I consider myself quite fortunate that this year I have been able to travel to 4 interesting cities in Asia. Starting with a long stint Manila, which was a pleasant experience. Friends, shopping, general warmth and friendliness. A vacation in Hong Kong and the exhilaration of falling in love with that successful, classy, beautiful city. A quickie in Singapore (he he!), a whirlwind of walking and sightseeing.
And now Shanghai – probably the most complex of them all. Many adjectives are used for it in the sites I have been frequenting, but the one that comes to top of my mind is brassy. Like a bedecked, bejeweled good looking middle aged lady, with not-so-great teeth and a weakness for the colors red and black. A long history behind her, of turbulence and pain and some glory, but now her soul enjoys the present and looks firmly to the future. In short, for a visitor – easy to misjudge and difficult to decipher.
Well, in my limited time here, 4 evenings and one weekend, I will try to at least cover the surface, if not scratch it.
24 Nov
The first evening was a trip to a market that most would associate with “China:” – fake goods! It had actually closed down a year ago but my resourcefulness with the net told me where it had shifted!...well, it was the usual...found some stuff, restrained on others, came back.
The Friday evening I went glam :) The black jacket n blue jeans topped with my pink muffler, I am glad to report that heads did turn. Especially since I went to the hottest shopping area here…packed with top brands and department stores, both local and international. Broke my legs walking and finally landed up at the coolest “hangout” area I have seen – a collection of old buildings converted to watering holes! I explored the lanes, found a bar that had my long lost favorite – Absolut Peppar – and settled down to enjoy the variety of human species around, especially those easy on the eyes!
But there could be no better sample of the beauty of Shanghai than today! 12 hours of frenetic activity and walking that’s left my calves crying for mercy and my eyes laden with sleep. I started with the ultimate “tourist” thing – a trip up Pearl tower…a 470m high tower…with the top observation point being 360m! It was a very, very strange feeling being nearly half a km away from the ground, where you even looked down upon the skyscrapers! Dealt with the huge crowds, clicked snaps of every part of Shanghai (yes, one could see the entire city…and beyond) and finally came down (via a Space Museum that had cool games and even a mini roller coaster…ewww J) From the camera-friendly tourist to the thinking visitor, I next visited the Art Museum, a spectacularly beautiful British style building (little did I know how many more I would see through the day!) and then the Shanghai Museum, equally startling in its modern design. 3 exhibitions that provoked more thought and emotion than I have experienced in months – a set of sculptures using naked “man-babies” to reflect a cynical reality of our existence…a set of paintings by an artist reflecting the changing values and colors of Shanghai (accompanied by a very nice commentary)…and finally a huge collection of paintings from the Amsterdam museum – Dutch painters, including Rembrandt. After an afternoon of simple living – high thinking, the consumerist in me arose and off I went to the most crowded and famous shopping area here – Nanjing Road – a pedestrian-only street that has so many malls and shops that one needs a full day at the minimum! I spent 3 hours J walking up and down, gazing at people, examining interesting shops (like local medicine, food, jewellery) and doing a bit (yes, only a bit!) of shopping! Finally arrived at what can be called the showcase of Shanghai – the Bund, the riverfront area. If only one could just pretend the crowds didn’t exist (and that’s practically impossible). It’s cold and a little windy. The water, its dirty color hidden in the darkness, glistens under the lights of the surrounding buildings. Gaily colored cruise ships pass by. On one’s right is a row of colonial buildings, lit up in a uniform yellow in their magnificence. On the opposite bank is the futuristic row of China’s empire today – colorful skyscrapers, including the third highest tower and the third highest building in the world. Both sides reflect industry, enterprise and greed. And both, between them, create an immensely attractive area that’s truly symbolic I think. My last hour of the day was also symbolic of the Shanghai experience – first, a trip through the tourist Bund tunnel – a small cabin that travels through a laser-show tunnel under the water to the opposite bank. And then finally, a quiet coffee on the waterfront, looking at people, gazing at the lights, smiling at the cold.
