Our hotel had a British Colonial history which it had a bit of difficulty shaking off but was ideally situated. Once we got over the huge room and how to close the blind closing the large window from the bathroom to the bedroom, we met our new driver and visited the Jade Budda and Yu Gardens. I thought I would try and use a little of our Chinese so when the guide asked if we knew any Chinese, all I could think of was "I have nine cats" (which I haven't!) . They burst out laughing and each day the driver came he always grinned and said "Nine Cats"
Day 1
The buildings around the Jade Budda were stunning and the Yunan gardens were very attractive.
The guide took us into a restaurant by the Yu Gardens Din Tai Fung. Very popular, serving superb dumplings. Luckily our guide had booked so we had no problem.
In the evening we wandered along the Bund. The buildings were very Colonial and along the side of the river was various walls covered with flowers and vegetation. Watched the laser show playing on the buildings of Pudong Binjiang with some buildings having lights changing patterns.
Day 2
The next day was free so as we needed to post a book to New Zealand for Josh we decided hunt down a post office. We found one by the Yu Gardens. Explaining what we wanted was difficult until we discovered the forms were in French so problem solved. We also wanted to see real Chinese shops and came across a Department store which was near Anren Street. It was a vast meandering building over about four floors filled with various individual stores. Needless to say we spent quite some time exploring. Tassels galore, material, trimmings. Anything and more that you would find in a Chinese Bazaar. We then went to the museum. Some really interesting articles there especially the calligraphy and paintings.
Day 3
See the entry for the Water Towns.
2025-02-16