Arrested in Shanghai

No, not really.  The blog title refers to one of my favorite Rancid songs that has been stuck in my head all day and I’ve always wanted to use it for a blog post.  Our actual time in Shanghai was much more timid than that. 

We arrived here early Sunday morning after just two full days at sea.  We were going so slow at times I felt like they may be using oars to get us here instead.  Fortunately the seas were very tranquil compared to our Pacific crossing.  Once we arrived we set out to the local shopping markets.  The skyline of Shanghai is gorgeous, a wonderful mix of old style architecture and magnificent modern buildings like the futuristic looking Oriental Pearl Tower.  The Pearl is a 468 m high building consisting of 15 spheres of different sizes from large to small.  At night the lights make the Huangpu River sparkle and glow.

Kelly and I walked around the markets for the afternoon and had a lovely day together.  We picked up a few magnets that I ended up doing a horrible job bargaining for.  I felt taken after we walked away but it was a good lesson on how we need to be tough and realize they will never sell anything to us for a loss. 

Our night was very low-key due in part to a crisis event on the ship but I’m not going to go into that right now.  Today we went with Craig to another four story building that was filled with shops and haggled for some deals on shoes.  Both Kelly and I got new sneakers for about $25.  I did so well that when the woman gave me my change she put it in my hands forcefully with a look of disgust on her face.  I was happy because I knew that meant I didn’t get ripped off.

We have to be off the ship today at 2 PM to catch a flight to Hong Kong.  We will be staying in a hostel for a three nights until we meet back up with the ship on Thursday.  

Xie xie (sounds like she she) for reading.