Adventures of a Texas Girl in China: Another Day in Puxi

May 7, 2011

Beau and Hanne arrived here late Thursday afternoon. It was so good to see them again. These are our new friends we had met in Malaysia who are now in Shanghai. We had invited them to stay with us while they were here in Shanghai and we love having them here.

We were up really late on Friday night chatting. As we enjoyed a late breakfast we were plotting our day’s activities… destination Puxi.

We had gotten a call earlier this morning from Dave and Bobbie, the couple that have just arrived as new TI expats in Shanghai. We would be meeting them for dinner tonight at Cantina Agave for a little Mexican food and fellowship. I am looking forward to getting together and trying the Mexican food here in China. It’s really unfair to compare the Tex-Mex we have in Texas to what a country around the globe has to offer.

We set out for Puxi around 1pm. This is the back side of the Science and Technology Museum. Below where we are standing is the underground market.

This would be Beau and Hanne’s first introduction to the Shanghai Metro System. We got a transportation card for Hanne since she will be traveling back and forth to Puxi while she is here to record a demo CD. Beau will be heading south on Tuesday to begin his teaching assignment so he just purchased a single ticket.

Our first stop today would first be People’s Square. Michael and I were looking forward to a cup of Hershey’s soft serve ice cream. We emerged from the subway to the food court of Raffles City. Straight away Beau and Hanne spotted the Sushi bar.

While they enjoyed a snack, Michael and I headed to the Watson’s Personal store in hopes of finding some Hydrogen Peroxide. Michael has gotten a bite of some kind on his chest. I am guessing he will end up going to the doctor, but in the meantime we wanted to boil it out with the peroxide and use some antibiotic cream on it. But unfortunately, nothing available at this store, but they pointed us to a pharmacy where we are hoping for better luck. The one thing I failed to do this morning… translating it to Chinese script and printing it out. We have a 50/50 chance of getting home with this particular product in the backpack.

From the food court area, it was upstairs and to the Hershey Store. No chocolate to take home… we were having an especially warm day and felt a bag of chocolate would end up a melted mess. Shucks!!!

Buuuutttt… the soft serve Hershey’s chocolate ice cream would definitely be welcomed and would not last long enough to melt! This time however, it was in a cup with Hershey’s chocolate ice cream… and Hershey’s chocolate syrup… AND Hershey’s chocolate mini chips. It was a chocolate fest in a cup!!! Michael, my choc-a-holic, was in total bliss!

With a smile of contentment on our faces… we are going to take a stroll on Nanjing Road and get swept along with the massive crowd of people thinking the same way. This is like the most famous shopping area in Shanghai. It is a shopping mecca designed to lure you into each and every store. And not to overlook… the hawkers are out in full force trying to tempt you into their store in the underground market below the high end designer stores on the street level with promises of discounts.

Hanne was in awe of the high rise buildings. She is from a small town in Norway and has not spent much time in big cities and certainly nothing like Shanghai. It is an overwhelming city even to us and we have been here for a few months now. She and Beau were snapping pictures of everything… and good thing… I had taken my camera out of the backpack and oops! I forgot to put it back…my bad! Soooo… thanks to Beau for the photography!!!

Above is the entrance to a Chinese Church … the name, I think, was En-Mu. This picture was a challenge to take as a Monk was determined to extract a donation from Beau and was not easily persuaded to leave.

It was so crowded… between the people and the bikes and the little tourist train, one needed to be aware at all times to avoid getting run over… literally. This is typical… any day of the week. People... people… and more people!!! Puxi is always bustling.

We stopped for a photo opportunity with this bronze sculpture. One interesting thing to note… the images in this bronze are western not Asian.

This was pretty amazing. In the display case for this store was an aquarium with baby sharks and turtles. I do not think I have ever been to any shopping area where the window was an aquarium.

Right down the street from this famous shopping area are run down apartments… you can see them in the background. Also note the little taxis… modern day rickshaws!

We found the Number 1 Pharmacy… yee haw… let the games begin!!! Soooo, I have my phrase book and out it comes. I am thinking that alcohol might be the best thing to find first… in the US, the hydrogen peroxide is usually fairly close to it. We ask for medicine first… the sales lady sends us to floor 2. Hanne and Beau decide to wait for us downstairs so Michael and I climb the stairs to two. There is every conceivable product there, BUT all the writing and labels are in Chinese. So it is time to ask for the alcohol… and we are pointed to it. With the location of the alcohol I was so sure I would find the hydrogen peroxide, but with all the help they could find with any English at all, we were empty handed. Down the stairs we go… bummed we could not find our prize.

But wait, Beau has been listening for English speaking people and there is one behind the counter not far from us. I hurry over, eager to get what I need… and Beau says… ask for h2o5… sadly... no h2o5, but hang on… we realize we had the oxygen wrong… it is o2… yes that is it!!! She says they have it…. On two!!! I race back up with my paper….h2o2 and the clerk hands me a bottle and I am one happy female! I go to the cashier line and pay my 1.90 yuan! Smiling all the way down the stairs as everyone asks…”Did ya get it??” Proudly I responded, “You bet I did!!!” Never underestimate the determination of a Texan on a mission!!!

This is just outside of the subway entrance. All the flowers look so great. We are headed to the French Concession to Cantina Agave to meet Bobbie and Dave.

Every wonder what the subway in Shanghai is like? Here is an up close and personal view.

The walk from the subway to the restaurant was pretty long. We went out the wrong exit and could not find the street. But after a couple of inquiries to locals passing by and a map, we got on the right track.

The French Concession area of Shanghai is really beautiful. Lots of trees line the streets; they were planted by the French sometime between 1849 and 1946 when they governed this area.

We made it to the restaurant and met up with Dave and Bobbie. Even though the food was not Mexican like we Texans know Mexican… it was pretty darn good. And when you add the company we were keeping… everything was great!!!

The new person in the photo is Bobbie and the camera man is Dave… so I will need to get a pic of him next time… We kept getting the evil eye from the waitress as we were finished with our meal and talked for a long time after. She was ready for us to be gone!

We strolled and talked for a while. But at Huating Lu, we parted ways, Bobbie and Dave back to their apartment and us to the subway for home. What a lovely evening this had been… wonderful new friends and Mexican food… what more can you ask for?