? Arrive late for breakfast. Luckily the Chinese themselves aren’t very punctual. We were supposed to meet at 10.30, but this guy rolled out of bed around 10 and could use a decent washing up to get rid of the last bits of jetlag. So scrubby scrubby, got the old chompers clean, got the knots out of my hair, ironed the wrinkles out of my face and bam! Got me some English breakfast stat! (what? Chinese breakfast? Oh hell to the nay! Give me that artery clogging English stuff any day!) All righty then, time we laid some plans: Old shopping street, food, Yu Gardens,… Maybe some skyscraper if the weather turned for the better. The subway system of Shanghai is impressive, you can get anywhere in record time without paying massive amounts of money. We got to the typical tourist trap of a shopping street with a myriad of vending stalls and little shops with all kinds of useless souvenirs, ranging from whistles, teapots, seals (not the animal, but the stamp thingy…), brushes, cups, dinner plates, … to tea and unidentifiable foodstuff (remember, this is China). Being touristy works up an appetite. Soon we wound up at the tables of a little Sushi place where the food races by on a conveyor-belt. At 6 Kuai per plate (that’s about € 0,70) and unlimited amounts of tea, you quickly get a nice stack and a full stomach. Between the four of us we managed to finish 30 plates. Math time! 30 plates at 6 Kuai per plate makes 180 Kuai in total, or € 21,13. In about every restaurant you can get free ‘Kaishui’, which is boiling water. You get used to constantly drinking tea and warm water, which is supposedly good for the digestive system. Trust me, I tried drinking tea for a week or so and my digestive system ran like a maglev-train. Same as that specific train, nothing hit the sides and went like a bullet. So take it easy on the tea and spend some money on soda’s and other shenanigans. After dinner we went to ‘Superman’s Toy Store’. This is a store aimed for the more geeky customers: Action figures, statues, collectibles, movie props, piggy banks, key chains, posters, flags, … of a variety of anime, computer game, movie,… -characters. This store is a go-to place for collector’s or builders of Gundam kits. Shanghai feels very European, and around Chinese New Year (February 10th 2013) it’s pretty close to Disneyland. Around every corner you can find the dreadful ‘decorations’ in the most abominably loud colors. You can’t walk into a street without seeing some fluorescent Snake looming with not too very subtle advertising of Pepsi worked into it. And the Chinese love it! They are pushing and shoving to pose in front of these constructions with a proud smile on their face. All cameras are pointed at the dreadful contraptions until they notice the four westerners walking by. Thank the gods the Yu gardens weren’t far. The Yu gardens are an absolute must see for the gardening enthusiasts, and lovers of pretty things all together. These gardens are a great escape from the hustle and bustle that is Shanghai. To give you an idea: about 23 Million people on a slab of dirt about one third the size of Belgium. But the Yu gardens are a great way to get lost. Getting lost is the first thing you will do in these gardens and that’s exactly the charm of the place. For a moment you can forget you’re in a million people metropolis of decadency and simply wander around discovering caves and bridges and often go “hmm, I’ve been here before”. But every single time a little path beckons to show you something new and beautiful. The gardens seem to have no ending as you wander past ponds, caves, pavilions, bridges, bonsai trees,… leading you back to ancient China. It’s an oasis of peace and tranquility… until another godforsaken driver leans into his horn again breaking the spell. From the Yu gardens we went to a shopping mall. Not the fancy ooh-la-la Western malls the Shanghainese love so much, no ladies and gents! We were wandering into the tight walkways of a real Chinese mall. It’s pretty hard to describe. Imagine an underground parking lot: concrete, low ceilings and funny smelling. Got it? Now: add some small storage rooms (watch ‘Storage Wars’ on Discovery Channel to get the general idea) and leave an arm’s lengths of walking space stuffed with boxes and people sleeping and/or eating. When walking around there I had to crouch not to destroy the infrastructure by bumping my head into the ceiling, and if I stretched out my arms, I would be in two different stores at the same time. It’s one of those things you have to see to get a better understanding of the Chinese way of life, however I don’t recommend going in there if you’re claustrophobic. After our shopping spree we went to the ‘Coffeebean’ to get ourselves a ‘Sunrise’. It sounds