Shanghai

Walking on water, raft riding, sitting on a water buffalo, and surviving a typhoon are all things that I can check off my bucket list.  Another one would be to arrive home from vacation only to be there 3 days, to pack up, and head out for another long vacation.  We weren’t even prepared to leave because we just wanted to bum around from the extended one we just had.  However, we put on our big girl panties, and set out on another adventure.  Our first stop: Shanghai.  

It started out with a train ride.  Now I have never been on a train, and was super excited for this opportunity.  However, I will give you the best possible advice for when you come to China.  Never, ever, ever, ever, evereverever, take the train if you don't necessarily have to.  It was 16 hours of torture.  At first it was ok, but then like the paparazzi, the Chinese swarm you to where you feel like a toy doll with no where to go.  "You beautiful." "Can we be friends?" "What is your telephone number?" "Where are you going?" "Can we take picture?"  It was also very, very crowded. 

 Some people had to stand in the aisle for the whole 16 hours, but were smart and brought a small stool.  The boy in blue, and the elderly man in the center had these standing seats (with lots of others.)  They sat and slept on the floor beside us.  The elderly man was on his way to Shanghai to see the doctor.  The woman across from me said that he was going to get his Tuberculosis checked out.  I was kind of scared for my health at that point, and around 3 in the morning, I woke up to find him standing next to me speaking to the lady across from me. Every time he would talk to her, he would lean in and rub against me.  I tried to move over, but the guy on the other side of me probably didn't want an American rubbing up on him either.  Finally though, 10 am rolled around and we were free from that place; of course not without asking to get pictures first. 

The girl in the red jacket on the far right asked when we got off if she could kiss me.  Honestly speaking, I have never been asked this question before so it took me by surprise, and the first thing that came to my mind was, "Where???"  After she assured me it would be on the cheek, she kissed me, and I got out of there as quick as possible.  (There was also this little girl at school this week who asked if she could kiss me...that was cute.  This was not cute.)  Oh the memories.  

Getting to Shanghai was not what any of us expected, but we made it back to our hostel to rest and clean up.  Later that day, we went out to see what Shanghai had to offer.  It was huge! 

Day 1 with all the smog and pollution in the air.

Day 2 when the smog wasn't as bad.

Not sure who this guy was...

There are so many different stores in Shanghai, but it's different because most of these stores you would see in America like Forever 21, GAP, and Rolex stores galore.  They are very expensive too!  But we came upon this one little shop that had Bibles in the store window.  We were kind of shocked to see a Christian store, mostly because Christianity is not well known here, but we went inside to see what they had.  

 

They had lots of different paintings, and Bibles, and Christianity material.  It made me happy to see the guy thumbing through the Bible he had in his hands.  He was the only one in the store, and even though it was empty, it made my heart feel full to see that he was gaining a base to his testimony.  Go him!!

After our shopping experiences, we decided to visit the Old Water Towns of Shanghai.  It is amazing how old and new Shanghai can be, and look so different.  We took a raft ride through the town, and it was a very peaceful, beautiful place.  

This place was so cool!

It's kind of like Venice, yeah?

I'm really grateful for the life I was given.

After rafting we visited some of the markets that lined the river.  We decided to dress up like Asians, and take pictures.  They have these shops all over, but usually you just put on some clothes and they take a picture of you.  Well this particular shop would do your hair and makeup, and give you a full photo shoot with a variety of different items, all of it costing a little over $4 USD each.   

 

Alleyway of shops

After a fun day, we headed back to get a view of city life at night.  I loved the lights!!  Overall, Shanghai was cool, but not our most favorite place while vacationing.  One day would have been enough, instead of the three that we planned.  Great stories were made in the making though!!  :) 

New Town.

Old Town. :)