Shanghai: June 11th-15th

We arrived in Shanghai Wednesday evening from Hong Kong and were greeted by a familiar face, Cejih Yung (a.k.a. CG)! CG went to UW with us and was a former teammate on Liya’s UW swim team. CG took us out to dinner at Blue Frog, a popular joint for Expats. It was great to have western food again! Liya enjoyed a juicy bacon burger and Ben devoured his chicken fajitas.

On Thursday, we went with CG to visit his office in downtown in a district known as Puxi. While CG was at work, we walked along the main shopping road, Nanjing Lu, and enjoyed steamed dumplings and Shanghai noodles on a side street. In the afternoon, we went with CG to Pudong Maritime University where he taught an English class. The students loved Ben! In the evening, we spent it at a KTV (Karoake bar) for CG’s farewell party. Asians love their karaoke! We were impressed with CG’s boss, Tony, when he belted out “Everything I do, I do it for you” by Bryan Adams. It was a bit harsh on the ears, but we had to give it to him, he knew Bryan Adams!

Friday was spent searching for domestic flights and visiting the Urban Planning Museum located in downtown Shanghai. The 3rd floor in the museum was really impressive. A urban planning model took over the entire level and the attention to detail for every street, every building, every district, was hard to believe. Can’t imagine how long and how many people it took to construct such a model! CG’s girlfriend, Katie, flew in from Seattle that evening. It was nice to see another familiar face!

Highlights from our last two days in Shanghai were the delicious steamed dumplings at the famous restaurant located in the Yu Gardens, the Bund and its bars, the boutiques and great brunch in the French Concession, and People’s Park.