By Aaron Ely
We decided to take a 2 day trip to Shanghai. It is such a large city with so much to see. Most of our trip was just walking aimlessly in a direction that our Frommer's Travel Guide directed us to go. Aaron prefers this way of travel; Ely likes to have more of a prerogative.
We took a bus from Suzhou and were dropped off somewhere in Shanghai. We had to wander around a bit before we saw another laowai (foreigner) who could familiarize us with our surroundings. 
Aaron takes great pride in his cave-man navigation skills. He could buy a compass, but he prefers to put a needle on a leaf in a pond in the middle of a park. The truest north one can find. No, just kidding, but you would be surprised at how many times he looks up at the sky (not metaphorically) for help.
Our first goal was to have a look at the old part of the city. We gave in and paid $1.50 in taxi transport fees. The old part of the city didn't feel so old. The architecture was designed in a way to give the impression of an old city. But the freshly painted walls and colorful, perfectly shingled, and opulently designed roof couldn't fool us. The hoards of people didn¡¯t do it justice either. Maybe we should just get
with it and realize the new Shanghai isn't a small community, more like a booming metropolis of 15 million strong.
Every type of souvenir was being sold in every store, including pee-pee boys. They seem to be quite the commodity here. We walked around for about an hour, stopping by several gimmicky shops along the way. In the center of the old town, there is a 2 story, 200 year old tea house. It is the centerpiece of a circular, quartered fish pond. Pretty cool looking. It still didn't feel like China, more like a remodeled old looking building available for tourists' photo-ops.
We always attempt to find a back street. To get away from the inflationary prices of tourist gatherings, sometimes, we fall a ways off the beaten path. We did find a narrow street to walk on. Dusk was upon us. We heard the sounds of TV, blaring horns, Chinese music, and old women chatting. We saw fathers helping their young daughters wash their hair in the street. They basically were showering with the use of a 2 gallon bowl. There were unoccupied shabby remnants of housing, vendors selling chop soy, rice dishes, veggies, and fruits on every corner. This was the China that we liked. People have little restaurants, basically just the dining room of their living quarters. Easy living. We found a little hot pot shack. We loaded up a basket of meats and veggies, asked for spicy broth, ordered a beer (not any cold beers in stock...sorry), and sat down. The food was brought to us shortly thereafter. Delicious. We slurped up the broth to the last drop, paid $1.75, and kept on with our trek. Aaron sometimes says, "Lets just spoil ourselves tonight, and have a really nice dinner." We usually end up spending around 150 RMB ($17) and leave the restaurant considerably unsatisfied. The best meals we have were like this one--spur of the moment, under $2, at a restaurant where having a menu, let alone an English menu, is a long shot. No, more like Aaron ever dunking on a 10 foot hoop.
It's pretty difficult for Aaron to travel without a plan, without a reservation, without a budget set. Traveling in such a way just puts imbalances in his head. It goes against his natural instincts, but the uncertainly adds to an element of excitement in the trips.
On a Standard of Living survey, one might say our standards are dropping, significantly. On the first night of our adventure, our boss Joe said electricity, water, and heating should cost around 100-200 per month. We paid 600 RMB. The heater was on through the night, our clothes were washed after every use, and a shower was taken 1.5 times per day. This just doesn't fit in with the Chinese culture.
Since that time, we haven't really turned on the A/C or heating. It's gotten bad at times. We see our breath on cold nights. So when it was cold, we bundled up. And now, it's getting hot, so we, uh....do what we must to remain comfortable... and keep the curtains closed. Ha.
People just don't take too many showers here. They don't have a domestic deodorant in stock at Auchan. Some of my students argue that Chinese people don't have B.O. Maybe so. 1 shower a week in winter just doesn't work for us, but we've scaled things down
. Jeans are worn minimum of 5 times before washed. And our standards for hotels:¡¡. Not much of a list.
So we walked around the main shopping area, looking for something close. We knew the cheapest hotels were going to be on a side street, were not going to have much of a sign, and were probably in a building that looked like it would be torn down for new high rise plans next week. After wandering around for an hour or two, we found one. We bartered a 30% discount since it was late, and went up to the room. Hey, it had a view and clean sheets. And the cost was 130 RMB. Not bad.
We always try to be as descriptive as possible, to have an interesting observation for one to postulate about, to add pinches of comedy, to be able to write about the differences in the culture, to write something profound, but we find it harder and harder to do so. We want people to read our postings and think, Wow." Maybe Aaron has just exhausted his creative writing skills. Hey, English 101 only gets you so far. Or, maybe profound findings or major ideological differences are just becoming harder to recognize. Maybe we aren't that different. We probably just aren't.
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