Last Friday, we left Xi’an for Shanghai with Air China. Our arrival in Shanghai marked the beginning of a more personal trip – a bit off the tourist trail. We taxied from the airport to Jenny’s younger brother, sister-in-law and 10 year-old nephew 5th floor apartment. An apartment is similar to the many other hundreds (thousands?) in Shanghai. Along the taxi ride, we could see a lot of new construction – in some part of the city, we could observe cranes on top of every 2nd building. Today, October 1 is China’s National Holiday. Schools and many businesses are closed for 7 days. After walking up the stairs to the 5th floor (as there are no elevators in this 6th floor apartment building) we were happily greeted by Jenny’s nephew. His dad had been waiting for us on the sidewalk at a different location than where the taxi dropped us off.
Due to our language difference, we could not talk to each other much. We both smiled a lot. The nephew tried out some English with me and I did the same in Mandarin. Victoria was really the best as she appeared very comfortable with her mandarin… and she would periodically turn around and talk to me in French. The apartment is composed of two bedrooms (a large one and smaller one), a small cooking area, a washroom and common-area used to eat and talk. The overall size is probably equivalent to a one bedroom apartment back home. I feel somewhat privileged to experience first hand how most urban dwellers in Shanghai live. Later in the day, Jenny and I went to meet her other older brother.
The next day (Saturday), Jenny and I took the bus and went for a visit of Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar. We spent most of the time shopping for souvenirs among large crowds of people. Every so often, someone would offer me to buy a Rolex (Bob – It’s automatic!) We later walked on the Bund (waterfront walkway) with half of China’s population. The experience was not very pleasant. We were glad that Victoria stayed at the apartment. The bus ride back home was yet another fight with people to get on. By the end of the day, I had convinced Jenny that her great Shanghai, she had been talking to me for the past two years, was not that great because of the mass population, although shopping is good.
On Sunday, Jenny and I went to the highly recommended Shanghai Museum expecting a large crowd but we were surprised … the place had few people. After our visit, we walk along Nanjing Road along (again!) half the population of China. In the evening, Jenny and I went to hair studio. I got a $0.85 hair cut and Jenny got a $17 hair treatment and trim in preparation for the upcoming wedding.
In the past few days, Victoria has enjoyed the amusement park around Jenny’s brother’s neighborhood. She is getting good care from all her relatives.