DAY 46 MARCH 28 SHANGHAI KISSED! UNTILL OUR NEXT VISIT...

Up at 5 after listening to BBC and CNN and Chinese News (my favorite) all night and watching "them" turn off the psychedelic lights of Shanghai...time to get up.  I must learn Chinese....while Bubba is doing his Rosetta Stone Spanish 1, 2, 3.  Hello Bubs- get with the program.  Chinesey is the language to catch on to.  So looking forward to learning their 60,000 characters (remember you only need 3000-5000 to be able to speak)...our guide "David"...ah such a  nice  boy in Shanghai, tried once again his best to explain the Chinese alphabet..there is none.  Hard for Boca to "get".   Bubba got it years earlier ...I just kept butting heads-imagine that...so Daveeed, how do you teach children to spell dog?  as in 3 letters. " No Madame Collins- one character for dog."  So if you are on the phone and want to make sure the other person understands you...how do you have them spell it back to you? " No Madame Collins, no spelling, just telling."  By the time the conversation concluded one hour later, Bubba had a migraine and remarked Daveeeed and I should run off somewhere. FLIBBERTIGIBBLET!  Ok so now I get it...sort of.  So tell me about your experience with your "private" guides?  The best is Bubba's hard of hearingness and a very Chinese not so nuanced/joking English speaker..and me in the middle!  Henny Youngman has nothing on us.  Some days I feel like THE KINGS SPEECH has nothing on this!  Ok Bubbs, put a few marbles in the pie hole and maybe our little Charlie Chan Daveeeeed can understand you!
THE LAST CHINESE BREAKFAST CLUB FOR BOCA

 One more Chinese breakfast...Bubba heads to the bacon and eggs. I head to the soup...Ramen noodles on steroids and and all kinds of Asian stuff...they have put "labels" in front of each dish which I do not read as it world ruin the surprise. Hello Julia Childs!  Besides wearing most of the breakfast on my blouse...I do a lot of tasting and pushing around the plate.   Some "stuff" better than others....no congealed whatever for Bubba this morning.  I bring the laptop to breakfast to check emails etc and the Chinese help try to hide me in the hinter lands of this vast restaurant/venue.  Such an ....ugly American with her Mac Book-large screen-mind you on her table for all to read!  Nothing secret or private here Suzi Wong.  Maybe in the land of Big Brother- Mao this and that- one shouldn't be so bold with the 17 inch mac pro for all to see and read.  Whatever. 

Picked up at 7 a.m. for a ride on the super highway...they call city highways flyovers...with good cause.  And the supremo super fast train to the airport...we saw it in a flash.  We were told there was a bit of a panic  rush to sign up for license-plate lottery in capital-Beijing. A total of 397,000 people took place in the lottery to get a license plate.  Damn we will miss the drawing for the 17,000 license plates being issued this month.  Think about it...we just mosey down to the crazy  DMV and get our license or even go on line to do the same or get the new plates.  No lottery. Just do it.  Hmmm. I guess this car thing and driving thing takes on epic proportions over here.    Talking of epic proportions, they just introduced a new way of "burial"- the mini-burial.  The What?    The idea of a partial sea burial, in which most of a person's ashes are sprinkled at sea while a small amount is put in a tiny box and buried in a cemetery, was introduce in Shanghai on Saturday.   Think about it.  Where in the heck are you going to bury these 1.3 billion people?

 We needed a van to haul our stuff...or as Bubba calls it crap.  Crap Crap Crap ( I thought that was a Chicago word- he must have learned it when we lived there)-"only more Crap that I have to haul over to the Storage Place (Uncle Bob's) and store more of it!"  Oh Bubs  can just be so dull...more to buy at the airport of course.  You must get rid of the rubbles.  And once again  the shopping began...whip out the platinum am x bubba...  What the hell?  I am just trying to get rid of the "scoots" (old Secret Service word for money...call it a scoot in any country what's the diff?)  So a few more tschokees to add to the pathetic pile.

So long Shanghai  You have been magnificent and WAY BEYOND our expectations.   I loved reading the SHANGHAI  EXPRESS....AND my very favorite CHINA DAILY.  I think Chairman Mao is writing them from the grave!   My personal favorite- the headline of the Business Section "FORGET WINE.  GET PICKY ABOUT RARE, EXOTIC TEAS".  OH Hell no, aficionados so not treating leaf based beverages with reverence.  Duh.  Hello it is about the Grape you Chinaman!  Right -no more Chateau Lafitte- Rothschild's ($2000 a bottle)- say what??  Rare and exotic teas evolving into a delicacy of the chi chi??  and an INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY!!?  YIKES....talking about  Longing Dragon, ( remember I am year of Dragon)...which at 60,000 yuan= $9,146 per kilogram is over the top!!   Can you see Boca weaning herself off the cheap white wine over to that tea.  We are talking  SHRUBS here people.  Holy Moly!  Well think about it...as we used to say in the OLD EST days..."it's a conversation".  Wine? Tea?  What's the diff?  

