My excitement grew as I made my way towards the exit of the subway station. As I stepped onto the streets of China for the first time I savored the moment. I took in the noise, heat, humidity, oodles of people, and general strangeness of the area… and it just felt right. My “moment” was quickly broken by an African American man (one of the few foureigners I would see) asking for directions. We fumbled with a map for a few minuets but couldn’t find the road he needed. I then proceded with finding the hostel I would be staying at for the night. My directions took me along a path that parralled the river and I found the walk to be quite enchanting.
I had to watch out for tons of people on bicycles and scooters that were zipping by though. Apparently scooters and smaller motorcycles are allowed on pedestrian paths in much of China, and riders are not required to wear helmets. It looked fun but certainly dangerous!
I loved my hostel instantly. A small, dimly lit entrance opened to a long pathway that ran alongside and behind the larger buildings.
After checking in I spent some time exploring the place before setting out to find dinner. It was everything I hoped it would be in all its grungy glory, the inside was like a labrynth with weird nooks and odd hallways.
Finally I set out on the street to find somewhere to eat. I was worried that not much would be available because it was getting late, but after wandering for not too long I found a little hole in the wall place. I approached the tiny restuarant and nervously told the waitress in bad Chinese that I would like to order food. She brought me a menu that fortunately had pictures. I just wanted something simple but most of the menu was composed of weird items that were translated in funny ways. I really wanted to take a picture of the menu but I didn’t want to seem rude. I ended up just getting Shanghai style chow mein and their house tofu. While I waited two older men at one of the tables talked to me for a little. I was so tired though and I had a hard time understanding them. There was one guy who knew some English so he helped out a bit. I had been debating but I finally decided to order a beer. They had Tsingtao and it was so refreshing. It came in a huge bottle though and I really didn’t want to drink that much. The two older guys were trying to get me to drink it from a small glass instead of the bottle, but the glass the waitress gave me was in a small set of dishes that was wrapped in plastic and I didn’t want to open it. I didn’t know if I would need to pay for it if I did. I started to feel really awkward and when my food came I tried to eat it quickly so I could leave. I drank half of the beer, capped it, and asked for a couple of take out boxes. I packed everything, including the beer, in my bag and hurried to pay. In the process I knocked over my bag, spilling beer all over the floor! I tried to clean it up but they told me not to. I left immeadiately feeling incredibly embarressed. I had just had my first “ugly American episode,” something I had hoped to avoid.
Dazed and feeling terrible, I wandered down the sidestreet pulling all of the items out of my bag. Almost everything was covered in beer. Wonderful. I put what I could into my pockets, hoping they would dry, and the rest I held in my hands. I was already getting strange stares from almost everyone so it’s not like I could make it worse. I then decided to make my way to The Bund, one of the largest tourist attractions in Shanghai, where the river is lined by many old colonial buildings that face the famous metropolitan skyline. Although it wasn’t my typical type of sight-seeing I still wanted to see that area, especially at night. I only had a general idea of where to go but I knew it would be hard to miss, so I just started wandering in the general direction. My route took my took me through many different areas, from dirty, run-down corners to fancy shopping malls, but at last I spotted what I was looking for.
A clear indicator of the the Shanghai skyline, the Oriental Pearl tower. I made it to the river’s edge just before the nearby clock struck eleven. When the last strike was done most of the brillant light display went dark, before I could get a picture. What I got was far less spectacular, and hard to take because there were still so many people crowding the area.
Ah well, maybe I’ll get another chance before I leave China. I then started making my way back to the hostel, this time by following the river. I was ready to drop by then but I knew I had about an hour’s walk ahead of me. The path I took was intriging though, it was quiet, dimly lit, had few people around, and no tourist attractions. It was the kind of setting I was hoping I would be able to see while I was in Shanghai. There were lovely riverside park areas with many nice plants and their were also decrepit, filthy street corners. Lots of stray cats darted here and there and I silently squealed with joy when I spotted several bats as well.
Finally I made it back to the hostel, took care of a few things, and then crashed.
