With our first week come and gone and with some rested legs underneath us, the seven of us were finally able to let a little loose and see a bit of the Shanghai we’ve been craving to explore. On Friday night, us gents hosted the girls for a couple of drinks before we checked out a local watering hole that would be showing the Canada-USA semi-final hockey game. The girls were none-too pleased to find out that we’ve been set up in the Shangri-la of foreigner apartments, but agreed that each apartment has its own set of pros and cons. From my point of view, ours has little cons but, y’know, whatever helps them sleep better at night.
Because the hockey game was on so late (1 am Shanghai time), we were unable to catch the metro but luckily there was a metro-labeled passenger van parked near by. We all shuffled in and were brought to our destination for zero charge. We tried to insist on paying the driver, but he was having none of it. The bar was a small place on the fifth floor above a hair salon and a restaurant, but definitely had a Canadian contingent and English menus, so we assumed we were in the right place. Being the patriot I am, I ordered myself a Canadian Club, which is really not the smartest drink when you are watching a stressful one-goal hockey game. But we won, we had fun and that’s all that matters.
Shanghai has an embarrassment of touristy sights, so on Saturday our Professor-supervisor extraordinaire Dr. Gregg and his wife Paula took it upon themselves to show us around before they head back to Canada. Gregg and his wife have been coming to Shanghai for about twelve years, so they are well-tuned on what to see in the city.
Our first stop was the legendary Yuyuan Gardens, Shanghai’s most popular classical gardens. As is the wont with most popular things, Yuyuan Gardens has been converted into a popular tourist destination, complete with souvenirs and peddlers of anything you might imagine. The classical Chinese architecture is slightly cheapened by an old woman selling decorative chopsticks inside, but the effort is still appreciated. I will have to go back on a nicer day to have a better tour of the actual gardens themselves, as we had many sights to see and this was only stop #1. If you need Chinese souvenirs, this is the a place to get them. I bought an ice cream cone. It was delicious.
Because the hockey game was on so late (1 am Shanghai time), we were unable to catch the metro but luckily there was a metro-labeled passenger van parked near by. We all shuffled in and were brought to our destination for zero charge. We tried to insist on paying the driver, but he was having none of it. The bar was a small place on the fifth floor above a hair salon and a restaurant, but definitely had a Canadian contingent and English menus, so we assumed we were in the right place. Being the patriot I am, I ordered myself a Canadian Club, which is really not the smartest drink when you are watching a stressful one-goal hockey game. But we won, we had fun and that’s all that matters.
Shanghai has an embarrassment of touristy sights, so on Saturday our Professor-supervisor extraordinaire Dr. Gregg and his wife Paula took it upon themselves to show us around before they head back to Canada. Gregg and his wife have been coming to Shanghai for about twelve years, so they are well-tuned on what to see in the city.
Our first stop was the legendary Yuyuan Gardens, Shanghai’s most popular classical gardens. As is the wont with most popular things, Yuyuan Gardens has been converted into a popular tourist destination, complete with souvenirs and peddlers of anything you might imagine. The classical Chinese architecture is slightly cheapened by an old woman selling decorative chopsticks inside, but the effort is still appreciated. I will have to go back on a nicer day to have a better tour of the actual gardens themselves, as we had many sights to see and this was only stop #1. If you need Chinese souvenirs, this is the a place to get them. I bought an ice cream cone. It was delicious.
From there, we took a walk along the Bund and the Huangpu River. The Bund is the picture of Shanghai that you are most likely to see when you type it into a Google Image search. From the Bund you can view the modern skyscrapers of Pudong, and on the other side you can see remnants of Shanghai’s International Settlement, which held trading houses and banks from most of the 19th and 20th century’s major powers. This picturesque skyline creates an incredible contrast between the two sides of the river, and at nighttime many of the buildings light up to give it an incredible view. We walked inside the Fairmont Peace Hotel, which is the most prestigious hotel in Shanghai. It was one of the top-5 classiest joints I've ever been inside. We were told that many of Agatha Christie’s novels were written here, but I haven't found anything to back that up.
Someday I will have a picture of all these sights, but on Saturday I had to leave most of the photography to the others. I’ve been trying to charge my camera for the past week, and on Sunday I finally realized that it doesn’t charge, it takes four AA batteries. That explains the dead camera, but does not explain my stupidity. Expect an increase in photos from here on out.
Someday I will have a picture of all these sights, but on Saturday I had to leave most of the photography to the others. I’ve been trying to charge my camera for the past week, and on Sunday I finally realized that it doesn’t charge, it takes four AA batteries. That explains the dead camera, but does not explain my stupidity. Expect an increase in photos from here on out.
After walking along the Bund, we took a subway a few stops to check out the Underground market at West Nanjing. In China, “underground” means fake, so while the quality is usually pretty excellent and nearly unrecognizable, anyone who knows their stuff will be able to spot it as fake. Good enough for me. Like most places in Shanghai, prices are flexible, which make the haggling all the more fun. The market is essentially a maze, but shop owners speak English and I was helped by my “market guide” Li – who assured me I got “the best price.”
I was able to score a 2014 Canadian Olympic Weber jersey and two pairs of Ray-Ban Wayfarers for a total of about $75 CAD. Which is not bad, but I sensed that I could have worked them down on the sunglasses because they were quick to accept my final offer. Next time I go back I will be thinking much cheaper, since I have some experience and will be able to haggle with confidence.
