Shanghai!

Cabs, cameras, and buses.

It took three cabs but I got a new camera body. I spent more than I intended but, in the end, it's only money.

(Since returning home, the camera I purchased has been in for repair only to find that it does NOT have the warranty promised by the seller, and is now involved in a dispute with the vendor. I have instructed VISA not to pay the bill, and am awaiting their decision. Contrary to what anyone might think, a Nikon is not a Nikon. It is only a Nikon in the country in which you purchased it, and cannot even be repaired in your home country without documentation like the receipt, etc. and your own money, even if the camera is only twenty-three days old.)

The last cab driver took advantage of my lack of geographical knowledge of Shanghai and tried to overcharge me, but with the help of the concierge, I was able to pay only the amount that should have been charged. (I could have walked, but in the end, it's only money.)

The Big Bus Tour, such a success in Hong Kong was almost a fail in Shanghai. NO punctuality, no idea of when the next bus would come, and equipment failures that took us halfway across the city before one of their credit card machines worked. We had taken a cab to the Jade BUddha Temple and were immediately besieged by beggars of every shape and form. Hello from a beggar just means give me money as I have nothing to sell you.

The brochure/map lacked all sorts of information like what time the Green Route, the one back to our hotel, stopped running. Let's just say long before we were ready to go back to Puxi.

Carping aside, between then and that, we used the new camera and saw a vibrant, hustling modern city.

The Jin Mao Tower

Views from the observation deck of the Jin Mao Tower.

The Pearl TV Tower as seen from the Jin Mao Tower.

Views of the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze from The Bund.

The Bund

Art in a park near the end of the Green Tour. The bus had already stopped for the day.

Einstein

We cabbed back to the hotel with the help of the concierge of a hotel near where the last bus stopped for the day. After that a late night dinner in the hotel restaurant with specialties like Pad Thai, Udon Beef, and honest, Macaroni and Cheese. Tomorrow we will hit the bus again and see all of the places we marked on our maps and take the night river cruise.

Despite what my Facebook links say this is actually the halfway point; sixteen days done and sixteen to go. Somehow a day got lost along with my math skills.