Beginning a new week in Shanghai

So much happens, it's hard to document.

I just ate my standard Chinese breakfast which has been two vegetable buns and congee with pickled veggies. It costs 3.8 RMB which I think is a pretty good deal. That's 58 cents USD. I think I have had that breakfast or some variation thereof from that place since I found it. I have ventured out to new nearby places for lunch several times. I haven't gotten the crazy potato/vegetable stuffed bread lately, though I might be due for a return. This week I will start to go to vegetarian restaurants a little more. Up until now I have had several restaurant meals but often with people who do not want to eat vegetarian food.

One such meal was with my CS friend Jacqueline and 4 of her friends. They are all expats living in Shanghai, two Japanese and 2 American, plus Jacqueline who is English. They have all been living in China for years. We ate Xibo food, an ethnic minority from Xinjiang province. The food is meat heavy but the veggies and tofu I got were good. The restaurant was completely full of expats. There were a few Chinese but no tables without foreigners, and in fact most tables were entirely foreigners. Prices were also foreigner-friendly. They got even more foreigner-friendly at the Cotton Club, a bar/lounge we walked to after dinner. It had kind of a smoky nightclub feel with a stage. There were three musical acts. The first was a girl from LA singing songs and playing guitar. The second was pretty much a blues band made up of I think all expats, maybe a few guys who were sort of local or born outside of China. The third was a guy from Texas being the frontman for the blues band and playing mostly Stevie Ray Vaughan covers. All the guys looked to be in their late 30s or 40s from what I could tell. Most of the musicians were pretty good. The prices in the bar were what I'd call exorbitant. A beer was the equivalent of $9-10 USD. There was no cheap option. I think a glass of fountain soda was about $7. A can was $8 or more. People seemed to happily pay it. The Texas guy and some of the band members had brought an entourage who loudly encouraged them. A few of the women got up to dance. The bar felt like a cross between a club in New York due to ambience and prices but the band reminded me more of a random Florida blues band. Their first instrumental jam was enjoyable, but it sort of went downhill from there. Like I said though, most of the musicians were decent. The singing varied. What can I say, I'm a tough critic. Also, the expat scene kind of weirded me out in ways I've yet to figure out how to describe.

Another day, I met Yasmine, her boyfriend, and her brother at the tailors' market. That place is a giant building of at least 3 floors, probably more, filled to the brim with tailors' stalls where one can buy pretty much any manner of clothing. More than that though, it specializes in custom clothing. You can go, get measured, and they will make customized suits, shirts, pants, whatever you want. They have magazines with pictures of stylish celebrities and you can point to the suits you like, choose fabrics, then come back in a few days and they will have made the suit for you from scratch. You can go through several fittings to get things just right. If memory serves, a man's suit will cost something like 450 RMB which is like $70 USD. That's for the pants and jacket. It seems like with a little bit of knowledge and effort, it'd be possible to get a whole lot of suits and fancy clothing for a lot less than it would be to buy in the US. As my guide book pointed out (and I agree) this place is "overrun" with foreigners shopping for deals, though there were plenty of locals too.

After the tailors' market expedition, they decided they wanted to go to the driving range and hit golf balls. They kept calling it the "shooting" range which I explained is something else. So I went along, having never been to a driving range in my life. Having the first one be in China seemed like a good idea. This place was pretty much filled with Chinese guys, some with ridiculous outfits and apparently expensive gear. I didn't realize that modern driving ranges have cameras that record your swing so you can review it after each shot. That's pretty cool actually. I hit a few balls. I got one to roll past the 100 yard mark, that was probably my best. Having tried it, I'd actually do it again, though it seems to me it would take about a billion years to get good enough to be consistent.

It rained and was chilly for a few days. I didn't really enjoy that, though it did make me less annoyed to be carrying around a sweater which I'd not worn since New York. I applauded my foresight actually. Way to rewrite history. Today the sun is out and I am really happy about that. Last night I met a few new friends in the hostel and today I think one will join me for a walk. I was thinking of hitting up a tourist site in Shanghai in the old city. The Old City itself sounds nice, and there is an ancient imperial garden or something that sounds worth the visit as well. I have also begun to arrange some meetups with other Couchsurfers. A lot more has probably happened, but I will continue to document my experiences as I retain them. Also, if anyone has questions about Shanghai or China, drop me an email and I will be happy to try and answer them to the best of my ability.