Scammed in Shanghai (Asia trek pt27)

My last stop, Shanghai the most metropolitan city in China and aslo the city the most vareid skyline I have been to. With every building trying to outdo its neighbour leading to stunning vistas of the river from the Bund. Arriving at the train station in Shanghai, I was confronted with the first substantial rain that I had experienced in a while. Unfortuately for me I had to walk through it pack and all to get to my hotel. Doubly unfortunate the instructions to the hotel said I had to walk north which sent me in the wrong direction as it was actually northwest and only after walking in the rain for about 15min did it dawn on me that I walk probably not heading in the right direction. Backtracking, and trying to find clues as to where I should be I finally made it to the right place and checked in without hassles.

The continued inclement weather and unreliable forecasts made it difficult to plan when to do things. On the agenda was a day trip to Suzhuo to visit the old Chinese gardens. But with the uncertainty regarding the weather the planning became difficult.

After changing into some fresh clothes I decided to take on the weather with my umbrella and go explore the city. Shanghai thankfully has a very good and easy to understand metro system that transports you seemlessly around the city. I decided to make headway for the museum in the centre and after arriving in the centre, was unable to find it, until half an hours of wandering. By this stage the weather cleared (as it would everyday) and I decided to walk the main street down to the harbour overlooking the Pudong district and the Bund. The Bund is a row of early to mid century buildings built for the financial district of which parallels have been drawn with Wall street in the US but I have not been there! On the whole the view is impressive and Shanghai for me is right up there with best skyline in the world, particularly due to the odd rocket shaped building that is the communications tower.

Watching the view and people taking photo's of people in front of the view, I was approached by three young Chinese students that spoke reasonable English. They are part of a scam that is also found in Beijing to sell cheap art work a inflated prices (according to the lonely planet, which I didn't rally read.) they invited me to look at their collection and with nothing better to do I went with them all the while to to there gallery on the 7th storey of an office building. They showed me through their collections of works highlighting those works that they created themselves. the work on the whole was pretty ordinary, however some works which were created by the teachers were actually quite good. I wasn't intending to buy, but was eventually compelled to buy a set of four seasonal painting. Unfortunately I didn't have enough money (precisely to avoid losing too much money on scams) I had to make a deposit and then go all the way to my hotel and back to the city with the additional money. Upon my return, a little late the bill was settled and my three little assistants escorted to a relatively fancy restaurant, where I sat awkwardly on my own consuming my meal with a beer. I am still not sure why the girls escorted me to the restaurant. I did invite them in but they refused, saying they had a prior appointment.

Afterwards tired and with little else to do I returned to the hostel, The hotel thankfully had a very nice common area in which to relax and heading toward the final stages of the European championships, I made good use of the projection screen with other football fans in the hotel. Supporting Germany in their quest towards a win.

Going to sleep early in the morning I woke up a little late and was lacklustre in my energy, and so hung around the hotel for while, eating breakfast. With wet weather still predicted I was in no hurry to get out there. As the day wore on the temperature increased and the sun started intermittently shining through the clouds. This compelled me to re-evaluate my plans and I decided to go wander through the French Concession, and area of Shanghai that was setup along side other international settlements in the latter 19th century. this area which retains a lot of it low rise buildings and tree lined streets is good for shopping and wandering , with many boutique shops and cafe's. Me being on my own, I didn't stop to hang around and spent the time wandering, staring into peoples compounds and wandering past Sun Yat Sen's residence, before finding a seat in
the nearby park for a few hours. There I watched people dancing, practicing tai-chi, playing with their kids, talking and seeing a group of loud mouth foreigners making a mockery of a statue of Lenin.

As the evening rolled in I left the park and walked to the nearest metro station and returned to the hotel. Back at the hotel I started talking to some of the other guest. Interestingly China seems to draw a different type of tourist than the rest of south east asia. Many of the foreigners I met at the hostel were looking at staying in China for a long period of time and many were also intending to work. Something that I rarely came across in south east asia. They kept me occupied for the evening before returning to bed frustrated that the scheduled rains that were supposed to come, weren't arriving continuing to a vagary to my plans.

The next morning I woke up with a conviction that in-spite of the weather I would take a tour to Suzhou, on the recommendation of Anson the tour guide, so I went to the front desk and booked the tour with no difficulties. I thought I would spend the rest of the day at the Shanghai museum, which again cam highly recommended. Now fully proficient with the excellent metro system I took the long way to get to the centre, to see a bit more of the city. Stepping out of the metro station I walked towards the museum. By this stage I was somewhat ready for scams, having been had by one, so when the first group of students approach me to share a traditional tea ceremony with them I declined, however the second group convinced me, mainly because I was curious rather than I wanted to lose my money.

