China - Shanghai

I got completely lost when I arrived in Shanghai. I knew which bus I needed to get but I couldn't find it. I wandered around in front of the huge station for about 20mins "asking" people for help. By asking I mean pointing at the number and being pointed in a vague direction usually which totally contradicted the previous person. Eventually I gave up because I found a taxi so I asked him how much to the hostel, he replied 50Y which is about £5. I refused to get in because I knew it should only cost max 15Y and he wouldn't use his meter and I hate being ripped off. Off I marched on a new lease of life to find the bus. Once on the elusive bus I tried to ask the conductor to tell me when to get off. She was the least helpful conductor in China and simply shook her head and pushed my paper away. That caused a problem because there is absolutely no way of knowing which stop you want when you can't read the signs. I asked the guy next to me and immediately regretted it, he was oldish and made a massive palaver of getting his glasses out and passing the paper around and generally starting a bus passenger discussion about the stupid blonde foreigner who didn't know where she was going. I was mighty relieved when a young guy sat opposite me and took the hostel flyer out of my hand and signalled for me to follow him off the bus. We walked for about 5 mins and then I spotted a road name I recognised but couldn't see the hostel. He phoned them and got directions, it was down an alley, took me right to the door and walked off! I shook his hand and said Xie Xie over and over but he seem quite bewildered by my reaction, like anyone would go out of their way to direct lost foreigners and not expect anything is return!

That evening Peggy Lu and Kevin, her boyfriend, came and picked me up and took me out for coffee. Peggy Lu works for Tesco under a guy called Dave who used to be a colleague of my Dad and she had been asked to look after me. She was so sweet and they planned out a four day itinerary for me in Shanghai. Dave was away in Korea and so I was to have his driver to take me around! It was all really strange for me after 9.5months away to have someone organise and look after me.

In the morning the driver, Mr He, who doesn't speak any English, picked me up at my hostel. We drove for 2hours out of Shanghai to a water town called Zhouzhuang. It was funny, I thought I was going to Suzhou but Peggy had decided I would probably get lost there and so decided to send me to Zhouzhuang instead because it is more contained, however, hadn't told me. I was a bit confused when we arrived as I had never even heard of the place but it turned out to be a very popular tourist destination. It was like a mini Chinese Venice. I wandered around for a couple of hours, it was interesting and I think it is the most original water town. Apparently the others are much more reconstructed. It was absolutely crazy hot, I had to buy a fan and have regular breaks sitting in the shade. Eventually I called Mr He (on a phone Peggy had lent me) and he picked me up - never has air con felt so good. I feel asleep the whole way home!
Zhouzhuang (don't be fooled there were hoards of Chinese tourists here I have just avoided them in my photos!):

Once back at the hostel I tired to book my train to Beijing, it was impossible. All students were returning to the capital for university at the beginning of Sept and so there were no trains. The only train ticket available were more expensive than a flight. I was most put out that I had to spend £60 for a flight but when I suggested getting a coach the receptionist look at me like I'd gone crazy and said "people don't get buses to Beijing, it's dangerous." I can't believe it's anymore dangerous than some of the other buses I've got in the last 10months but I succumbed to buying the flight. In the evening Peggy Lu and Kevin picked me up and took me to a Xinjiang restaurant. It was really interesting cuisine, like a mixture between Greek, Muslim and Chinese, it was cool to try something completely different. Afterwards Mr He took us over to the Pudong side of the river where the CBD is. It was beautiful with all the lights but absolutely packed. Turned out it was Chinese Valentines day - and they had spent their evening with me! I felt so bad. They were so sweet to me. We went to Starbucks and then Mr He took us all home!

Valentine lanterns, they let them rise off into the sky:

The next day Mr He took me to Yu Gardens and Bazaar - a major tourist hub. I liked the gardens although they were anything but peaceful:

I then got taken back to a somewhat quieter Pudong side. I wandered around the CDB and went up the third tallest building in the world - Shanghai World Finance Centre which looks like a bottle opener. The view wasn't actually that fab but it's exhilarating being that high up in a building and the elevators were amazing!! Actually, I found the whole thing highly exciting but I think that's excusable seeing as I'm going to be a structural engineer! Almost as exciting was the subway I found downstairs - woohoo.

Loo with a view.....

and heated toilet seat - no expense spared in the SWFC!!!

Peggy and Kevin took me out for dinner again in the evening which was lovely. Possibly my best meal in China....although I wasn't sure about the aesthetics of this dish:

For my last day in Shanghai I started with a couple of hours in the Shanghai museum getting a little bit of culture in. Mr He then dropped me back at the hostel and I walked, for the first time, around Shanghai. I made it to the main predestianised street, East Nanjing Road, but it turned out to be a lot further than I anticipated. I had to get the metro back again.

Dave was back from Korea so he and Peggy picked me up and we went to a ex-pat area to a really nice restaurant. We were joined by Nini, who also works for Dave, and her Dutch boyfriend Bart. Nini knows England well because she studied there and she knows my Dad so we had quite a lot to talk about. At one point I was saying how I hadn't actually spoken to Daddy properly for 3 months or so and Dave called him on his mobile and passed me the phone. I was completely thrown, but it was quite funny. After dinner they took me to the French Concession which is another ex-pat area with lots of Frenchy buildings. Peggy, Dave and I walked around a nearby park and then went to join Bart and Nini for a cocktail. It was a good evening and they all made such an effort for me which was lovely, especially Peggy and Kevin.

Shanghai for me was a completely non-backpacker experience which I think was good for such a big city. Also, after being away so long it was great to have people look after me, make decisions and to be treated to such good food!