"Sweat and Sour" Shanghai

Just before we pulled into the Shanghai coach station, the drivers daughter introduced herself and saw us as a great opportunity to practice her English. I decided that this time I was going to try and get something back in return and asked if she could call our hotel to make a reservation on our behalf. Xu Jing accepted but unfortunately the cheap hotel didn't have any rooms available. I asked her if she or her father knew of anywhere cheap to stay the night. She replied with "Shanghai expensive". Just moments later, she told us that her father said it would be ok for us to sleep in the coach tonight for no extra charge while it sits in the storage yard overnight. We gratefully accept and leave our bags locked up in the coach so that we can go about our business more efficiently - or so that was the plan. Obtaining tickets for the ferry to Japan wasn't an easy task. According to our outdated guide book (we bought a used one off our room mate in Xi'an), the ticket office was at the end of Nanjing Donglu right near The Bund (river front). It wasn't! And after being chased by an old crazy lady who led us on a wild goose chase, we finally get directions to the correct location of the main office. Across the river is the relatively new area called Pudong. It was the proud home of the Oriental Pearl Tower which looks like a giant hypodermic. The river was busy with traffic and thousands of people swarmed the recently constructed embankment - a new place for tourists to gather. We walked along it for a short stretch so that we could check out the metropolis and skyscrapers around us. Not quite as impressive as I had expected.

We took a cab to the new ticket office location because it was too far to walk and couldn't be accessed by metro. We got out of the cab and watched it speed off into the distance. We didn't have a clue where we were and it took us another half an hour to find the exact location of their office. It was on the 18th floor of an office building and the entrance wasn't easy to find. We arrived at the office only to discover that they were closed. Or so it seemed. The lights were off and nobody was behind the counter. Just as we were about to give up hope, I pushed open the door and had a wander around the vacant office space. A man steps out from nowhere, asks us what we want then welcomes us into his office. He informs us that tomorrows ferry just so happens to be out of service for routine annual maintenance but could get us on the next ferry in a weeks time. We agree and manage to get a 50% discount for being students (he he he). He then told us cash only. We didn't have that kind of money and so we asked him if he could wait while we go to the ATM. One hour later we arrive back at his office with the cash. Only the Bank of China can deal with foreign cards (regardless of their type - Visa, Mastercard, AMEX - none of them can get you cash from a machine if it's origin is from a foreign country) and we had to walk miles to find one.

It was nearly 6:00pm by the time we got back to Old Shanghai and were in desperate need of some Shanghainese cuisine. We walked along Nanjing Donglu and the many side streets before deciding on a suitable restaurant. I resisted getting the "Sweat and Sour Pork" and opted for "Spicy Chicken and Cashew". Food was ok but nothing special. Nowhere else have I seen such a contrast between the new and the old areas in a city. Shanghai is an interesting mix of rich and poor. I walked along a street that was black with grime and had washing hanging from every conceivable window. A two year old skyscraper could be seen in the not so far distance behind the houses on the street. Taking into consideration the fact that we have a week to wait before our departure to Japan, we decide to visit Suzhou and Nanjing in the Jiangsu province before returning to Shanghai on the 10th for the next ferry to Osaka.