25 Nov
Sunday was kind of a dampener after Saturday. The day started off well enough – deliberately late (had to give my legs some time to recover!) and with a stroll through the French Concession area. Wintry afternoon sun, tree lined streets, cozy buildings…could have been the perfect Sunday trip…but then, the shops! They are everywhere! The really hi-fi boutiques are easy – you gaze into their classy windows and move on. It’s the middle ones that wasted my time…not expensive or bad enough to be ignored but not good or amicable enough to be shopped at either! And by amicable, I mean just that – little overheated rooms, packed with clothes, and young girls who cant (and wont try to) understand you but want to outsmart you just the same…it puts me off even if there is good stuff around. Well, from that type of shops it was time to go to what’s politely called the “antiques”market…basically a street market filled with typical ethnic stuff…bought 2 very nice Buddhas and an assortment of stuff for gifts…it was nice but all the bargaining is exhausting, especially when you know at the end of the day you still have paid more than its worth!! There were some interesting touches to the walk though. There was an old Chinese man explaining an “antique” gramophone to a firang and singing a classical tune that reverberated through the street! Another young guy (firang) got completely fascinated by a long sword that actually looked old and was surrounded by the vendors as they discussed the price etc. with me. I had no clue how he would that through airport authorities and said as much to him; he naturally didn’t look too happy at the thought :)
Actually, come to think of it, firangs usually provided more entertainment than locals did…either because of their antics or simply because they were friendlier, tending to smile more and use “please” and “thank you” or even exchange notes on nice scenes. There’s an ease of behavior that comes with confidence and it’s easy to spot once you know what you are looking for.
Anyway, the result of this exhaustion and general irritation was that I canceled my plans for the evening…to do an evening out again. “Next time”, I say to myself and come back to my room. Count up what I have spent (debt for December), get online, chat with Mummy, eat some snacks, take a loooooong hot bath, have a cup of tea, chat some more, type this out, realize how late it is and prepare to turn in :)
27 Nov
Monday – it got very very cold! One of those evenings which are a spell of what’s in store for the city. Just that 5 minute walk from office to hotel in the howling, biting wind got me a headache! As I passed by the various vendors (yes, it’s just like India, even in the central business district, there are the street vendor hawking loads of stuff!), I was actually thinking that sometimes it’s difficult to grudge the amount of money (or at least profit) that these guys make by buying mass produced stuff at cheap rates and then selling them to ignorant tourists like me at much higher prices. After all, they deal with inherent unpredictability of existence (or at least lack of stability), there’s intense compeitition from others selling the same goods and no scope for differentiation, there’s the constant threat of police action and intervention, they have to think on their feet and deal with each customer separately depending on age, sex, nationality etc. I keep coming back to the same old adage – never grudge the people who earn more, because they have either taken more intelligent decisions than you have or bear risks or invest effort that’s more than you do…and that holds true of even grey areas (probably even more so!)
Tuesday was my last day here. Its quite interesting that I don’t feel a sense of regret like I normally do with every city I visit, even in India. My feeling towards Shanghai were instinctive and they have stayed same over the course of the trip – I am fascinated and impressed, but don’t necessarily like it.
As I think I mentioned earlier to K, part of it is to do with the irrational resentment I feel as an Indian at the amount China has been able to achieve despite having a similarly turbulent history as ours and carrying a similar load of baggage. Another part of it, contradictory though it may sound, is due to the similarities betweens Indians and Chinese. Yes, both are industrious and enterprising and focused on education…but unfortunately in habits too they tend to be similar – tending to be abrupt & rude, selfish in public areas, and making noise while eating!
Which brings me to another point – I didn’t indulge my love for food much. Partly because I was too conscious of cost this time (having had the Manila trip and the car damage earlier this month) and partly because, other than dimsums, I don’t think I particularly “authentic” Chinese food! Give me Mainland China any day…or even the Delhi “chowmein” vans.
On that note, I will end. It’s been a good trip in all respects.