Tuesday

Tuesday October 6, 2008 I miss Chloe! The flight over went smoothly, as did the airport pickup.  Someone wants entertainment and is bored.  I failed to fully understand how much Chloe contributed to the general entertainment. The flight left a few hours earlier than did our one in May and as a result we slept less. And as a result, we are tired more.  At least I am. We went to bed around 9 and I woke at about 2:30.  I took a sleeping pill and might have actually slept a few more hours except around 3:30, Kang Kang popped up and did not get back to sleep. He needed to flop around and tell me about it every few minutes. So, now it is 5:55. He is dressed. We have finished breakfast. And nothing opens until 9. Our hotel is quiet nice, large room, lots of closet space. The major drawback (aside from wanting 180 RMB for breakfast- about $30 per person) is that the ventilation system nicely pulls in the smoke from adjoining rooms.  We are right next to the Pearl Tower (literally) and the aquarium. Although some prefer to be on the other side of the river, on the Bund, for us, much of what we are headed to see in two days is on this side. Today we plan a double header. We are going to the Science Museum and then the largest market in Shanghai is underneath the Museum. Go figure. We are also just around the corner from a large mall which contains many restaurants, Starbucks etc. Driving to the hotel last night we passed a Coldstone Creamery. I mean really. We have 3 hours before anything opens.  Kang Kang needs a playmate. I need a nap. End of Tuesday: Well, we were certainly ready to leave on time, Shortly after 8 we headed out to the mall down the street for coffee. I needed it. We then grabbed a can and headed to the Shanghai Science Museum where we spent the morning. Kang Kang does not really notice it but even just the two of us we attract a lot of attention. Some people speak directly to me, others just point and whisper. A worker on the street circled around us a couple of times.  The museum was fairly good. A lot was in Chinese (big surprise) but Kang Kang enjoyed it anyway. After that we ventured into a shopping market that was right there, but it was not particularly good and was particularly intrusive. Certainly it was the worst I had seen for in your face salesmanship. From there we went back to the mall for lunch and more coffee. After the melamine issue I am being a bit more careful where/what I eat. I am well aware of the affected brands and what has been recalled in Canada. I had also found a Hong Kong website that has a detailed list of products the HK government has tested and which are safe and which are passed. In the Science Museum I saw quite a number of things that had been recalled.  There were a bunch of English speaking kids from an International school and I asked the teacher what the information was within China. He did not have much more to add other than he bought fresh milk.   On the one hand, the contamination was certainly going on in May when we were here and eating ice cream daily. On the other, it makes sense to try and be careful.  Starbucks has a letter up detailing where they are getting their milk from. The Pearl Tower is literally beside out hotel and so we headed up there after lunch. Kang Kang was thrilled. These are all things we saw but could not do in May because of the days of mourning.  After that, back to the hotel where the hammers of last night and this morning were replaced by jackhammers.  My tolerance only extends so far and so I headed down to the desk.  Oh yes, they are renovating on the 10th floor. We were on the fourth but directly under the noise. I guess they had had other complaints as they immediately found us another room. It is a deluxe room, strangely better in some respects but not in others. For example, the first room had tons of closets. This one has just one. It does have a computer though and a bigger seating area. And just now, I hear music starting up.   Oh well, it beats jack hammers I guess. Tomorrow I have rented a car and guide, I decided that after two visits to Shanghai I should at least see part of it. Kang Kang would prefer the aquarium I think but I pointed out to him that aquariums exist in many cities. When I asked the concierge about bus tours the one he had was 400 rmb a person, A private guide and driver is 1000 total. I could probably have found cheaper if I did it ahead of time but I was not sure. On my own I think I could explore the city fairly well but with a child in tow… We had cups of noodles in the room for supper. Breakfast will be PB&J on a bagette, or what passes for a bagette here.   Now it is time to sleep.