pretty gay, and it probably is even gay-er: it’s basically a lemon milkshake. After the afternoon delight we stumbled across the ‘Crystal Jade’ restaurant which was in the Lonely Planet. So yeah, why not? Because it’s a pretty damn fancy expensive joint, that’s why. But hey, I didn’t pay so free food all the way! We got some barbecued meat, spring beans, shrimp and some fried rice with veggies. Night came swiftly and sleep fell over us shortly after. Nancy and Sander would tomorrow leave Tessa and me, heading back to tiny Belgium. February 20th we went to see the famouns ‘Bund’: the Shanghai skyline with the ‘Oriental Pearl Tower’ and such. We went there on foot (a mere 15 minute walk from hostel to Bund), scaring the Chinese senseless: “He’s so tall!’, trying not to see that they were taking pictures of our colorful gathering, ignoring street vendors trying to hawk the most useless stuff you can imagine (glasses with a plastic nose, and if you blew a colorful mustache would unfurl with a sound like a party whistle). It’s all part of the Shanghai experience. It’s a pretty impressive sight to see all those skyscrapers reaching for the heavens and every year a larger one seems to pop up. It’s a fine piece of craftsmanship to pull up all those shimmering shiny… Oh look a rusty old barge spewing tons of black greasy smoke. It’s a magnificent contrast to see all those brand new clean skyscrapers with the filthy river in front on which the oldest and shittiest barges steam by. Of course the Bund is overrun with tourists and the occasional marrying couple who found nothing more romantic than cold steel and rusty ships as a wedding picture background. Chinese men are total peacocks by the way. Let’s just say the groom’s tux was so bleached it hurt the eyes and made the bride’s dress look like they pulled it out of the river below. Of course they all tried to snap some shots of us not very subtle with their gigantic cameras. At least some had the decency to walk up to us to ask if it was okay to pose with us. It’s all part of the Disneyland theme, and we were clearly Mickey Mouse. We had seen enough of the Bund our stomachs decided, so went to a nearby restaurant to get some food. We were the only people in the place (apparently we have strange times to get hungry), and soon got a nice photo album on our laps so we could simply point out whatever looked delicious enough to be eaten. (never speak Chinese in China unless you have no other choice, otherwise they will bother you to no end) It is however pretty useful to be able to read Chinese, because they manage to make the craziest stuff look really good (like cooked blood, intestines,…) Food eaten, paperwork taken care of, so we went off to the Shanghai Museum. The Shanghai Museum: free of charge, security checks at every entrance and four stories of museum delight. We entered just in time, because no more visitors were admitted after us. We had about an hour to get a good look before they kicked us out, so we only visited a few expositions: Minorites, jade and furniture. The Chinese can be divided in a massive amount of minorities, each having their own customs and garments. The entire hall was filled with traditional gowns, jewelry, masks, ritual objects,… a very varied collection. After this we went to the Jade-exposition. I don’t think I have to explain what jade is (it’s a kind of greenish mineral, very popular in the Asian world), only that they can make virtually anything out of it: stamps, jewelry, belts, masks, pins,… Finally we went to see some ancient Chinese furniture. The detail of the carvings is mesmerizing to say the least. It takes a lot of patience and a steady hand to get a job like that done. Soon we got kicked out of the museum, after which we headed to ‘Xintiandi’, meaning literally ‘new heaven on earth’. Xintiandi is a small area in Shanghai with blue brick buildings in European style. These houses are also called ‘Shikumen’, meaning ‘stone gate’. It was here that the first congress of the Chinese Communist Party took place. This is one of the fancier places to be in shanghai, so you find a wide selection of Western restaurants and bars. We chose to quench our thirst at… Godiva! Chocolate milk! Sweet Belgian chocolate milk! It was a bit pricy to Chinese standards, but absolutely worth it! The establishment was filled with ‘fils-a-papa’, stuck up snobbish youngsters in fancy clothes, the most expensive watch on their wrist, the latest iPhone and iPad, and the strangest dyes of hair. (Chinese with blonde or copper hair look like a battery.) As soon as we got bored we pulled out some playing cards to which a waiter called his manager, who came to inform us that playing cards was not allowed in his establishment. Screw that, we