For a supposedly very old and traditional tea house, it happened to be located on the third floor of a shopping centre. hmmm? Anyway, I was led into a small room where the students continued with their idle chit chat, before asking me to pick number between one and ten. Already a bit suspicious of their intent I refused to give an number until they told me what for. turned out what ever number you said was the amount of types of tea you would be trying. With the number trick failed we agreed that I would pick one and the other three would pick one each.

They then handed me the menu with the tea selections on them and the prices. I can't remember what exactly what they were, but they ranged from reasonable to 'hello, I am not a rich man!!' Anyway we selected our teas, with the cost being split evenly between the four of us. As we progressed through the whole ceremony with it's sniffing, eye moisturising and eventually drinking, we continued to share stories. By this stage the individual character started to emerge. There was a very self confident female that was starting to annoy me, a relatively nice and easy going girl and a guy, obviously new to the game, that was being harassed in not so subtle language by the two girls. time and tea rolled on and I was starting to get a little concerned about the price and some rather 'special' teas were starting to appear on the table. I made it clear to them that we should stop as I could not afford to pay. They said, 'its okay, just put t on your credit card!' Now it had been a policy of mine throughout my travels not to carry around my credit or bank cards in case I was mugged and to use cash as much as possible. It turned out to be a real blessing as I could clearly see how much money I had and that was the limit. Due to this the tea drinking was cut short and the bill was brought. This was lucky too, because after paying the bill I had little more than a few dollars left, which would be just enough to get me back to the hotel. One more tea and I would have been in debt which may have caused all kinds of problems!

The whole thing is a scam, but it was actually quite fun and at most I only lost about $30 on the whole exercise, due to me not having a credit card. As we left the tea house I got given a green something, which was immediately attached to my bag which was no doubt to indicate that I had been had and the others waiting didn't need to bother try me again.

Anyway the Shanghai museum is free, so I was still able to go. the museum is mainly a collection of artistic artefacts from the various periods and minority groups of Chinese history. I spent most of my time viewing the Chinese calligraphy, with examples showing the different styles and evolution of the centuries. But other areas included traditional paintings, pottery and a section on minority group clothing with an impressive section of masks used in the theatre and ceremonies of the minority groups. It is an impressive museum and worth going to. I am told it is one of the best in China

Returning back to the hotel to get money, I then stepped out in the local district where a street market had popped up selling all kinds of clothing and food. None of the clothing really inspired me , so I stuck with the food, feasting on various BBQ skewers. Wandering the streets with an absolute sense of safety, much the same as I had experienced in China.

In the centre of the world, 2008 (Asia Trek pt 26)

The overnight train was comfortable as usual and by 7am, I was finally, in the city that is the centre of the world attention this year. Home of the Chinese Communist party, location of the 2008 Olympics and capital of China. Only moments into the taxi ride you realise how large and expansive the city is. six lane roads are not uncommon, blocks the length of a kilometer, large buildings and endless construction. The city has five rings roads that circle around the forbidden city. Even this is not sufficient to keep traffic problems out with car usage thoroughly embedded in the city's culture.

There was little time for rest as the gecko tour had scheduled 2 days to do Beijing and the great wall of China (which is a few hours drive from beijing itself). After dropping our bags at the hotel, splashing the weary face with water and brushing our teeth, we hopped straight into taxi's to take us to the forbidden city. The forbidden city is not the only forbidden city in Asia, as it is merely the term used for the emperors residence, and signifying that the common person is not allowed to enter. The taxi drive took us on road tour, past remains (or replicas?) of the old city wall, Tiananmen square, Chairman Mao's mausoleum and the southern entrance to the forbidden city, iconic with the painting on Chairman Mao of the main gate. Here we were in the political heart of China.

The official name of the Forbidden city is now the Palace Museum, which is also the agency that manages the complex. The complex is 72 hectare and takes a good hour just to walk from one end to the other. Smart as always, Anson, our guide took us to the rear (northern entrance of the forbidden city), entering from the opposite side that the majority use and thus walking in the opposite direction to the crowds. This was a as we got to see the most interesting parts of the city (the royal gardens and residences) without a large conglomeration of tourists which we meet as we reached the end of our tour. The forbidden city is full of stories, and it is worth taking a guide for the experience. As a museum it also contains numerous artifacts and art works from the previous Chinese dynasties. Though a large part of the collection in now in Taiwan, removed by the Kuomintang when they lost to the communists. Even after walking a few hour we still missed most of the complex, much of which is still unaccessible to the public. Unfortunately some of the main building were undergoing restoration as part of a project to restore the whole city.

Our guide through the city, a middle aged lady with walking stick, had studied Chinese history and provided a multitude of interesting stories and information about the museum. Entering from the northern end, first is a series of gardens which built around the symbolism of Chinese mythology; such as Dragon = Emperor, Phoenix = Empress, the Crane and Turtle = longevity. This kind of symbolism in animals, design and action is a big part of Chinese life and construction. All in an attempt to control life. The belief in all these symbols and precedents are still important for the Chinese people today.

