Shanghai days and nights
Well the trip to Shanghai was good, bad and sometimes ugly. Cast of characters include, Brenna, Winnie and myself. Here's to expain:
The trip going........
Trains are set up with different cars that have different things. On the same train you have cars with hard seats, soft seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers. We had soft seaters but this is no picnic. The seats don't recline or anything and the table set up for the 6 people sitting at it has just enough room for the one person sitting next to it. So the person sitting on the other end gets no table to put their heads down on. 19 hours, crowded train, zero sleep and not very comfortable seats. You do the math. We were very tired when we got to Shanghai. But I'm skipping ahead.
We brought some cards with us and played tons of games. There was a guy sitting across from us who spoke english and we had a blast playing cards with him. We gave him an english name (Mark) and was really happy to have met him. Made the time go by. Speaking of names, Winnie gave me a chinese name. My Chinese name is LiLiSha. Now you don't get the full effect as I'm unable to write it in full pinyin here. Pinyin is what makes the difference in the sounds. Now with chinese names they put the first name last and the last name first. So for example, the famous cellist that we know as Yoyo Ma, they know him here as MaYoyo. So actually my chinese name if it was to be said in a western way would be LiSha Li. LiSha means beautiful sand. I really like it.
Arrived in Shanghai...........
So when we got to Shanghai, admittedly we were so excited that we no longer felt tired. Even though none of us really got any sleep. My first thought of Shanghai. Very very beautiful and so many buildings. A real booming metropolis. Anyway, what was really great was that we had to take the subway to get to our hotel......I mean hostel (I'll get to that in a minute). They are light years ahead of us with the subways. They have these plasma screens on the platform that tell you the current time, show some ads and tell you how long it will take for the next train to arrive. This thing is precise. You watch the countdown of the next arrival. At first I thought it was off, because it said that the train would arrive in 20 seconds but the train was already pulling in. Then Winnie told me that the time was referring to the moment the train stopped and then I realized that it was exactly correct. The moment the trained stopped is when the counter went to zero. In the train is very nice and there are plasma screens at the doors as well. Mostly with adds and stuff on it but just before you get to the next stop it tells you what it is. Plus there is an overhead announcement that is made. Can't get lost there.
Arrving at the hotel.......I mean hostel
So we finally arrive at the hostel to drop off our stuff. A hostel is a place I've never been to and something I'm not dying to repeat again. Yeah it was clean and well kept but it wasn't entirely fun sharing a room with 5 or 6 other strangers. Plus all the people that stay there all seem to be cut from the same cloth. They are all these sort of young adults (late teens, early 20's) The young hippie I call them sometimes, or the mature couple out to see the world. Call my a prissy princess but I like a hotel with a room that's all mine and the option to call room service anytime. Not to mention the fact that I don't have to share toilets or bathrooms. Anyway, Bre and I consoled ourselves with the fact that we were only going to be there at night and at that time we would be sleeping anyway.
Out and about...........
So we dropped our bags off and did some shopping around town. I turned into this bargaining queen and was getting mad discouts at every shop I went into. I bargained everything to death. Alot more people speak english in Shanghai and I'm getting to know more chinese so it was easy for us to meet each other half way in communication. I was having a blast but Breanna was being a little brat because Shanghai was so crowded and people push everywhere. I let her know that pushing them back would only relieve her frustration but it wouldn't do anything to them since they're all used to it. As the evening came on, we dropped our bags off and were looking for a party. Well actually just a bar we can drink at. We got to the place that we believe may have been a strip club. I say allegedly and Bre says for sure. However there were no strippers, no naked people, no people period. The place was empty but they were playing music and we were able to drink. We made the best of it and got home pretty drunk (don't worry ma, I didn't drive, we walked).
The next day......
