Adventures of a Texas Girl in China: China: Day 2

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Today was shaping up to be a really nice day… so we are headed to the other side of the River. It should be a fun day!!!

I gave all the kiddos a family card that has our name, address and cell numbers. In the event that someone should get separated… they would be able to get home or call. When all else fails, find a cop and show them the card. I gave them the rules about crossing the streets and any other pertinent information that would be helpful in case we got separated for any reason. It is better to be safe and prepared than sorry later!

With everyone armed with an umbrella, family cards, and back packs… we are off! This would be the first time any of the family had ever been on a subway. What a place to get this first. Thankfully it is not rush hour.

And we are off!!! Do these little darlings look anxious to see Shanghai???? You bet!!!

The subway ride… immortalized in pictures… Austin and Brooklyn got to ride free, but everyone else had to pay. This is a single ride ticket. Brooklyn or Austin one was always pushing through before their buddy could get through the turn style… somebody was always jumping it.

Heading out for the day… their first subway ride! There are 7 adults to keep up with 5 kids… and it would take all of us to rein them in.

First stop is the Bank of China. Our bank card was not working and we cannot get any money out. This is not good! We leave for Beijing tomorrow and I need to get enough money to finish paying for the tour and have some spending money. With the Dragon Festival going on for 3 days, no banks have been open. Worry is starting to set in, with panic on the horizon if we do not get this taken care of. So with all the family in tow, we make a detour to the bank.

This little detour took us about 2 ½ hours!!! Nothing in China is quick or easy. We needed to get USD exchanged for RMB’s for the kids and withdrawn RMB’s for us. Sounds simple enough… WRONG! Once they got the card working again, I had to go outside the bank and make the withdrawals from an ATM… and ATM that only dispenses 2000 RMB at a time… I stood there withdrawing RMB for about 30 minutes. It was total nuts… and no A/C in the ATM. The sweat is pouring off me. By the time I finished I was dripping and wilted.

They are patiently waiting for us to complete our banking. Those are the ATM machines in the background.

In the meantime, Michael is in the bank trying to get the money exchanged. I finished and rejoined him where we waited for a good 30 more minutes to get the RMB for the kids. It was worth it for them… the exchange rate was the best at 6.49 to 1 USD. It delayed the start of our adventure… but nothing was going to spoil our day!!!

So armed now with the RMB we needed for Beijing and the kids now had RMB for themselves, we are off… 50 feet to the nearest KFC to feed the kids. They come all the way to China to eat US fast food!! Blick!!!

Second stop is People’s Square and the Hershey Store… they could not believe the whole store is dedicated to chocolate.

After a very chocolatey Hershey ice cream… we are off to the park which is in the center of People’s Square and called People’s Park.

First thing the kids noticed was the little amusement park. That is what they wanted to do more than anything… can you hear them begging? First things first… MawMaw needs family photos.

See that rocket in the background? Little did I know that I would be on that thing in a few short minutes… how I got tricked into getting on this is still fuzzy to me. One should know this about me…I hate heights and I hate these kinds of rides!!! Brooklyn had been all for the ride until she actually got strapped in… then she went into mass hysterics. She wanted off and she wanted off right this minute. The non-English speaking ride operator could not figure out what was going on. We finally got the point across that she wants off NOW!!! The hysterics should have been his first clue, but he missed that one! By the time the seat was opened and she was out of it, she was crying uncontrollably and totally freaked out. Little did anyone realize, but MawMaw was having serious second thoughts about this whole ride and I was wanting off too. I was trying to be tough and do this for Bailey and Kendall.

That is me next to Bailey… I am hyperventilating already.

Notice the one with the crossed feet, clutching the arm braces, with the terrified look on her face… that is me having a panic attack!!! I thought this ride would never end!! When it finally stopped I could hardly breathe. I will NEVER…NEVER do this again!!! The tears of relief were flowing once I was safely back on the ground. What on earth was I thinking??? Not clearly that is for sure!!! I never liked these as a kid… did I honestly think something had changed in the passing years?

I had told the grandkids we would let them ride one ride each. Wade and Austin chose the bumper cars. Wade was a maniac! He was slamming into cars and racing across the floor… he was loving this ride.

Brooklyn decided that she would be more interested in a less frightening or dangerous ride. She opted for the space ships. This was A-ok to her!

Grinning ear to ear… this was definitely a better choice for her. Once she got the hang of it, she was soaring high in the rocket!!!

We strolled through the gardens and wandered around the park.

We left the park for East Nanjing Road, the pedestrian walking mall.

Chris snapped this photo of the US fast food offerings…

We needed to stop into a department store… I wanted to get some Estee Lauder. In the meantime, it is a potty break for all… and the girls got their first encounter with the Squat Pots!!!

Bailey wanted to make sure she had a photo of it. She did not want to forget this experience.

Completing this little detour into the store, we forged on. Now we are at the entrance to East Nanjing Road… Recognize the statue?

The kids loved the aquarium in the store window.

I took the kids down some narrow alley streets off the main mall. Chris was in high police mode the whole time but the sights were so typical Chinese.

Being Western (what the Chinese called everyone not Chinese) we are a target for the hawkers trying to get you to their stores. This man was really working us… watches, purses, pens, you name it… he was selling it.

Wandering the street… it was an opportunity to get a real look. The ‘cowboybarbie’ restaurant was a surprise… anyone hungry?

All good things must come to an end. We have reservations for dinner on the Bund at Paulander’s, a German restaurant, right on the river front. So we say goodbye to the People’s Square area and board the subway for Pudong, Lujiazue Station. This area is very modern with Super Brands mall, the Aquarium, and the Oriental Pearl Communications Tower.

Do we look like a bunch of tourists or what???

We have lots of walking pictures… because we did a lot of walking… everywhere!!! The kids could not fully appreciate what I meant by the amount of walking I do here, but I think they are starting to get it now.

Going to the Bund for dinner at Paulander’s.

The Bund is a beautiful area. From the Pudong Side of the Huangpu River you can see all the buildings from the Art Deco era of the 1920’s and 1930’s that have been restored to their glory days. The architecture is incredible.

There is a wide walkway all up and down the river to stroll and enjoy the views.

Enjoying a wonderful meal at Paulander’s with the family in celebration of our 25^th wedding anniversary.

Happy ‘25^th’ Anniversary to us!!!!

With a full tummy and a full day of sightseeing, poor Austin went down for the count. Too bad we still had the walk back to the subway station and then the walk back to the apartment. Just a little longer buddy and you can crawl into a nice bed and sleep well!!