After walking through the gardens, some small museums and a short walk through the emperors residence (as in the Qing (pronounced 'ching') dynasty, as the Ming dynasty residence was in another part of the palace) we arrived in the ceremonial district. This area was where the emperor interacts with his advisor, business men and the public. The ceremonial area is mainly large buildings and court yards built on the central axis of the city. Here there is not a lot to see, but to walk through it as it goes on and on from courtyard to courtyard.

Exiting from the southern end you emerge from underneath chairman Mao where a six lane road sit between you and Tiananmen (Qian Men) square. Entrance to the square is only available through underground tunnels, still under maintenance to for Olympics, these conduits allow for easy closure of the square at night and bag searching and interrogation for people entering the square. Tourists get little attention from the security guards. But middle aged ladies, tended to get the most attention, as suspected members of Falun Gong, I was told.

Tiananmen square is politically sensitive location and thus also one of the most watched places on Earth. The square s covered with lamp post in thirty meter sqaures. Each lamppost post has 2-3 security cameras on it, monitoring the movements and actions of those on the square. Other than that there is not so much that is interesting about the square, except that when dignitaries enter the 'Great Hall of the People" a third of the square is closed to the public, putting around 100m and a road between the public and the dignitaries.

Walking across the square and out the southern end, past Mao's Mausoleum we got in a taxi to take us back to the hotel. Beijing is a very un-walkable city. The afternoon we had free, so Tobias and I walked down the road into the Temple of Heaven park. Set in a large park the Temple of heaven consists of three building complexes set in a much larges park. The dominant feature of which if the circular construction of the taoist temple buildings. Having recently undergone restoration, the buildings are resplendent and for me more attractive than the buildings of the forbidden city. The three main buildings are in a line down the central axis of the park. for me the most interesting is the central complex called the Imperial Vault or Heaven. the out wall of which is circular and called the echo wall. The stupendous thing about the wall is that you can stand at one end of the vault which is probably 40 meter in diameter, and yet you can have a conversation with someone at the other end even though there are two buildings between you. the voice of the other person sounds like it is emanating form the wall right next to you. Strange but true.

On the way back we were greeted by a young student who wanted us to come and look at their artwork collection, as they had a small exhibition on the park. Supposedly from a well known art school in Xian, with nothing else to do we had a look. This scheme is listed in the Lonely Planet as a scam, but one the whole I have to say the quality of the artwork was quite good. And it is probably because the prices are expensive (but still cheap by European standards) for the quality. We spent a while looking around and Tobias bought some artwork. There was a four piece set of paintings representing the seasons (a common form of work in China) that I really would to have liked to buy. However I didn't have enough money and was unable to get back to purchase it at a later time. (I would later be caught out by another set of students in Shanghai, where the scams are more prominent)

After the long walk and discussions on the way back to the hotel, frustrated that there was no one selling drinks on the footpath just when I needed one, we changed to go out to a Kung Fu Show. This is a show that uses Kung Fu artists instead of dancers to present a theatrical story, mainly through music, movement and narration. Again the athleticism and accuracy of movement is impressive and I was somewhat surprised not to see more of them in the Olympic Ceremonies. Details of the show are freely available as it is a standard on the china tour route.

The following morning it was an early start, for a day at the wall. You know the one! The drive is about 2hrs from the city a takes a mixture of highways and country roads. About two thirds of the way, one of our tour group had to go to the toilet. With no toilets around what was required was a roadside stop, which the Chauffeur was initially not willing to do, much to the surprise of those in the back. But after some negotiation we stopped and the deed was done hiding behind the vehicle while the driver went off to have a cigaratte.

We continued on as the weather to continued to deteriorate, so that by the time we arrived at the entrance there was a constant light rain. To which one person in the car responded "This is going to be awful". Now I figure if you've travelled a few
thousand kilometers to get here, your not going to let a little light rain get in you way. So on with the rain jacket and all smiling and singing I stepped out of the car.

I of course had my expensive Goretex jacket to keep me dry, however for those that forget there is a set of entrepreneurial shop owners that can always pull ponchos and umbrellas out as soon as it starts to rain. Not familiar with Goretex, all the shop owners eagerly tried to sell me a cheap poncho and umbrella. It was not until I demonstrated that I could shake the water off me that they understood that I did not need a jacket. So with everyone dressed up in new ponchos and umbrellas we headed up to the Wall.

The locals here pull the same trick as in Yangshuo, loaded with refreshments they follow you up the hill in the hope that you will feel guilty enough to buy something. I avoided this by pretending I could only speak German and thus could not understand what they were saying. Mildly confused they just laughed and me and left me alone. Our erstwhile companion however did not fare so well with his indecisiveness.