chugged that chocolate milk and went to get another ‘Sunrise’ (we could play some cards there). For dinner we didn’t chose no fancy restaurant. I just had myself a nice spaghetti carbonara at the hostel, and the others chose for burgers and fries. After dinner we had to collect the luggage, for Sander and Nancy would leave soon. The subway ride was lengthy, as our hostel was in the center of Shanghai, while the airport is all the way at the edge over the Railway station. So we tried to exchange the note I got on my ride in to get my money back. You might remember that I entirely forgot all about it when I arrived. All I got was a grumpy old hag in front of me telling me that I should have exchanged the note the same day. Now it was useless. And that was the end of that! The airport was nearly abandoned, and after goodbyes Tessa and I were waiting for a taxi. (no more subways at this godforsaken hour) to bring us back to the Mingtown Hostel where we would stay for two more nights. February 21st we decided to sleep in, get some breakfast and then went to a nearby store to get some cookies and snacks to spend a day watching movies in our room. Near dinner time we decided to head out for a nice quiet meal at ‘Nepali Kitchen’, which was perfectly located next to a subway station (so no worries about getting there and back). Sadly they didn’t have a single free table left. “Only tatami”, the stout little waiter told me. I didn’t come all this way to leave empty-bellied, so sitting on the floor or some pillows would be fine by me. We had to deposit our shoes in a small cupboard and put on some slippers. Well good luck finding a size 45 in China! I looked like a put a baby’s hat on my feet. I didn’t wear the damn things long, I can tell you that (toe-strangling torture machines). We were deposited on small platforms with comfy pillows on them and ordered ourselves a little menu to make sure we got a good taste of several dishes. First off came a Lentil-soup after which the table got swamped with curry shrimp, stewed mushrooms, chicken with a Dali dip , all with tea and rice. I was stuffed to the brim, and the Chinese around us were feeling exactly the same way as their eyelids gave up the battle against gravity and slowly sagged into the pillows and started snoring. Finally the dessert was fresh fruit with liquid sugar and lemon juice on top. Needless to say I ate more than I should have and barely made it up the stairs at the hostel. No more adventures for that day, only sleep to give my body a fair chance to digest all that food. The final day announced itself on February 22nd with an early alarm, since we had to check out before 12 o’clock as we would be heading to Hangzhou later that day. After breakfast we headed back to the Shanghai Museum to get a better look at things. We went through the Currency Gallery: an exposition about money. They had coins from about every Chinese kingdom and dynasty, right up to the colonial coins. There even were coins which were in use during the reign of the great Genghis Kahn. Next came the Calligraphy and Painting galleries. The names are pretty self-explanatory. Sadly enough we couldn’t find a single work nor artist that sounded familiar after all those years of studying. Our bad, KUL’s bad or maybe the museum? A question worth posing. Then came the Chinese Seal Gallery. “Whaddayaknow, I never knew the Chinese had those animals here.” (shitty joke, I know.) No animals, only stamps. A Chinese calligraphy or painting is worth more if it has got a nice collection of stamps on it. Every artist, collector or dignitary put his stamp on every painting he bought. The more transactions, the more stamps and the more weight to your name, the bigger the stamp. So of course, the more stamps, and the more influential each stamp, the higher the value of an artwork. We went for tea soon after that, and continued down to the Ceramics Gallery: cups, statues and tableware with of course the obligatory explanation on the production process. We found out that the Chinese used to be very handy with hydraulics. They used watermills to transport water and raw materials and even had hydraulic hammers to grind the raw material into the final material with which they could create their art. The final two galleries were the Bronze Gallery and the Sculpture Gallery. China was famous for its bronze wares and we saw a vast collection of bells, coins, knives, swords, scissors, pottery,… And again we learned a great deal about how Bronze was shaped throughout Chinese history. The sculptures were in all shapes and sizes, made out of a variety of materials. Some were so detailed that their eyes seemed to follow us around. The closing our was upon us, so it was time to find some food. We found a nice