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