And remember SARS?  back in 2002?  Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-that killed many and hurt others.  Many were infected medical workers while at work-ewe.  Many with this disease "hide" as it is an embarrassment.  What happened to those folks? Mainly in Asia.  This virus caused havoc that we have forgotten...I did see many , let's say 10% of the people wearing what we call surgical masks  Dusty?  Pollution?  Allergy?  And here's the kicker...when Pleep asks them to take off their masks and show them the inside....ewwwwww black stuff there in the breathing area...what the hay!!   Never mind that...the radiation Japan thing has everyone on pins and needles over here.  I am sure the bok choy I had in my soup this morning will glow in the dark- radiation measuring 10 million times than normal- the paper screamed at us this morning.  EEEk Ka Volts!  and then NUCLEAR SAFETY REMAINS UNFAZED.  HELLO, mixed messages.  

HELLO DELTA...WHAT IS THIS?
This time Delta is our Chariot...and what kind of seats are these?   Even worse to sit in than they are to look at.  Bubba actually liked them, in that he was across the isle from me so I couldn't vice grip his hand on take off and turbulence.  The Pleepster had fun in his own mini-me seat.  He so loves that he has been Shanghaied just like Spongebob.  The newest Disney Land park starts construction on April 8th- you bet he will be back.

What a glorious visit to China.  Truly the highlight of the trip.....this ancient place...suppressed by communism from 1949- 1992 is amazing.  Bubba's footnote-"get real Boca,  it's still not over".  It is no less than an explosion of the suppression of 40 plus years....it was an absolute joy to get in the mix.  Yes Yes Yes Bubba...more dirt to hoe as in work to do toward freedom and democracy.  But I'll be - they went from zero to 90 in 20 short years!  Youza!    This most dynamic changing city in the fastest growing nation was mind boggling.  Is it setting the pace  (peace?) for the rest of the world?  China, and Shanghai, has dispensed with the past and now has the peddle to the metal.  Yes, yes I understand that the recent crack down on domestic dissenters is in bloom and yes of course I don't get why Boca's blog was blocked.  I know one day the democratic aspirations of the Chinese people will one be impossible to contain.  Can't wait for my next visit to experience that dream.  Thank you China and your beautiful people for such a fantastic visit.  Sweet Dreams.

DAY 45 MARCH 27 STUPENDOUS SHANGHAI

SHANGHAI EXHIBITION CENTER

This very modern and interesting exhibition, which traces the huge urban development projects which have taken place in recent years was oh so interesting.  The highlight is a whole floor dedicated to a scale model of Shanghai showing all existing and approved buildings....already showed you shots of it but will remind those of you with senior moments...that would include me.

Themed on city, citizens, environment and development, this exhibit aims to display the past, present and future of Shanghai.  This 5 story building is a beaut.  It opened in 2000 and the exhibits and building have been maintained so much that it looks like it opened up 6 months ago.  Pleep enjoyed running from all over the model as it was the perfect size for him to get to know the city.  He charmed the guards so they looked the other way as he played King Kong on the skyscrapers.   Ever searching for his Fay Ray.  He also enjoyed the Zone of Integrated Transportation and Urban Planning and had a blast with all of the touch screens.  Very clear that transportation is the lifeline of a city- note to American Mayors- excellent point.  Over 5 million visitors have been to this awesome exhibit.

SHANGHAI MUSEUM

The Shanghai Museum, established in 1952, is a world famous large museum boasting a collection of 120,000 pieces of Chinese cultural relics including bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, furniture, jades, ivory carvings, oracle bones???, seals, coins and moola (Bubba's favorite) wood and lacquer ware.  We split up as Bubba and Boca like to look at different stuff- Bubs got David and I got the Pleepster.  Truly a world class display of fascinating items in an architecturally brilliantly designed building.  Pleep hopped over to the tea room and joined a few Chinese guys for some of that Ginseng tea...while not a cold brewski (his favorite) he thought what the hay...when in Rome.

Boca hit up the oh so fabulous gift shop.  Not cheap by any means, rather pricey, but the goods were well worth the pricing.  Unique and high quality, it was a pleasure to spend her Yuans here.  Hope her sisters will recognize the diff in scarf quality!  Boca tried on a few of the Mandarin style blouses but no- ol Boca's you know what's are not made for tiny Chinese sizing....boo hoo.  She had visions of a swaree at the house with the Opium Den theme- oh so exotic- trying some of those Chinese roots as well!  Next stop out the back door, right on the People's Park and Square.  The weather was perfect and so was the park...

