I arrived in Shangai to find a busy bustling city, but not one that I've found particularly attractive. Its probably captivated me least of the places I've visited so far. Having said that there were some attractions which I enjoyed -one of them, me being me, involving food!
I spent an enjoyable morning in the Yuyuan Gardens. The grounds were created in the time of the Ming dynasty as a place for the royalty to relax, observe the river and its traffic and to enjoy a bit of peace and calm. They are therefor very much gardens in the chinese tradition and style, namely lots of water, rocks, pavilions and just little touches of greenery. The carvings on the pavilions are beautifully intricate detail on the doors, around the roofs and on the beams and tables. There are wonderful little characters and carvings atop the roofs too which adds a bit of fun and superstition. The rocks are tpyical of those I've seen in other chinese gardens and are of a kind that looks like they've got holes and crevices in them - kind of sponge-like in appearance. To my eyes it looks artificial though apparently its not! All the walls are whitewashed which contrasts with the dark wood, water and foliage. The planting that is there are large statement trees and bushes with only limited flowers -just now anyway. Maybe its different at other times of year. The ponds are stocked with huge goldfish which flashed orange through the greenish hue of the water and obviously used to hoards of visitors more or less came to the surface asking for crumbs. Who says fish have no memory - this lot knew exactly what they were doing! Overall it was all verty serene and nice to sit protected from the noise and hustle of the modern city outside.
Leaving the gardens I went looking for lunch I saw a stall selling the little steamed buns I've developed such a liking for, so went to join the queue of Chinese people that hinted to me it'd be good. Well the queue went on and on and on until I reached the end. It transpired that the Nan Xiang Steamed Bun shop is Shanghai's equivalent of the Anstruther Chip Shop! I queued for over an hour getting hungrier and hungrier as we gradually got closer and could see through the picture windows to the buns being freshly made and steamed on site. There was no choice, but a portion contained 16 buns which was steamed in a single layer in the traditional bamboo steamers over a gentle heat so only about 20 portions could be cooked at any one time. They were absolutely delicious but by the time I was served I knew exactly how Marj and Hank must have felt when they went to Anstruther!
Another day I went to the Shanghai museum which was excellent. Every section had English language leaflets availabe, and English and Chinese labelling of the exhibits, so it was easy to find out a bit more about what you were looking at. And, for me, there was just enough info to let you know a bit about each topic without it becoming dry and boring. The halls were spread across several floors and covered everything from the Bronze age to ceramics and pottery to chinese art and calligraphy to furniture, costume and currency! I loved some of the furniture and could easily have taken some of it home ... but didn't think I'd fit it all in my rucksack. What was really smart, too, was the lighting in the art rooms. It was obviously motion sensitive, so each painting was in darkness until you moved towards it and the lights brightened then dimmed again as you moved off - cool! I guess it was for the benefit of the artwork but me and a few kids around enjoyed experimenting to see how close you had to get before the lights came on or went off!!
Leaving Shanghai I got an overnight train to Hong Kong and my final stop in Asia. Hong Kong, like Shanghai, is prettier by night than by day. With all the huge skyscrapers lit up it makes an impressive backdrop against the darkness. Hong Kong also has what they call the "Symphony of Lights". Each evening a 15 minute laser and light show is played out to music on some of the tallest buildings along the shoreside. Its a real crowd puller and is an impressive sight.
While in HK I took the tram up the steep Victoria Peak. As you climb you go past floors of skyscrapers which must be well above ground level, but because of the incline you run beside them. It was a bit strange to think you were looking in to an apartment several storeys off the ground. Just before reaching the top there was a fantastic view back down through the tram to the harbour below, but by the time we got to top-station and went out to the viewing areas the cloud had rolled in and the torrential rain started in true monsoon fashion! Typical. Everyone huddled together waiting until it eased enough to venture out. I headed off round the "circular" walk of the peak and got some really good views of the surrounding area and islands. I don't really know how I did it but I never did find myself back at the starting point of my circular walk, instead I got lower and lower down the hill until I was back on the western outskirts of the city. I headed back through what was obviously more the traditional chinese shopping streets past bags, bowls and jars of various dried mushrooms, seeds, and other "things" until I got back to the harbour.
I caught the Star Ferry back to Kowloon and collected my stuff before heading out to the airport in order to catch my first flight of my circumnavigation. And so about 12 1/2 weeks after leaving Elgin I finally reached Hong Kong airport - a journey I could have done in about 12 1/2 hours if I'd flown, but I wouldn't have had nearly so much fun, seen nearly as many great places nor met so many interesting people. The Southern hemisphere has a lot to live up to if it is to match my trip so far.
