It’s 10:30 pm here in Shanghai and my eyes are starting to droop from the exhaustion setting in. We left the hotel at 8:30 this morning and just arrived back. However, I have to write it all down. I want to make sure I remember and savor every part of this day with Mandarin Journeys.
From beginning it at the Shanghai World Finance Center, which is the second tallest building in Shanghai. We took the insanely “rave-like” elevator that took us to the 100th floor. However, nothing could prepare you for what happened when you stepped out. A glass bottom observatory that can instantly cause a human being to pee their pants. Luckily, I held my bladder together and didn’t have an accident, but holy mackeroli, I was terrified. In that exhilarating kind of way you get when you try something absolutely scary yet exciting.
The view from the observation deck
Now imagine looking down and seeing this!
Smiling but terrified
So of course, after that I needed to go to the bathroom. Well, imagine my surprise when I saw this attached to my toilet bowl. Look at all the options I had! Had my group not been waiting for me, I might have needed an extra day in Shanghai just to try them all out!
So many options, so little time!
Next stop was the Yu Gardens. The beautiful thing about this garden is not just that it is a collection of Chinese gardens, rocks and temples placed smack dab in the middle of insanely busy downtown Shanghai, but that it is from the 1500’s and was a gift from a son to his dying father. “Yu” means happiness in Chinese and the son built it for his father to make him happy. Pretty cool, right? It’s also where Shanghai’s oldest tea room is located. To say this place is stunning is an understatement. I longed to stay for hours. To sit on a bench, watch the Asian women do the peace sign in selfies, and just take in everyone and everything around me.
Shanghai’s oldest tea house – amazing, right?
Speaking of selfies. Here’s a crazy ass thing. Everyone wants to take our picture. I’m not sure if they think we are famous, I mean my resemblance to Julia Roberts is uncanny, but I kid you not, every single place we go, people are taking pictures of us like we are celebrities. We are thinking of monetizing on this tomorrow. Perhaps charge $2 per picture and an extra buck if we do a pouty face. Also note, blondes could charge an extra $5. And if you look like Paris Hilton, even better.
After Yu Gardens, our serene state of mind took a turn and we got our biker inner-selves out. It was time for our motorcycle side-car tour. This was absolutely awesome. To see the city from the sidecar of a motorcycle is truly amazing. Now given, you kind of have to kiss the ground when you are done because driving in Shanghai is insane. And coming from a New Yorker, you know that’s saying a lot. Motor bikes, motorcycles and bicycles basically have their own set of rules they create for themselves and what ends up happening is a visual reality of the game Frogger from the 80’s.
Not as bad-ass looking as I thought I would be…
And lastly, we ended the night with the Shanghai Acrobats. I don’t have a picture of this because cameras weren’t allowed but let me give you a visual. Imagine someone taking your legs, spreading them eagle while another person climbs on you like a fireman’s ladder. And oh yeah, do it while spinning a plate and smiling ear to ear. There you go – that’s the Shanghai Acrobats. It should be illegal to do anything more than touch your toes. Insane.
Just wanted to also note – I have two cameras with me on the trip – a fancy schmancy one and then the one on my phone. Because of the slow internet speed, I’m only including a few pics from my phone. I plan on doing a photo collection on the blog with the really nice pics when I return.
As for tomorrow – another adventure begins! This time – the land of tea fields and cycling. Stay tuned!
#bucketlistChina