Well we woke up and we were pretty good. Memories of the night kept us laughing. We called Winnie for the day's plan but she said she would meet us at 5pm. We opted to see Shanghai and go to a museum. Unfortunately since we got into town it was raining and it still was by then. I had gotten the beginings of a cold (not from the rain. I don't get it that way. I think may have gotten it from Winnie) and was feeling a little run down. Anyway, we went around to People's Square and then up to the museum. This was really nice and the museum is so beautiful. Inside and out. (speaking of which there is a lot of beautiful architechture in Shanghai).
After the museum we walked to the other side of town and went to Yu Yuan gardens. Very beautiful and I got to feed the fish. By the time afernoon hit, I had lost my voice but was trying to keep moving. After the gardens we went back home and found Winnie waiting for us.
The girls let me take a nap, where I got my voice back and a little more energy to keep going.
The evening plan was to get something to eat and then meet back at the hostel to meet up with this girl that Breanna met and then we would all go to the TV tower. Girl's name is Melanie. She's 19 and is travelling on her own from Germany. She's alright.
Well the plan went nicely and the trip to the TV tower was good. It was no CN tower but you can't blame them for trying. Anyway, we got back home and I was down for the count.
The next day............
Well the cold really took a hold of me and I wasn't able to do a thing. I slept all day Tuesday and all night as well. We had a plan to go see old Shanghai but I couldn't make it. I didn't have a coat or umbrella and it was still pouring rain. For the sake of my health, I declined. I can always go another time. Shanghai isn't going anywhere.
The day after that..............
Well I felt better now and we had to get our stuff together to get going. We did some last minute shopping and packed up. I got some nice things for myslef and was surprised to find something that fit me. Plus I got some other things for my mom and my sister (not telling, I will send it soon). So back on the train we go and we still have those soft seats. Thankfully we were able to upgrade to hard sleepers, which aren't half bad. Good thing was we got to sleep on our way back so we weren't tired when we got home.
All in all like I said, some good parts, some bad parts and some parts that were just ugly.
That's the deal so far, keep reading, this week oughta be interesting. Because of the week long holiday, we have to work this weekend and all the way through till Friday. I don't get a day off till a week from today.
TTFN.
The trip going........
Trains are set up with different cars that have different things. On the same train you have cars with hard seats, soft seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers. We had soft seaters but this is no picnic. The seats don't recline or anything and the table set up for the 6 people sitting at it has just enough room for the one person sitting next to it. So the person sitting on the other end gets no table to put their heads down on. 19 hours, crowded train, zero sleep and not very comfortable seats. You do the math. We were very tired when we got to Shanghai. But I'm skipping ahead.
We brought some cards with us and played tons of games. There was a guy sitting across from us who spoke english and we had a blast playing cards with him. We gave him an english name (Mark) and was really happy to have met him. Made the time go by. Speaking of names, Winnie gave me a chinese name. My Chinese name is LiLiSha. Now you don't get the full effect as I'm unable to write it in full pinyin here. Pinyin is what makes the difference in the sounds. Now with chinese names they put the first name last and the last name first. So for example, the famous cellist that we know as Yoyo Ma, they know him here as MaYoyo. So actually my chinese name if it was to be said in a western way would be LiSha Li. LiSha means beautiful sand. I really like it.
Arrived in Shanghai...........
So when we got to Shanghai, admittedly we were so excited that we no longer felt tired. Even though none of us really got any sleep. My first thought of Shanghai. Very very beautiful and so many buildings. A real booming metropolis. Anyway, what was really great was that we had to take the subway to get to our hotel......I mean hostel (I'll get to that in a minute). They are light years ahead of us with the subways. They have these plasma screens on the platform that tell you the current time, show some ads and tell you how long it will take for the next train to arrive. This thing is precise. You watch the countdown of the next arrival. At first I thought it was off, because it said that the train would arrive in 20 seconds but the train was already pulling in. Then Winnie told me that the time was referring to the moment the train stopped and then I realized that it was exactly correct. The moment the trained stopped is when the counter went to zero. In the train is very nice and there are plasma screens at the doors as well. Mostly with adds and stuff on it but just before you get to the next stop it tells you what it is. Plus there is an overhead announcement that is made. Can't get lost there.
