Okinawa Cruise: Shanghai

Hello in Chinese

Our final port of call was a familiar port since we had visited Shanghai back in 2010. The really cool part of our stay this time was that our cruise ship sailed right up the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River that cuts right thru Shanghai. We docked at the Bund in the center of the city, right across the river from Pudong. The Bund is a 1-mile long waterfront strolling wharf for locals and tourists lined with historical buildings and other important structures. It is one of the most famous tourist areas in all of Shanghai. Pudong is a crazy skyscraper complex of avant-garde buildings across the river that tease the artistic imagination of anyone who sees them (especially at night when they are all lit up).

And one more bonus for us: it was all right there outside our stateroom window! Yea, our ship was exactly positioned so that we had a direct view of one of the prettiest and most famous sections of this river right outside our ship's window.

Busy barge traffic on the Huangpu River in Shanghai

The Huangpu River is always busy with boat traffic, all day & night long. The Chinese are quickly building up their country like anxious little bumble bees. Barges with building materials, coal, comestibles, and other goods are in constant motion along this important waterway. Tourist boats, sightseeing along the Bund are also part of the clutter and traffic on this ever-congested river.

Our 40-year-old tour guide Shanghai Tom

For touring this fun city, Anne had hired a driver (Shanghai Tom) to chauffeur us around Shanghai. It was fun just to see more of this very modern city than we were able to see last time. We especially liked the skyscrapers everywhere! Our first stop was the Long Hua Temple, a local Buddhist temple seldom visited by tourists.

500 mini-Buddhas!

This temple complex encompasses 1000 years of Buddhist history. Many Buddhas are on display here from the smiling happy Buddha to a building with 500 mini-Buddhas, and even a Buddha with 1,000 arms! We don’t pretend to understand the history very well, but many Chinese come here to pray and commune with the various Buddha icons.

Colorful bird market

Next, Shanghai Tom took us to several unusual markets – a bird market, a flower market, and the cricket market. Lots of colorful birds, flowers, and other common pets, but the most bizarre “pet” for sale was the cricket.

Fighting crickets on sale

Apparently, the Chinese somehow get crickets to fight one another and then they gamble on the outcome. The arcades where these crickets are sold are filled with a high-pitched chirping cacophony created by thousands of these creatures at a somewhat disturbing decibel level. We had never seen anything quite like it, but it fascinated us nonetheless. Little crickets, big crickets, weird-looking crickets, colorful crickets, and others were in boxed up displays for sale all along the many halls of the market.

Cricket sleeping mats (top) along with food and water dishes

And one thing further: these cricket markets sell all the paraphernalia to keep these critters happy and healthy. Little thimble-sized food and water dishes, miniature domiciles to house the crickets, and little mats for the crickets to sleep on. A well-rested cricket will be a better fighter in the ring! At times it was hard to keep from bursting into laughter! But then we realize this is one of the reasons we travel. You never know what tickles the fancy of different cultures until you see it firsthand.

Classy Xintiandi neighborhood

Shanghai Tom took us to the French Concession (a part of Shanghai inhabited by the French during the colonial period) and a famous, trendy area called Xintiandi where neat old Chinese buildings have been converted into upscale shops and restaurants. No signs of the old Communist lifestyle around here. With beautiful outdoor cafes offering international cuisine on every corner, it felt more like Paris then Red China.

Fun shopping on Old Shanghai Shopping Street

And finally, we went to a bustling shopping area called Old Shanghai Shopping street where we walked around to see the wares of the market. The old-style Chinese building stood in fascinating contrast with the skyscrapers all around them. We browsed the shops -- lots of interesting stuff, but nothing we could use.

New Chinese friends

We made a few friends as we strolled the shopping district. After all, we were a curiosity amongst the mostly Chinese shoppers there. Many were anxious to talk with us and sometimes even photograph us westerners. Lots of fun to meet and greet these lovely people, and see how another world lives! But, it was a long day, and we were beat and ready to go back to the ship. It was our last full day in China; tomorrow we fly back to the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Pudong at night!

Pudong at night is a riveting sight filled with captivating blinking neon lights that shimmer colorfully in the waters of the Huangpu. Half the passengers (including us!) were on the outside decks of the ship shutterbugging the vibrant Pudong skyline ad nauseum!

Repaired wheel hangs in there for the whole trip!

And one final thing. The wheel has gone full circle. For any of you who have been following our plight, where we’ve been hoping the wheel on Anne’s luggage would not come undone, we have good news. After the fix Frank performed on that broken wheel just about a month ago, and after about 10,000 miles of traveling thru Asia (and back to America) with the repair, we are happy to report that the fix held up perfectly. We did not baby it at any time, we just used the luggage as normal. The wheel weathered our journey just fine.

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