Shanghai

It's been a week since we got back from Shanghai and I am finally getting a chance to post about it. Before going to Shanghai, many Beijingers warned me about how Shanghainese are not so nice and friendly, they try and cheat you, and their city was just not as beautiful as Beijing. And in many ways, they are right, it's very crowded and I noticed that from taxi drivers to people on the streeet, the Shanghainese were not as friendly. They have been exposed to the west for a longer period of time and I suppose you can say they have lost their innocence. People in Beijing are just some of the most friendly people I have met. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome in restaurants to seeing you on the street.

However, Shanghai is so beautiful and there are parks everywhere. My eyes were so happy because the green looked greener, the trees were taller and older, and the skyline is beautiful. We ate at The Kitchen (based off restaurant in Tokyo by Salvatore Cuomo) which is across from the Bund and had some of the best pumpkin gnocchi while watching the skyline of Shanghai.

Here's a view of the three most famous buildings in Shanghai right from our riverside table. First, the spindly structure is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The one on the lower left is the JinMao Tower which used to be the tallest building in China before the next one was built, Shanghai World Financial Center which is behind that.



We had a great tour guide with us, Chase's friend Lisa from his Trek America days. And she took us around most of Shanghai on Friday afternoon. After lunch we went to the Shanghai One World Financial Center's rooftop bar. Well, actually, after we got to the lobby of the hotel on the 86th floor we found out that the bar we wanted to go to wasn't open so settled for another bar on the 92nd floor. The views were ok only because I was expecting this spectacular view. And it was starting to get foggy because of Saturday a storm was forecasted and the clouds were coming in. Nevertheless, a great experience and amazing how Shanghai is such a sprawling yet condensed metropolis.


Here we are before we went up to the viewing area.



I love sleep. I can sleep almost anywhere. So here I am taking a cat nap on Lisa's windowsill. Notice the great skyline view that she has up on the 34th floor.



The next night we went to eat at Jean George's in the city. Chase has been to the one in NYC and was excited to go back for about 1/3 the price (Thank you China). I broke my vegetarianism and went for a four course meal with chicken as the entree and wine pairings. I felt ok being that it was an organic chicken that I was eating and it was deliciously prepared. I felt that the whole meal was so tasty. Every single bite. I can't forget an artichoke mousse that was served as an intermezzo. Yum. Chase seemed just as pleased with his meal. The service was attentive. Jean Georges when compared to Beijing's best restaurant, Maison Boulud by Daniel Boulud, was light years better....

So after dinner we went around to some of Shanghai's late night hotspots on the Bund and had a great time. Life for foreigners in China and most of Asia is always exciting and we are so glad we can experience all of this while we are still in our 20s. Not that we couldn't later in life, but just that I know we will have different priorities.

So a week has gone by. It's Friday and tomorrow morning we are on a flight to Hangzhou, the city that Chinese people call "heaven". It's one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country and I have an interview for a job there. So we will see how it goes. I am hopeful. After the interview, we will have a good look around. Hangzhou is famous for a place called, West Lake (haha for all you Austin people) which is a beautiful lake lined with pagodas and rich flora. Hangzhou is also famous for tea, Longjing tea. So I am excited to try it out.