Doesn't to be "Shanghai'ed" mean to be screwed over, cheated of
something? Whatever it means, right now it should signify development
gone wild. Skyscrapers everywhere, I'm no longer skeptical of the
statistic I heard: that Shanghai erected more skyscrapers last year
than NYC has in total. From the Bund, a (grossly polluted) waterway
with paved trails along it and people selling kitsch that amounts to a
main tourist attraction in this construction zone of a city, you can
literally look in every direction and see many skyscrapers and
multiple more being constructed.
With only a day planned here, I focus on a random path. This yields
good results, and I come very close to buying a folding bicycle.
However, riding it makes me feel like it's about to fall apart;
childhood memories of a bike I found in the trash and the
groin-grabbing pain of attempting to catch some air resulting in the
handlebars coming off probably subconsciously sealed the deal.
I also happen upon a movie theater, convenient because I'd been trying
to hunt down an English-language local periodical to find listings.
Even better: it had the movie I wanted at a time that worked with
English subtitles on an Imax screen. Chow Yun Fat's "The Curse of the
Golden Flower" felt like Macbeth with the royal family, with some
Oedipus-like elements invading the Imperial Palace for good measure.
Few fight scenes, but the ridiculous coolness of the ninjas and their
moves more than compensates for this. My favorite part is the "it's
all good" chants throughout: as all hell breaks loose and blood spills
among the royal family, the servants dutifully maintain announcements,
ie "it is the Hour of the Tiger. All perfection rests in the royal
family."
A planned stop requiring some sleuthing (different name, not the best
Shanghai map fucking Let's Go) but more than worth it is the Bund
Observatory. More specifically, the bar on the rooftop. Most
specifically, a gin and tonic while I stand alone on the rooftop
patio, skylines laid out before me as if for this exact moment in my
precise spot. Fuck making money and most else: my life will be
largely about moments like this.
Last but far from least are some heavenly vegetarian dishes. Sonyue
Lou's for lunch and Gongdelin Vegetarian Restaurant for dinner both
made me feel like I could easily be vegan, if only one of these
restaurants was located next door to my house and the other's cook
decided to come backpacking with me all the time. One dish at Sonyue
Lou's was noodles with spiciness and about a dozen nut/mushroom things
I could not identify but did like. I also got Sichuan fish, more out
of curiosity than hunger. The waiter had warned me it was a
vegetarian fish, and he wasn't kidding. I don't know what it was made
of, but I had some white noodle/vegetable thing with streaks of red
like veins running through it that was pretty close to the consistency
of fish and more similar in taste than you'd think a bunch of veggies
could be. Gongdelin was just as good if not better, spicy tofu and a
bunch of nut-like things reasonably mimicking shredded pork.
And then my luxury suite for the night: a train to Tunxi, the closest
city to a supposedly badass mountain I intend to visit. 94 yuan
(<$14) gets me not-so-hard seats to sleep on (thankfully uncrowded),
transportation to my next spot, and a bit more appreciation for the
luxuries of home that I underappreciate.