A Tale of 2 Cities tagged: , , ,

A Tale of 2 Cities

Posted by Mike in Guest Bloggers

11/14/2010 – Part II (part I can be found here)

It has been over two weeks now and I have finally adjusted to the time change and am slowly acclimating to the culture shock. I have found that Shanghai can be quite a dichotomy, hence the title of this post. It is an amazing city with breathtaking modern skyscrapers dotting the river and yet mere blocks away there are traditional Chinese shikumen (stone gate townhome) living quarters with underwear and shirts hung out their windows to dry. I suppose every city has its different facets but I feel that in Shanghai there are such stunning contrasts everywhere you look.

There are mammoth shopping centers here that make Short Hills Mall look like a TJ Maxx but turn the corner and you can find a vendor selling steamed buns or a foot massage parlor which offers a 60 minute foot rub for $5. My favorite breakfast place is along a side street from our office where I can get 4 delicious soup dumplings for 3 yuan. Depending on the fervor of the most recent currency manipulation debate this typically translates to around $0.45 USD. I have not tried a truly local foot massage yet.

I did need to get a back massage after the World Expo. The 8 hours of walking had left me incapacitated so I hobbled across the street from my apartment to get a massage. The girl was quite nice and I was flattered when she asked my age and she guessed that I was 23. However, this was short-lived as after the massage I went to a small corner restaurant for wontons and shared a table with a cute young boy and his parents. The little boy stared across the table, smiled at me, and called me “ye ye” (grandpa). Ouch. The mom apologized and said it must have been the baseball cap covering my face, then she spotted an empty table next to us and promptly moved leaving me to rethink whether I should have shaved that morning.

After lunch I headed to the Fabric Market as I needed some work clothes made. I had the unpleasant experience of needing to use the public restroom at the market. I had to pay 0.10 RMB to use it so at least I thought it would be clean. The cleanliness was not the issue. There were 4 stalls in the bathroom and although there are “No Smoking” signs on every door and posted above the sinks, every stall was occupied and everyone in them must have been chain smoking. The bathroom was not large with poor ventilation so I could barely see through the haze of smoke let alone breathe. I will now obediently participate in any fire drills at work going forward since I had a small glimpse into what it would be like to suffocate from smoke inhalation.

Despite this reeky experience, I enjoyed catching up with my tailor friend who I had not seen in two years. He was introduced to me by a family friend in NJ and last time I saw him they made me an honorary part of the family since I brought over 20 of my Columbia business school classmates over to use them. They made me a tuxedo as a gift which I wore on my wedding day. It is good to have an ‘inside man’. I asked him about DVD’s, he knew a guy. I needed an extra memory card for my camera, he told me which market to go to. Whatever I wanted, he knew someone. I find it somewhat strange that most goods are separated into their own market here. Looking for pearls, go to the pearl market. Tea? You guessed it, the tea market. I even accidentally stumbled upon the fish and insect market which was actually really cool. There were crickets and grasshoppers literally the size of my thumb being sold as pets. They would strut around on a table back and forth on this red felt like celebrities on the red carpet. It was fascinating.

Apart from the more interesting local markets, you can also find all the high-name luxury brand stores here from Gucci and Chanel to Tiffany and Jaguar. They just opened the first Apple store here as well. And yes, people are buying these products. The rising middle class here is more than willing to part with some of their disposable income and there are also no shortage of wealthy businessmen and entrepreneurs. I have seen a handful of Ferrari’s on the street and there is a Maserati dealership two blocks from my apartment. But keep walking and you will find a local street where there is a strange trend to wear fleece pajamas and fuzzy slippers out of the house. My favorite local fashion trend is on young toddlers where the pants are cut between the legs which negates any need for diapers. When you need to go, you just go: #1 or #2. I suppose it is more environmentally friendly since diapers generate a lot of garbage but I have not stuck around long enough to see if the parents actually clean up after their children have done their business.

Besides fashion and shopping, Shanghai is known for its restaurants. Shanghai soup dumplings are any Chinatown staple but besides that, there is an amazing variety of food here for any budget. Jean Georges and Nobu are here as well as most American (Cold Stone Creamery), Taiwanese (ComeBuy), Japanese (MOS Burger) and countless other international fast food chains. I enjoy walking around and just finding random places to eat or get takeout. It is slightly challenging because although I can verbally communicate without any issues, I am still practically illiterate. It is improving quickly and I can recognize the Chinese characters for beef, chicken, dog, or lamb now but I am still not able to distinguish the difference between the characters for tongue, feet, or liver. Thank goodness for picture menus.

In closing, let me congratulate any Bay Area natives on their first World Series win. My intention of staying off the grid for sports news was unsuccessful. Before Tim Lincecum could even pop the champagne, I had already received a CNN Breaking News text message of the outcome. Now I stay up-to-date on Formula One racing and Badminton with the British commentators on ESPN’s SportsCenter. It’s funny when they imitate a Southern accent and recap the NFL scores for the Houston Texans.

Coming soon . . . The Adventures of H&H: Hogan visits Henry from Hong Kong. What kind of crazy antics will these two American-born Chinese kids gets into in Shanghai?