Once I got to my room I took a short nap since I was still a bit tired from sleeping on the train. I then showered before venturing out to People’s Square a few blocks away from the hostel. People’s Square is a big public park with the Shanghai Art Museum right in the middle. The area was definitely a stark contrast to the historic old buildings of Beijing and even Xi’an. It was all modern metal and skyscrapers with immaculately landscaped surroundings. I only had about half an hour to walk around before it was time to head back for the party, which started pretty early at 5:00pm.When I arrived, the table spread for the party was huge. There were double-decker egg and vegetable sandwiches, salad, noodles, shrimp, vegetables, dumplings and loads of sweets, including moon cakes, which are the staple dessert of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There were also pitchers and pitchers of a traditional drink that I can only best describe as the Chinese sangria. The base was a strong grain alcohol that seemed to be somewhat similar to Korean soju. To that was added Sprite and cut up fruit like apples. It was very strong, but the more of it you drank the easier it went down (as is usually the case with liquor.)
After we had finished eating we played all the games they normally play during the festival--most of which are aimed toward children--but never-the-less were lots of fun. Among the highlights were a silly conga-line circle dance, musical chairs, a balloon passing game and a shirt buttoning contest. During the party, I started talking to Cody from Oklahoma and Leon from Maryland who are both in the middle of a two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Outer Mongolia. Once the party started to die down we talked about going out someplace else for a drink and eventually added Alyce from Australia and Bruno, a student from England who’s studying outside Shanghai, into the mix.
The first place we went was a rooftop bar on a trendy nightlife street (which wasn’t happening so much that night due to the holiday), but after one drink we decided it was too expensive and decided to move on. Bruno’s friend was working at a nightclub in the French Concession and thought was may be able to get free drinks if we met up with her there. The club was in an upscale shopping area and was the sort of place I haven’t gone since I was about 21 or 22 years old. I ended up not drinking anything else, but did dance until about 3:00 in the morning. After a while the techno beat got a bit old, especially since every time the DJs would start to play a good song we actually recognized, they’d then remix and cut it off after only about 30 seconds. By the end I had a pounding headache and Cody agreed to walk me home while Alyce and Leon kept dancing for another hour or so. Since Leon and Cody left the next morning, I never got the chance to say goodbye, which made me kind of sad. They were really nice guys and a lot of fun to hang out with, but I guess that’s the way things go when you’re a nomadic backpacker.
The next morning I got up a bit late and went to the art museum in People’s Square. The best part about it was that it was completely free! I saw some interesting exhibits on Chinese pottery, painting, calligraphy and seals as well as a special exhibit on Maori arts and crafts on loan from Shanghai’s sister city in New Zealand. I didn’t have a chance to get all the way to the top floor before the museum closed so I decided to return for about an hour the next day.When I got back to my hostel I ran into Alyce and told her about a special deal Ferey from Germany had told me about at the Vue Bar on top of the Hyatt on the Bund. The Bund is a waterfront area along the Huangpu River that was once home to foreign merchants and traders. It features beautiful 19th century architecture and is at it’s best when all lit up at night. At the Vue Bar on Tuesdays, you can get two drinks for the cover price of 100 RMB as well as access to spectacular views and the jacuzzi that sits right in the middle of the 33rd-story bar. Alyce agreed to go with me and we walked together to the hotel, stopping to take photos of the Bund and the modern skyscrapers across the river in Pudong along the way. We ordered a few drinks while I tried to get up my courage to strip down to my bikini and get into the hot tub. Alyce hadn’t brought her bathing suit so I was on my own with this one. Then when we ordered our second drinks they forgot to take our tickets so we got a third drink for free, which helped to give me some liquid courage. Once a group of French students all got in the jacuzzi, I finally decided to join in with Alyce soaking her legs on the side.
While we were in the hot tub, an Indian oncologist who lives in Hong Kong and does business in China came over to talk to us. He bought us another drink and told us about the development consulting he does raising capital for oncology research. He seemed pleasant enough so I agreed to meet up with him the next night for dinner. Once the bar closed, Alyce and I walked back to the hostel and talked for another hour or so before exchanging e-mail addresses and saying goodbye. It was really nice to hang out with another female traveler since it seems that so far I’m always meeting male travelers or couples.
The next day I went back to the Shanghai Art Museum and walked through two exhibits on Jade sculptures and ethnic minority arts and crafts. The two other rooms on the top floor featuring Chinese currency and Ming and Qing Dynasty furniture were closed for reinstallation so it didn’t take me long to get through. I then ran to the post office to mail some things back home followed by the mall to find something appropriate to wear for dinner. Due to the lack of luggage space, I only brought one skirt and had already worn it the night before. I hadn’t really expected to spend my last afternoon in Shanghai at the mall, but I found a nice dress so at least I now have a more formal outfit. I had dinner with the oncologist back one of the restaurants at the Hyatt and it was alright, but definitely nothing spectacular.
The next morning I had to be up very early to catch my 8:20 flight to Hong Kong, which I was really afraid of missing. The subway doesn’t open until 6:30 so I took a cab to the shuttle bus station that starts running buses at 6:00. I of course left the hostel late (because I’m me) so by the time I got to the stop, the 6:20 shuttle was just leaving and I had to wait for the next one at 6:40. I had read at the hostel that the bus took an hour, but I was praying that was an overestimate just in case there was traffic. If it really took an hour, I was going to be getting to the airport only 40 minutes before the departure time for an international flight. Luckily we made it there by 7:20 so I made my flight and all was right with the world.
Hong Kong is up next and I’m finally almost caught up...
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