I don't know about other parts of Shanghai but one thing I like about the district we were in was the fact that street names were all major cities or provinces of China. That made it easier to remember names.

Emery woke up early to find out if a bird and insect market was still around but I guess in recent years, the government has cracked down on a lot of illegal activity.

Last day shopping with Scott and Sarah in Shanghai.
Becky-Jay was sick.
Hung out with Kaz a little.
The rest went to the Jinmao tower across the Huangpu (?) River.
Walked around Hongyi plaza a lot.

Shared Expenses
Serepazio Bread Cafe charcoal sandwich 12Y
breakfast at restaurant by JinJiang 24Y
cab fare in total 11Y
Emery's souvenirs at the Yuyuan Old Town Market 130Y
My souvenirs 150Y
water bottles at convenience store 15Y
bakery down some street 23Y
McDonalds 4.5Y
dinner at Ajisen 45Y
watermelon slush 12Y

Total = 426.5Y approx. $63US

Emery and I moved into our luxurious budget room (that came with no windows) in the Riverside Bund Hotel on the intersection of Beijing Lu and Shandong Lu, where we were delighted to find that our shower was truly separate from our bathtub. Our hotel was also conveniently located next to the Bank of China (yay, in case we run low on money!). The poopy part of all this was that Internet access was charged by the minute and our hotel was located in a cesspit of construction work. Supposedly it was a mere 5 minute walk from Nanjing Pedestrian Street but there seemed to be no boutiques or even convenience stores nearby. Instead, we were surrounded by stretches of scaffolding and shops selling manufacturing parts. And we stayed there for 5 days. Yeck.

Our real highlight of the day began when we made it to the Shanghai Museum to meet up Becky-Jay, Scott, and a few others who were staying in the city for a bit longer. This 5-floor museum has a collection of over 120,000 of China's oldest bronze work, ceramics, calligraphy, paintings, furniture, jade and stone sculptures. It even had a teahouse-style cafe that sells drinks and charming little cakes. The cherry on top was that admission was free.

Below I've included a few of my favorite pieces:


Shared Expenses
cab fare to the museum 11Y
cab fare back 11Y
cake at museum cafe 20Y
convenience store snacks 13Y
Cake Demonstration bakery 36Y
convenience store by 2nd hotel 27Y
pig ears and chicken 25Y
juices and water 15Y
bananas 15Y

Total = 173Y approx. $25US

* Thursday, May 14, 2009

It's the last day of the tour in Shanghai. We're spending the day in another JinJiang hotel on Fujian Lu. It has fairly comfy rooms that are a bit on the small side but they're clean and have free internet access.
In the lobby, Tomic gave us group photos that he took and developed a while ago, along with everyone's contact info. After that, we went off in taxi cabs to Shanghai's Old City to see Yuyuan Garden together.

The journey to Yuyuan garden was much more refreshing. On the way to the garden, there was a variety of places to shop for souvenirs, whether jewelry or junk, and fountain ponds filled with giant koi and water fowl. One of the unusual and unexpected things I encountered on the way was a fish food stand that sold little pet turtles and neon tetras in plastic baggie key chains to local Chinese tourists. It was kind of tragic knowing that the fish were probably going to die within two weeks or so.

Yuyuan Garden was supposedly built during the Ming Dynasty but destroyed during the 1930s and eventually restored. It looks regal now with its waterfall ponds, zigzag bridges, and gazebos. I've seen so many strange looking trees while in China. It makes me wonder if some of them can be found in other parts of the US.

Following that leisurely stroll, we were lead to a famed five-star hotel back in the 30s called the Peace Hotel located near the Bund, which all seemed torn down for the upcoming 2010 World Expo. We circled Nanjing Pedestrian Street (yes! another one!) which seems to be comprised of block after block of department stores. Tomic strongly suggested seeing the view from one of the skyscrapers but the tunnel through the Bund cost around 80Y or something to walk forward and back, and a fee for reaching an observation tower was likely so most of us decided against it. Instead, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for our final, early dinner with the tour group at 4.

The restaurant was located around the corner of the street by our hotel. Even though Tomic ordered some decent food, I'm sorry to say I hardly remember what it was I ate. After eating, we turned in our reviews of the tour, tip envelopes, and parted ways. Some of the tour group had planned on joining Tomic for an acrobatics show later that evening. Emery and I relaxed in our rooms and wandered the streets until we were bored and tired and went to bed around 10-11ish. Tomorrow we won't be waking up early everyone to meet in the lobby.

Safe travels to all who are heading home!

Shared Expenses
dinner was 66Y (33Y each)
tip tour guide tip 60Y
*I bought icecream 3Y don't remember much else...

Total= 129Y approx. $19US

* Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Day two of Suzhou goes something like this: Emery and I saw that there was a breakfast buffet at Jinjiang available according to their "Ding Guide" (left out a few letters there...) so we go and eat it because it's too much trouble to go looking around that early in the morning. It's alright for the most part and closely resembles average Chinese takeout back at home. Barely sufficient but better than what we've been eating for breakfast the past few days.