There are in fact to sections of wall available to tourists. One is a fully restored section, giving you the impression of how it once was. The other section is the remains of the original wall. Our tour took us to the latter. That section of the wall is quite substantial and we did not walk the complete length and the low mist meant there was little more to see except the wall itself which began to get repetitive. The lack of vision was disappointing as you could hardly see the wall winding away into the distance, however it did clear up a little as we left the wall, back to the carpark.

It was a pleasant walk in the rain and on the wall, though the slippery walk back challenged our footwork. Back in the carpark we headed straight back in the van and back to Beijing. This was the last day of the tour and to finish it of, we were to go to an acrobatic show and then our final dinner together.

Dinner was of course Peking duck, which was delicious with some extra dishes on the side. Again we stuffed ourselves, had a few drinks and toasted our fearless leader. Then paying the bill we headed off to the Acrobatics. What was interesting is that we paid about 30 yuan per person for the meal which was plentfiul. However the next day we ate there again with the three remaining tour members (and no Anson) and suddenly the price was 80 yuan per person. Not quite sure what was going on there?

The acrobatic show was the least impressive of the shows that we had seen, but still of considerable quality. Some of the kids (they all looked young) in the show were surprisingly strong. Anson our guide was supposed to watch the show with us, but after dropping us off in the hall he disappeared. At the conclusion of the show he was also nowhere to be seen except for an unanswered phone call. A little confused we walked back to the hotel , a little confused, checking the pub on the way. Only after we arrived at the hotel did he suddenly appear from the street, all done up with a new haircut.

We went to the pub and ordered drinks and prepared for a big night of Karaoke. To my surprise everyone sang individually and properly and it didn't descend into to the usual Summer of 69 chaos that usually accompanies westerners doing Karaoke. And so after three hours of karaoke we decided to go out to a night club, with a final goodbye to Anson who left us for the last time.

After that we caught a taxi to take us to the nightclub area, which was about 30 to 40 minutes drive form where we were. After walking up and down the street and not finding anything interesting we headed to another nightclub area down the road a few blocks. This turned out to be another 30 min walk before we got to an incredibly loud nightclub but spectacular nighclub. After dancing there for a few hours and reaching 3 am we got back in the taxi and went to the hotel.

The following morning we said goodbye to Sarah and some others, before Tobias, Lynette and I headed out to see the Olympic Stadium (the bird cage) and the Summer Palace.

The time was the end of June and the Olympics was less than two months away. However the stadium was still surrounded with a fence and you could get within 100 meters.
Unlike the Sydney Olympics where the stadium went through a variety of trial runs, the Olympic stadium in China would first be used in the Opening ceremony, and as we all know this turned out not to be a problem. So the construction site that was the
Olympic park, was completed with Chinese speed to be ready for the Olympics.

Onto the Summer Palace, a large park and building complex built over many centuries until it finally became the summer palace of Empress Dowager Cixi, in 1888. IT is a
large park complex surrounding kunming lake an is a popular place for tourists and local to enjoy the good weather. We walked and sat on the waters edge for a while recovering from the night before, before heading up the stair in to longevity hill and over the top to the other side. The buildings and garden layouts a prime example of Chinese architecture and design, went most of the time just wandering and talking, and losing our way to the toilet. Once on the other side we descended alongside the river to have something to eat and start a conversation with what looked like a ten year old girls whose English was surprisingly competent before being laughed at for our bad Chinese pronunciation.

After that if was off to the pearl market for a bit of shopping, and for me lots of waiting, as one person went somewhere just before the other returned. However finally we were reunited and went for dinner.

The following morning we were down to two. With nothing on the plans we decided to explore two other parks just behind the forbidden city. Again more general walking, a
quick walk past the rock where the last emperor hanged himself, a watching a security guard try and find the right ringtone for his mobile. In the afternoon in Beishan park we hired a waterbike and cycled around the lake for an hour. By this stage the weather had improved and we basked in the sun, with some water and biscuits. Some more wandering around the park and some shopping at an Olympic store completed the afternoons entertainment.

It then became time to think about food. Nearby was a street market where a smorgasbord of food was apparently available. It turned out to be a line of red and white striped stalls alongside a main road, selling BBQ everything and more. Cockroaches, Spiders, Squid, Chicken, Pork. After warming up on some chicken and pork skewers and some noodles, and a fuming sugar drink, I decided to get into the exotics. SO I took a skewer of snake. This was mighty difficult to consume as it was tough and definitely did not taste like chicken. In fact I could barely get the thing down but I did.

Then it was off for drinks, in one of the more flashy shopping districts, and then a 45 min walk in the rain for a taxi as the ones there refused to use the meter. I am surprised they can still make money out of tourist that willingly pay exorbitant prices for taxis. But after finally haling a taxi we returned back to the hotel and bought some more drinks. But both tired at the end of a long day. We headed towards bed.