PEOPLES PARK
The sight of the former Racecourse of the 1930's is the Peoples Park and a great place to walk, gossip, exercise or just watch the world go buy.  This weather perfect Sunday the park was loaded with children and their mommies, daddies and Nini and YeahYeah-grandparents.


That's the Shanghai Grand Theater in the background-more innovative architecture.  We had such a super time watching the children play in the fountain, eat their treats and best of all interact with the grandparents and parents too.  More swooning for some of our own one day...no pressure Nick or Al...ha ha.

SHANGHAI EXHIBITION CENTER

The enormous Shanghai Exhibition Center certainly doesn't fit architecturally with most of what is going on in Shanghai today-one of the few reminders of the influence the Soviet ONCE HAD in Shanghai.  Built in 1954 it used to be called the Palace of Sino-Soviet Friendship and designed as a place to display China's technological advances and agriculture advances.  The big red star is there as a reminder of who is still in charge.  They were hosting an exhibition on Franchising.  Franchising?  And every person we saw was Chinese...not a westerner in the mix.  We tried to sneak in but to no success.  So after poking around the outside of the building Pleep and I hung around the front door while Bubba read the paper in the van.  I so wanted to quiz the attendees and find out what they were looking for, where would they get the money to buy a franchise, how would they know to run a franchise and on and on.  Many in China think themselves "grassroots"- caogen.  By the looks of this crowd there appears to be a lot of interest in franchising and opportunity for these grass root thinkers. Many of the franchise opportunities were fast food related...all Chinese?? What about the idea that the next bubble could be farmland?  Note to self-LEARN MANDARIN SOON!  Foreign funds: now is the time for Chinese property.  Don't forget Boca gave you this very excellent tip.  Looking for a new home in Shanghai?

GOLD TEMPLE AKA JING'AN TEMPLE

WOW-that's a whole lotta gold David.  "Yes, it is the rich monk's temple."  The what?  Located across the street fro the Jing'an Pak which contains the old Bubbling Well Cemetery.  Jing'an Temple is one of the city's most revered places for ancestor worship.  During the Cultural Revolution it was turned into a plastics factory and reopened in 2006 after being completely rebuilt.  In the 1930's it was Shanghai's wealthiest Temple and holds that title once again today.

Very crowded and some interesting traditions.  The long red ribbons are purchased-$15 each!- so one can hang it in the temple in honor of a loved one dead or alive- a wish of sorts.  Bubba couldn't take one more temple so he had the driver take him back to the hotel...of course Pleep stayed with me.  He had heard about all the coin tossing going on at the Jing'an.  Batter up!  A place to offer coins and pray for financial success...must be that special brand of Buddhism- the new and improved Shanghai Buddhism on Steroids.

THE SHANGHAI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER

This super tall-1,614 ft- which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks and shopping malls on the ground floors was topped out in 2007.  Naturally, old Boca had to get up on that observation deck-the tallest observation deck in the world!  Located in Pudong, in the middle of the Finance and Trade Zone this building embodies the vertical garden city.  And boy do you see that view from up here.  Very cutting edge- expected of a world class building.  Again, with the glass floor and this time I walked all over it and even looked down.  Yes that's me on that bridge over the trapezoid cut out called the Sky Walk-100, 97, and 94.  Brilliantly designed for observing.  What a venue for a party and yes you can.  The bar area was a sleek space to enjoy a glass of wine and just look down on Shanghai.  A place to grill our guide on growing up in China and life today.  We were up there for 3 hours!! Ah and right across the street is the hole for the soon to be TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD ....slated for completion 2014.   Boca must come back for an observation visit in that one!
CHEERS!

DAY 44 MARCH 26 SHANGHAI-THE PARIS OF THE EAST!

SHANGHAI EXHIBITION CENTER

This very modern and interesting exhibition, which traces the huge urban development projects which have taken place in recent years was oh so interesting.  The highlight is a whole floor dedicated to a scale model of Shanghai showing all existing and approved buildings....already showed you shots of it but will remind those of you with senior moments...that would include me.

Themed on city, citizens, environment and development, this exhibit aims to display the past, present and future of Shanghai.  This 5 story building is a beaut.  It opened in 2000 and the exhibits and building have been maintained so much that it looks like it opened up 6 months ago.  Pleep enjoyed running from all over the model as it was the perfect size for him to get to know the city.  He charmed the guards so they looked the other way as he played King Kong on the skyscrapers.   Ever searching for his Fay Ray.  He also enjoyed the Zone of Integrated Transportation and Urban Planning and had a blast with all of the touch screens.  Very clear that transportation is the lifeline of a city- note to American Mayors- excellent point.  Over 5 million visitors have been to this awesome exhibit.

