Shang'hai

My friends/ bunk mates from the train fro Xi'an to Shang'hai. They don't speak any English but strangely they were playing my favorite card game "scum" that I used to play in highschool all the time. People in college don't know this game and yet strangers in the middle of China were playing it. Small world. So, I haven't really explained trains yet. This is a picture of a "hard sleeper" You have a choice of hard or soft. Hard sleepers are bunked 3 beds high, with 6 bed in an alcove while a soft only has 4. I haven't been in a soft sleeper, because hard sleepers are cheaper, but I assume they're softer. But a hard sleeper is not uncomfortable. It comes with a pillow and sheets and is fairly comfortable. Actually it's kind of like being in a hostel. But the best reason to stay in a hard sleeper is this is where the Chinese sleep. Soft sleepers are usually where tourists and rich Chinese sleep. So, lots more culture in a hard sleeper. In Shang'hai I didn't really do much just went to see things and walk around. So not much to say this time but some pretty pictures.

The Bund is the canal that goes through Shang'hai. It's your basic riverwalk as well. Very pretty with a beautiful skyline. This among other things make me compare Shang'hai to European cities. They're structured the same which made it easier for me to navigate. I like Shang'hai a lot more than Xi'an.
The Jin Mao tower (highest in Beijing, left) and the World Trade Center. (right) But what is more amazing about this picture is the blue sky. The first I've seen since leaving France.
Me and Jackie Chan. (He's wax)
View from Jin Mao tower (450m/ 88 stories)
Children playing in Yu Yunan (Yu Garden). All the locals with kids came out at night to this manicured park surrounded by skyscrapers and the adults talked while the kids roller bladed.
The Bund by night
Radio/TV tower
The street vendor who cooks my dinner. This day it was seasoned squid legs on a stick. Delicious, if a bit off putting.
I went to a little town of 4 million people outside of Shanghai called Hangzhou. It has historical significance as a ancient capital but I went to see a big lake called West Lake. I went the wrong way. Due to laziness and adventurous tendencies I showed up in the city with out a map or plan. I headed west and ran into a canal but there my luck ended as I chose the wrong way to walk along the river. But I had a good day anyway wandering and eating and taekwondoing along the water.