After a rushed lesson we once again were picked up and
driven to the Beauty Hospital, this time I turned down breakfast and made my
way to the train station to catch the subway to The Bund. I expected Shanghai
to be a lot more crowded than what I have experienced so far, though admittedly
I have avoided rush hour. After a quick look at People’s Square I made it to
The Bund. Great views of the city and the original buildings are there as
promised. The sight of the Pearl TV tower helped me feel I was in Shanghai not
just any other big city in the world. So even if I’m shuffled on to a plane
tomorrow at least I have been to The Bund. I got back to the Beauty Hospital
early so settled into their waiting area and flicked through the brochures of before
and after photo’s. Then when I saw Lucy again I noticed she had a plaster on
her hand where an IV drip had been. I was aware that in Yangshuo the students
would go to the hospital for a cold or stomache ache any minor ailment and they
always got a saline drip, in fact I met an American with a spider bite on his
face and he had unsuccessfully tried to refuse the drip. So I still can’t
figure out what Lucy has had done, she did have a cold or did she have a drip
for a bit of botox? Over kill for both. So many questions, so few answers.
After checking that
if I could tolerate spicy food the three of us then went to a restaurant for
lunch, Lucy ordered and while we waited we worked on English food words – great
because then I might have a clue about what we are eating. The goose had a nice
flavour but the beef just seemed to be slabs of thinly cut fat with a bit of
meat, I made the excuse that it was too spicy for me. Then a nice safe dish of
normal beef and beans came out, only the friggin beans turned out to be green
chillies, yes hilarious for all involved – except me! It was several tissues later
before I could resume eating. After lunch Lucy was off to a business meeting
and I declined the offer for a lift home instead I went in search of a bookshop
and/or an internet bar. Found the internet bar with a bit of help from one of
the many English schools in this district, I see more foreigners here than even
in Yangshuo and there is plenty of western restaurant’s around. Pleased that I
was now reunited with the online world I grabbed a taxi home. Dinner was left
over’s from lunch and last night’s dinner. It’s quite normal to go to a
restaurant and order ridiculous amounts of food then simply take away the left
overs. Chinese take away. After dinner Lucy invited me for a walk around the
apartment’s park, lovely idea for a warm night. We came across the indoor
swimming pool which I took an interest in then before I knew it we slipped into
the massage parlour and our feet were being pumpled and prodded. I have found
that chinese massages are not really relaxing, more of an endurance test to
find your pain threshold. I was determined to have a weekly massage in Yangshuo
but realised I was dreading it and if I had any sort of sore spot on my body I
wouldn’t go because I knew at some point I would feel extreme pain. Like the
food and bedding and probably a lot of other things I am not aware of, in China
these things should be good for you. None of these western idea’s of eating
food because you like it or sleeping in a soft bed because it’s comfortable.
In Yangshuo I had become accustom to seeing little girls get
suck the bones of chicken feet or whatever but I noticed May (Vivian’s
daughter) would only eat rice. Vivian use to make her eat some meat and
vegetables which she tolerated in small doses. When May questioned me about
what I ate in Australia she was very disappointed to learn that it was meat and
vegetables, I think she expected more from the western world.