SHANGHAI MUSEUM

The Shanghai Museum, established in 1952, is a world famous large museum boasting a collection of 120,000 pieces of Chinese cultural relics including bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, furniture, jades, ivory carvings, oracle bones???, seals, coins and moola (Bubba's favorite) wood and lacquer ware.  We split up as Bubba and Boca like to look at different stuff- Bubs got David and I got the Pleepster.  Truly a world class display of fascinating items in an architecturally brilliantly designed building.  Pleep hopped over to the tea room and joined a few Chinese guys for some of that Ginseng tea...while not a cold brewski (his favorite) he thought what the hay...when in Rome.

Boca hit up the oh so fabulous gift shop.  Not cheap by any means, rather pricey, but the goods were well worth the pricing.  Unique and high quality, it was a pleasure to spend her Yuans here.  Hope her sisters will recognize the diff in scarf quality!  Boca tried on a few of the Mandarin style blouses but no- ol Boca's you know what's are not made for tiny Chinese sizing....boo hoo.  She had visions of a swaree at the house with the Opium Den theme- oh so exotic- trying some of those Chinese roots as well!  Next stop out the back door, right on the People's Park and Square.  The weather was perfect and so was the park...

PEOPLES PARK
The sight of the former Racecourse of the 1930's is the Peoples Park and a great place to walk, gossip, exercise or just watch the world go buy.  This weather perfect Sunday the park was loaded with children and their mommies, daddies and Nini and YeahYeah-grandparents.


That's the Shanghai Grand Theater in the background-more innovative architecture.  We had such a super time watching the children play in the fountain, eat their treats and best of all interact with the grandparents and parents too.  More swooning for some of our own one day...no pressure Nick or Al...ha ha.

SHANGHAI EXHIBITION CENTER

The enormous Shanghai Exhibition Center certainly doesn't fit architecturally with most of what is going on in Shanghai today-one of the few reminders of the influence the Soviet ONCE HAD in Shanghai.  Built in 1954 it used to be called the Palace of Sino-Soviet Friendship and designed as a place to display China's technological advances and agriculture advances.  The big red star is there as a reminder of who is still in charge.  They were hosting an exhibition on Franchising.  Franchising?  And every person we saw was Chinese...not a westerner in the mix.  We tried to sneak in but to no success.  So after poking around the outside of the building Pleep and I hung around the front door while Bubba read the paper in the van.  I so wanted to quiz the attendees and find out what they were looking for, where would they get the money to buy a franchise, how would they know to run a franchise and on and on.  Many in China think themselves "grassroots"- caogen.  By the looks of this crowd there appears to be a lot of interest in franchising and opportunity for these grass root thinkers. Many of the franchise opportunities were fast food related...all Chinese?? What about the idea that the next bubble could be farmland?  Note to self-LEARN MANDARIN SOON!  Foreign funds: now is the time for Chinese property.  Don't forget Boca gave you this very excellent tip.  Looking for a new home in Shanghai?

GOLD TEMPLE AKA JING'AN TEMPLE

WOW-that's a whole lotta gold David.  "Yes, it is the rich monk's temple."  The what?  Located across the street fro the Jing'an Pak which contains the old Bubbling Well Cemetery.  Jing'an Temple is one of the city's most revered places for ancestor worship.  During the Cultural Revolution it was turned into a plastics factory and reopened in 2006 after being completely rebuilt.  In the 1930's it was Shanghai's wealthiest Temple and holds that title once again today.

Very crowded and some interesting traditions.  The long red ribbons are purchased-$15 each!- so one can hang it in the temple in honor of a loved one dead or alive- a wish of sorts.  Bubba couldn't take one more temple so he had the driver take him back to the hotel...of course Pleep stayed with me.  He had heard about all the coin tossing going on at the Jing'an.  Batter up!  A place to offer coins and pray for financial success...must be that special brand of Buddhism- the new and improved Shanghai Buddhism on Steroids.

THE SHANGHAI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER

This super tall-1,614 ft- which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks and shopping malls on the ground floors was topped out in 2007.  Naturally, old Boca had to get up on that observation deck-the tallest observation deck in the world!  Located in Pudong, in the middle of the Finance and Trade Zone this building embodies the vertical garden city.  And boy do you see that view from up here.  Very cutting edge- expected of a world class building.  Again, with the glass floor and this time I walked all over it and even looked down.  Yes that's me on that bridge over the trapezoid cut out called the Sky Walk-100, 97, and 94.  Brilliantly designed for observing.  What a venue for a party and yes you can.  The bar area was a sleek space to enjoy a glass of wine and just look down on Shanghai.  A place to grill our guide on growing up in China and life today.  We were up there for 3 hours!! Ah and right across the street is the hole for the soon to be TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD ....slated for completion 2014.   Boca must come back for an observation visit in that one!
CHEERS!