Crazytown

Shanghai is nuts! Seriously nuts. But it's cool. I can't believe I'm here!

There are so many people here it's crazy. And no one pays attention to traffic. Regardless of whether the little man is green or red, people walk. So there is the constant sound of car and bike horns because everyone is in everyone's way.

It's easier to get around here than it was in Japan though. Hopefully it will be that way in other cities. The street signs are in English! Well, we'll say they're in Roman letters. Because x sounds like sh and q sounds like ch and so on. More on the language layer.

It's been sort of foggy since I hot here so I haven't been able to fully appreciate the skyline, but I love the look of this city. The architecture is beautiful. I actually went to the museum of urban planning today and Shanghai is pretty proud of its buildings. Rightly so! It's a mix of old and new, Chinese and western. I can't wait to get my pictures up! I'm having a hard time finding a computer with a CD-ROM drive. Maybe in Beijing!

I've walked around here a lot. Nanjing Road is a huge huge huge shopping street and within walking distance of my hostel. I also walked around the old town area, which was nice. Both are fun places, but super busy. And because I'm a foreigner people stare at me and yell at me, "hello lady! Come look at my store!" Some shop owners even physically grab you to take you into their stores. Ack! I will say this, though: they have cool stuff to buy - and most of it is cheap! Reference point: a double cheeseburger value meal, medium size, at McDonalds, costs a little less than $2. In Japan it cost about $5. A taxi here costs about a dollar to go anywhere in the area. In Japan the same cab ride would cost about $10. I've hoten some great deals here!

My hostel here is more like what I had imagined than the one in Kyoto. It's a lot bigger for one. And everyone hangs out in the bar/restaurant on the first floor. I made instant friends by - guess what - playing pool! And my roommates are cool. I went to lunch with one today. Josh. He's from Beijing, so he had pointers for me when I go. And he helped me get my train ticket to Xi'an. Thanks!

So overall I really like Shanghai. But just to visit. Hopefully I'll hey some good pics up soon!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.