We took another walk up through East Nanjing road, to see the streets and walk through People’s Square. Many of the biggest and best Western shops are located on this road, and at nighttime, the road is shut off to cars and is lit up like a Christmas tree. Think of it as Shanghai’s Time Square. Dr. Gregg and Paula took the girls to teach them how to buy pearls (very accessible in Shanghai), while Tyler, James and I took the chance to get off our feet for a few minutes and people watch. I began to play a personal game of “count the white people” but I lost count around 25 and realized that the busiest area in the most cosmopolitan city in China is more than likely to have a few white people. Foreigners are nothing out of the ordinary, and reports of gawkers and local people wanting to take pictures with us whiteboyz have sadly been false (SO FAR!).
I was able to score a 2014 Canadian Olympic Weber jersey and two pairs of Ray-Ban Wayfarers for a total of about $75 CAD. Which is not bad, but I sensed that I could have worked them down on the sunglasses because they were quick to accept my final offer. Next time I go back I will be thinking much cheaper, since I have some experience and will be able to haggle with confidence.
We took another walk up through East Nanjing road, to see the streets and walk through People’s Square. Many of the biggest and best Western shops are located on this road, and at nighttime, the road is shut off to cars and is lit up like a Christmas tree. Think of it as Shanghai’s Time Square. Dr. Gregg and Paula took the girls to teach them how to buy pearls (very accessible in Shanghai), while Tyler, James and I took the chance to get off our feet for a few minutes and people watch. I began to play a personal game of “count the white people” but I lost count around 25 and realized that the busiest area in the most cosmopolitan city in China is more than likely to have a few white people. Foreigners are nothing out of the ordinary, and reports of gawkers and local people wanting to take pictures with us whiteboyz have sadly been false (SO FAR!).
After all this walking we worked ourselves up quite the appetite, so we took the metro a few more stops to Dr. Gregg’s favourite Chinese eatery. There, we were treated to a huge meal of traditional Chinese fare: Kung Pao chicken, cumin beef, garlic broccoli, beans and sliced potatoes, scrambled eggs and tomato, some eggplant thing, and a few bottles of Harbin to wash it all down. An incredible and filling meal for 9 that only ended up costing about $70 total. We said our goodbyes to Gregg and Paula and thanked them for all their help over the last week to get us settled.
We decided we didn’t want to waste our first Saturday night, and found an overpriced bar with a private cubby-hole of a room to get cozy and have some drinks to plan our night. We went with the “play it by ear” strategy which went about as well as expected, but we ended up having a pretty good night overall. We eventually found a place called "Voice Bar" which we expected to house karaoke, but instead found an nearly-empty bar decked out in club lights and filled with employees. We did end up finding some new Chinese friends to boogie down with (having to still recover from the night before, I left the boogying to others and spent my time there relaxing).
We decided we didn’t want to waste our first Saturday night, and found an overpriced bar with a private cubby-hole of a room to get cozy and have some drinks to plan our night. We went with the “play it by ear” strategy which went about as well as expected, but we ended up having a pretty good night overall. We eventually found a place called "Voice Bar" which we expected to house karaoke, but instead found an nearly-empty bar decked out in club lights and filled with employees. We did end up finding some new Chinese friends to boogie down with (having to still recover from the night before, I left the boogying to others and spent my time there relaxing).
Sunday constituted a full group sleep-in and relax day, but after dinner I found myself trekking solo to a Western-style sports bar to watch the Canadian Men’s team trounce Sweden for the Gold Medal. Although I showed up alone, I was counting on finding some other Canadian ex-pats to enjoy the game with and succeeded. I took a seat at the bar by Ritz from Edmonton, Gary from Hamilton, and John from Germany (in an autographed Patrick Roy Habs jersey, he earned his place!) and was able to meet all kinds of other Canadians ranging from hometowns like Orangeville, to Sault Ste. Marie and Vancouver. I met the Canadian bar owner, Bryce, and he treated our little group to a round of bloody caesars on the house. That's just great hospitality. A group of beautiful, beautiful Swedes were at the bar as well, and they were as gracious in defeat as apologetic (and proud) as we were in victory.
The one sore spot of the weekend was the Filipino feed that the bar showed the game on. The game had British announcers (“—you can see Duchene’s application of force to propel velocity on that attempt!”) and would insert commercials WHEN NO COMMERCIALS SHOULD EVER BE INSERTED. Like, between whistles right before the puck drops. They don’t seem to understand that Olympic Gold Medal games are Canadian Christmas that only comes twice every four years (shout-out to the Ladies!). We ended up missing Crosby’s goal to put us up 2-0, but at least we didn’t have to listen to Glenn Healy. Ended the night with a win and some new friends, so I would call it a pretty successful weekend overall.
The one sore spot of the weekend was the Filipino feed that the bar showed the game on. The game had British announcers (“—you can see Duchene’s application of force to propel velocity on that attempt!”) and would insert commercials WHEN NO COMMERCIALS SHOULD EVER BE INSERTED. Like, between whistles right before the puck drops. They don’t seem to understand that Olympic Gold Medal games are Canadian Christmas that only comes twice every four years (shout-out to the Ladies!). We ended up missing Crosby’s goal to put us up 2-0, but at least we didn’t have to listen to Glenn Healy. Ended the night with a win and some new friends, so I would call it a pretty successful weekend overall.