Arrving at the hotel.......I mean hostel
So we finally arrive at the hostel to drop off our stuff. A hostel is a place I've never been to and something I'm not dying to repeat again. Yeah it was clean and well kept but it wasn't entirely fun sharing a room with 5 or 6 other strangers. Plus all the people that stay there all seem to be cut from the same cloth. They are all these sort of young adults (late teens, early 20's) The young hippie I call them sometimes, or the mature couple out to see the world. Call my a prissy princess but I like a hotel with a room that's all mine and the option to call room service anytime. Not to mention the fact that I don't have to share toilets or bathrooms. Anyway, Bre and I consoled ourselves with the fact that we were only going to be there at night and at that time we would be sleeping anyway.
Out and about...........
So we dropped our bags off and did some shopping around town. I turned into this bargaining queen and was getting mad discouts at every shop I went into. I bargained everything to death. Alot more people speak english in Shanghai and I'm getting to know more chinese so it was easy for us to meet each other half way in communication. I was having a blast but Breanna was being a little brat because Shanghai was so crowded and people push everywhere. I let her know that pushing them back would only relieve her frustration but it wouldn't do anything to them since they're all used to it. As the evening came on, we dropped our bags off and were looking for a party. Well actually just a bar we can drink at. We got to the place that we believe may have been a strip club. I say allegedly and Bre says for sure. However there were no strippers, no naked people, no people period. The place was empty but they were playing music and we were able to drink. We made the best of it and got home pretty drunk (don't worry ma, I didn't drive, we walked).
The next day......
Well we woke up and we were pretty good. Memories of the night kept us laughing. We called Winnie for the day's plan but she said she would meet us at 5pm. We opted to see Shanghai and go to a museum. Unfortunately since we got into town it was raining and it still was by then. I had gotten the beginings of a cold (not from the rain. I don't get it that way. I think may have gotten it from Winnie) and was feeling a little run down. Anyway, we went around to People's Square and then up to the museum. This was really nice and the museum is so beautiful. Inside and out. (speaking of which there is a lot of beautiful architechture in Shanghai).
After the museum we walked to the other side of town and went to Yu Yuan gardens. Very beautiful and I got to feed the fish. By the time afernoon hit, I had lost my voice but was trying to keep moving. After the gardens we went back home and found Winnie waiting for us.
The girls let me take a nap, where I got my voice back and a little more energy to keep going.
The evening plan was to get something to eat and then meet back at the hostel to meet up with this girl that Breanna met and then we would all go to the TV tower. Girl's name is Melanie. She's 19 and is travelling on her own from Germany. She's alright.
Well the plan went nicely and the trip to the TV tower was good. It was no CN tower but you can't blame them for trying. Anyway, we got back home and I was down for the count.
The next day............
Well the cold really took a hold of me and I wasn't able to do a thing. I slept all day Tuesday and all night as well. We had a plan to go see old Shanghai but I couldn't make it. I didn't have a coat or umbrella and it was still pouring rain. For the sake of my health, I declined. I can always go another time. Shanghai isn't going anywhere.
The day after that..............
Well I felt better now and we had to get our stuff together to get going. We did some last minute shopping and packed up. I got some nice things for myslef and was surprised to find something that fit me. Plus I got some other things for my mom and my sister (not telling, I will send it soon). So back on the train we go and we still have those soft seats. Thankfully we were able to upgrade to hard sleepers, which aren't half bad. Good thing was we got to sleep on our way back so we weren't tired when we got home.
All in all like I said, some good parts, some bad parts and some parts that were just ugly.
That's the deal so far, keep reading, this week oughta be interesting. Because of the week long holiday, we have to work this weekend and all the way through till Friday. I don't get a day off till a week from today.
TTFN.
posted by Tish at 3:21 a.m.
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