After breakfast, we join the group to check out one of Suzhou's small water towns. The area hugging the river looks a lot like Pingyao, in other words, a total tourist trap, but the view is pleasant. There's Chinese-versions of gondolas, surrounding bamboo, giant rocks, and plenty small vendors selling jewelry, tapestries, clay knickknacks and, of course, silk. We also had the option of going on another river cruise after lunch at Nan Hu Yue but half of us thought it would be redundant so we explored the market instead. Tomic also took us to see this rich guy's old home-converted-to-a-tourist-attraction, I guess to gain a little bit more insight about how Chinese nobles used to treat their relatives and close guests. The home was kind of boring, except for the old kitchen area and the historical wall carvings of the colonization of Yunnan.

In regards to things Suzhou is famous for, I also forgot to mention that they sell some juicy braised pig knuckle in these parts. We had some as a special treat during lunch time that day. I didn't think I'd like it but it tasted pretty sweet and went well with steamed rice and the other vegetable dishes.

The tour group along with our guide rented out costumes and took group photos as emperors, eunichs, and concubines. It was really cheap so we posed and pranced around for at least an hour or so, snapping as many goofy shots as we could.

We ate a few drumsticks and egg custards at KFC that evening. KFC in China serves smaller drumsticks because the chickens don't get plump here as those in US farms. It's less but in a way, more because the meat tastes better. Emery thinks they maybe free-range chickens because the meat is darker and sinewy rather than white and spongy. Annmarie and Sarah hung out with us at Da Niang Dumpling, where we ordered some fried potstickers. The dumplings were pretty okay in my opinion and it was the only thing we got but the service was lousy since it was served almost half an hour after we placed the order.

After dinner, we wandered around Silver Plaza some and found this interesting looking Brazilian steakhouse buffet. It looked very promising but unfortunately our belies were full and it was already our last night in Suzhou. We entered an electronics store where I bought a 2GB SD memory card. Electronics and other related components are usually expensive in China because many are imports however the card's price wasn't too inflated.

Most of the tour group went to do karaoke tonight. Emery and I are eating fruits and cookies and listening to music in our hotel room. Tomorrow, we all board the bullet train to our last tour destination: Shanghai. Many are going home or to other countries after this tour. Only a handful are staying in Shanghai for a couple more days. I hope we'll all get to hangout some more.
Shared Expenses
breakfast buffet 30Y (15Y each)
group lunch at Nan Hu Yue restaurant 66Y (33Y each)
costume pictures 10Y
souvenirs 183Y
candies 9Y
green tea and egg custard tart 6Y
KFC snack 19Y
Da Niang Dumpling potstickers 18Y
small cakes (banana and green tea) 12Y
other baked goods 18Y
2GB SD card 80Y

Total = 451Y approx. $66US

* Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Suzhou in Jiangsu province is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. It's famous for its water towns and is often referred to as the Venice of the East. Suzhou is also widely known for a number of beautiful gardens and silk production. Both our tour guides strongly recommended buying silk from this city.

After arriving at Jinjiang in Suzhou, we cleaned up and had a mid-day lunch at some local restaurant with a big Mao picture framed in the background. Tomic called for some rickshaws to take us to the silk factory, which was loads of fun since we got to dodge the main roads and pass homes nestled in the tiny alleyways. The driver of our rickshaw rode over a rough patch too hard and accidentally broke off a bike pedal so he had to run half of the way. Generally, China does not have a tipping culture in most parts but we did anyway because we felt kind of bad.


At the Silk Factory, we got to see the different growth stages of a silkworm preserved in glass and how the threads on boiled silkworm cocoons were unraveled into spools, as well as how each sheet of tough silk was manually stretched and layered to make heavenly soft quilts. The most interesting aspect I think was watching this one worker remove the black chitinous parts off of the soft rolls in a basin of water; the factory guide had explained that the water that soaked the cocoons kept the worker's hands moisturized and smooth rather than prune-like because of all the proteins. Another thing I found amusing was a sign that cautioned visitors that the chrysalis was not for consumption. I can't imagine how many tourists have attempted to eat one of those marshmallowy things.

Later that night, after having the leisure of eating out at our place of choice in Silver Plaza, which is similar to Luoyang's urbanized pedestrian street, the tour group joined up again to see Suzhou's night lights through a river cruise. We passed a number of riverside restaurants, a renown theater, several bridges and some newly constructed, but no less beautiful, pagodas. It was refreshing to breathe in some humid air after being out in some dusty, dry areas for too long. Everyone tried to snap pictures of all the neon lights and red lanterns but most of us had cameras with screwy shutter speeds even when we adjusted to night mode. Nonetheless, it was funny to watch Tomic and Jon act out the Jack and Rose's famous scene from the Titanic.




Day one of Suzhou is not yet over but I can already say that it's one of those places I'd come back to.
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Shared Expenses
group lunch 74Y (33 each + extra vegetable dish)
KFC snack 46Y
more of Emery's music CDs 20Y (10Y each)
riverboat admission 140Y (70Y each)
little souvenir after cruise 5Y

Total= 285Y approx. $42

* Monday, May 11, 2009