Shanghaied in Shanghai

Shanghai is popularly thought of as one of, if not the most glamorous city in China. But when Jon and I arrived it felt anything but. Everywhere we had been so far had almost immediately won me over. Not Shanghai. I didn’t see anything eye catching or exciting out of the gate. Jon and I hadn’t left each other’s sides in two weeks, the hotel was rejecting my credit card and we found out that it was not close to the action. Blah- it was our first day of burn out. The rest of that day was spent in our room, with way sub-par and way over priced room service and sleeping. By the way, I recommend staying in an American hotel chain when visiting China. Normally I’m all about shopping local but in this case customer service and regular hotel amenities just can’t compare. The Garden Hotel looked quality but goddamn it, if the staff weren’t like chickens running around with their heads cut off. I damn near slapped a few bitches, oh Jesus, damn near! 

Looks nice.

 (Ahem,*regaining composure*) I’m the type of person who can make a random dive bar filled with old men in the middle of nowhere somehow be the best night ever. So without fail we found some cool stuff in Shanghai, and even had a little fun. Still, if you have a choice, don’t put Shanghai on the top of your list. The French Concession district is quaint. There are lots of boutique shops and we had a decent meal. I don’t think we saw any French but we did see quite a few Russians, does that count? Yuyuan Bazarr is an ultra popular tourist market and really a tourist trap. The building is beautiful the wares are marked up sometimes a whopping 800%, no joke. Be prepared to pay or get your fierce bargaining game face on. Also don’t be duped by the long line for dumplings. It’s just tourists like yourselves who read it was the best, it’s not. The Peoples Square Park is a nice place to relax and if you are into upscale chain shopping the nearby Nanjing St is the place to make it happen. None of the afore mentioned make me jump for joy, but they are there, if you are. 

Yuyuen Bazaar

Peoples square

It’s hard to talk about China from a western perspective without mentioning there are some significant behavioral norm differences. Men will clear their throats noisily and then aggressively spit the contents wherever is convenient for them. Women in the service industry can be cold, even…how do I put this gently…rude? No waitress will ever cheerfully ask how you’re doing tonight. It’s more like ‘what do you want,’ and plates getting plopped on the table without a word. “How’s everything tasting here?,” ha, forget about it! Cashiers also have a different style. Whether you are buying a snack or a ticket you may get your change thrown at you or thrown on the counter. Really? Really? Ya couldn’t hand it to me? Nope, just take it in stride, all you can do is laugh.