Enjoy ...
Day 1 in Shanghai
January 23, 2010
Today, we met up with Ken B (we used to work with his wife in Atlanta) - she's been relocated over here for three years already - so they're almost like locals!
Ken took us to the fabric market and Cheryl ordered a coat and two suits to be custom made. The options were overwhelming! You could pick this style of coat, with this type of a collar, and that kind of detailing, at whatever length you want ... then throw in the color and fabric that you want. WAY too many choices! But, a hand-made cashmere LONG coat - for about $110 USD. Suits were about $90US
We went back to Ken & Julie's apartment (WOW, what a great view!!) to pick up the kids and go to the skatepark - the largest skateboarding park in the world. The boys stayed there all day - we went down to Yu Yuan Gardens -- the big tourist shops (not that we bought anything there, but the maze of stores was amazing!) We'll be heading to the knock-off markets later this week or next weekend with Julie to get our souveniers!
We also walked through a very old part of town which shows how people USED to live downtown - now with the real estate being what it is, these places are being shut down, tore down ... and redeveoped into luxury apartments, restaurants and shops instead. Most of the old housing is 1 room, no electricity, no indoor plumbing or water. Those things were added later on - and there are wires running from house to house to incorporate electricity into the tiny houses. Their water is from taps out on the street, and I'm not really sure where they go to the bathroom with no toilets INSIDE the units ....
After the markets (most of which were outdoor markets), we were pretty cold (temps today were about 40 degrees), we walked back to Ken & Julie's apartment, took the ferry across the river and grabbed something to eat back at their house. We made an appointment for an hour long foot massage and headed over to "Blind Persons Massage" - yes, some of the masseuses are blind! The hour long massage was SO relaxing, I might have even dozed off for a little while! The massage was $65RMB ... which equates to about $8 US! ... we'll be getting another foot massage before we leave!!!
Ken took us to the fabric market and Cheryl ordered a coat and two suits to be custom made. The options were overwhelming! You could pick this style of coat, with this type of a collar, and that kind of detailing, at whatever length you want ... then throw in the color and fabric that you want. WAY too many choices! But, a hand-made cashmere LONG coat - for about $110 USD. Suits were about $90US
We went back to Ken & Julie's apartment (WOW, what a great view!!) to pick up the kids and go to the skatepark - the largest skateboarding park in the world. The boys stayed there all day - we went down to Yu Yuan Gardens -- the big tourist shops (not that we bought anything there, but the maze of stores was amazing!) We'll be heading to the knock-off markets later this week or next weekend with Julie to get our souveniers!
We also walked through a very old part of town which shows how people USED to live downtown - now with the real estate being what it is, these places are being shut down, tore down ... and redeveoped into luxury apartments, restaurants and shops instead. Most of the old housing is 1 room, no electricity, no indoor plumbing or water. Those things were added later on - and there are wires running from house to house to incorporate electricity into the tiny houses. Their water is from taps out on the street, and I'm not really sure where they go to the bathroom with no toilets INSIDE the units ....
After the markets (most of which were outdoor markets), we were pretty cold (temps today were about 40 degrees), we walked back to Ken & Julie's apartment, took the ferry across the river and grabbed something to eat back at their house. We made an appointment for an hour long foot massage and headed over to "Blind Persons Massage" - yes, some of the masseuses are blind! The hour long massage was SO relaxing, I might have even dozed off for a little while! The massage was $65RMB ... which equates to about $8 US! ... we'll be getting another foot massage before we leave!!!
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