Chinese people are quite rude. And I'm told that people in Shanghai are the worst of the bunch. Maybe I've been spoiled by the politeness in Japan-- actually, no, I am, because in Japan you're practically drowning in it. Now, I appreciate it more than ever after coming back from Shanghai. It's the negative mindset to be in, but whenever we had shoddy customer service or practically got thrown out of the way by a surprisingly strong, granny bat so she can get a seat on the train, I couldn't help but think, "Ugh, this would never happen back in Japan..." Oh, and I don't like their trains. Every time it starts to move or stops, it's always with an aggressive jerk and you're always desperately trying to grab hold onto something that's not a sweaty middle-aged man so you don't go sprawling to the floor.
And women don't shave here. It's a bit unsettling. I can't tell you how many times I've been surprised when deceptively pleasant-looking young women get onto the train and lift their arms to grab the handholds.
Oh, and it probably doesn't need mentioning, but it was f***ing hot.
Onto the good things:
The fabric markets.
Oh my God, the fabric markets. Once you go, you can never get away. Fabric markets are basically where you can go and get clothes custom made for you. You can pick the fabrics, the cut, everything down to the kind of buttons you want. I was hesitant at first because I wasn't sure what I wanted would translate over well. But the people there have a decent command of English, and what you can do (what most people will do) is pick something that's put out on display that you like, and they'll customize it for you.
Massagesss
I got my first massage at a really nice place and it was only 88 RMB ($12) for one hour.
And finally, the food. Oh my God, the food.
We also went to this plaza, I forget the name, it was very interesting because the buildings had a European design. There were a lot of foreigners around as well and a number of European restaurants and pubs.
There were also these group of Chinese girls doing some sort of amateur photoshoot and one of the girls was trying to do these sexy poses. It was embarrassing to watch.
Stay classy, ladies.
The thing about China that I enjoyed the most was how cheap almost everything was, and so you could pretend for a little bit that you were living the high life. I wish Japan had cheap massage places and fabric markets. :(
happy ending???
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