looking place in a fancy shopping mall (a Western style mall: wide walkways, nice and clean, escalators and the shittiest music: Abba – Happy New Year was played every five minutes. On a vomi de l’Abba.). Unfortunately we made an order-error. We ordered seafood, which turned out to be dried. Have you ever had a turtle or a fish? It looked, smelled and tasted a bit like those little dried shrimp you give those pets. Luckily the grilled cauliflower, potato slices and marinated meat were delicious! After dinner we went for coffee at the ‘Pacific Coffee Company’: something like Starbucks which means shitty coffee. Coffee should be black, not see-through like tea. Also, the smallest cup was big enough to bathe in. I prefer a good old coffee at Johan and Diane’s (with 1 and a half lump of sugar thank you very much). Anyhow, I’ve had worse things to drink (like Pink Killer) and it washed away the taste of the fish food, I mean seafood. We headed back to the hostel to pick up our luggage, though my suitcase was more like a wardrobe on tiny wheels. We took a subway to the Hongqiao Railway Station, got our Tickets and placed ourselves in the waiting hall. It might be interesting to explain the entire train travelling system. So, you want to take a train in China? First things first: get into the train station. You got to get through security: put your luggage on a conveyor, walk through a metal detector, get frisked, and move along. Then you can get a ticket. It’s pretty much the same as in Belgium; you go to the window, tell the woman (there usually women) where you are heading and what class you want to be in, pay the damn thing and go wait for the train to arrive. What is interesting, is the fact that you can buy your tickets days in advance, which is highly recommended if you make a long journey (as you will read in the chapters about Hong Kong and the South-China wanderings). You don’t wait on the platform as is pretty standard procedure here in Belgium. No, you have to wait near a departure gate in a huge hall with a gazillion other people. About fifteen minutes before departure the gates open and you have to get your tickets scanned. Only then can you get to the platform, find the correct wagon and seat, dump your luggage in the front or back of the car, and settle down. All seats are numbered, and the Chinese are trading them like Pokémon cards to be able to sit next to each other. About one minute before the set departure hour all doors close and the train takes off. I do need to mention, these are the high speed trains. The other trains? Slightly different procedures but more will follow on those. At 300 km/h we raced to Hangzhou in about an hour. Hangzhou, 11 PM. A sea of people lumbered on before us. Last time I came here there were significantly less people about. It was so crowded that we couldn’t even get a taxi anymore (Taxis are by the way dirt-cheap in China). Crawling into a Tuk-Tuk was not an option with our huge bags and all. Taking a bus was not an option at this ungodly hour, so there was only one thing to do: March! So there I wandered through nightly China with a suitcase weighing about 60 kilos, on a half hour hike. Well we managed to keep our spirits up at least when we finally made it up the stairs of Tessa’s dorm. Of course I couldn’t stay there. Being a rebel was not an option, because the ‘Shifu’ slept in the hallway, guarding the poor college students from mischief. So we headed to Hangzhou’s Mingtown Hostel to see if they could put us up for the night. All they had left was a Balcony Room with Twin Beds. Some MacGyvering later we had ourselves a kingsize double bed, and headed off to get a midnight snack. The hostel’s bar was closing for business, so we went to the ‘Eudora Station’ a popular bar just around the corner where we had some Bruschetta and a Duvel (because still screw that Chinese swill!) before heading to bed. Adventure time! The hostel had closed and barred the doors saying we should enter through the backdoor. This wouldn’t be much of an issue, if only they had informed us where to find that bloody back door. After long wandering we walked into a shady little alley. It was squeezed in between some bars and restaurants, filled with garbage and waste containers. The best description I could give is “the kind of alley where you expect to find a dead body”. We finally found the dreaded backdoor and got to our room, which was freezing cold! There were cracks around the windows through which I could easily squeeze my finger. We turned up the heating, threw all available blankets on, and went to sleep swiftly. At least we made it to Hangzhou.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 21:42:53 +0000
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