Oh hello there my friends,
It has been far too long since we last spoke; 2 minutes I believe. Now, it is time for you to read the chronicles of day number two. (In the words of my Mommy, Once upon a time it was day number two, I was traveling China, wow that’s new! The Lord said (clap clap) it’s the second and Jordan is seeing my world today).
The day started early, at 8am we were off the ship about to journey to the Shanghai aquarium. Unfortunately, upon arrive we witnessed long lines, experienced disgustingly high prices, and learned of the need for tooth paste in China. Due to these unexpected difficulties, we changed our plans and decided to go to the Zoo. On our way, however, we made several discoveries that took up much of our day.
While walking to the subway, we found…a Subway!!! I had been in withdrawal and so the decision to go in seemed obvious. Really, it may be the highlight of my whole trip. Tahlor and I ate at subway while Pierce and Rachel, for some odd reason, decided to eat Chinese cuisine. The place they ate at was awesome; an outdoor food market, with several vendors selling various goods from meats to pastas to tea, to anything you can imagine. BUT, I got Subway. 1 point for Jordan.
While we were indulging in this fine food my friend got a BBM saying that we should stop by and meet them at the Jade Buddha Temple. Thankfully, we complied because it turns out to be the nicest temple I have seen on this trip. While words make it difficult to differentiate between several of the temples (because there most noticeable qualities often overlap), the pure grandeur and color of this temple made it stand out. At the end there is also a tea ceremony which we chose to partake in. It was awesome. A woman come and serves us 9 different types of tea, each expected to serve different jobs (curing hangovers, preventing cancer, healing arthritis, etc.). They were all so good (I’ve legitimately fallen in love with Tea). We spent a while there, observed people as they prayed, and were able to experience a great temple.
We continued on to the Zoo to see some Pandas. Unfortunately the Zoo was the saddest thing I have witnessed since the Jets blew the game against the Colts. The animals seemed malnourished, were really skinny, dirty, and seemed generally unhappy. Luckily, there was one thing that salvaged the experience…Potato Chips. I got a bag at the food stand and man o man were they good.
From the Zoo we went to a place called Nanjing St. Think Ben Yehuda meets Time Square while also meeting the black market. The street itself was in itself amazing with bright lights and big signs. Bu the little men who ran up to you and offered you counterfeit stuff made it so unique. They took you through dark alleys, up and down stairs into a little doorway, and all of a sudden showed you HUGE stores of counterfeit/ stolen clothing. People were buying shoes, watches, bags, all for really cheap ($300 Nikes for $30 bucks). The coolest part was that while some was counterfeit, some people were lucky enough to get the real thing. Personally, I purchased an overnight bag (because I was dumb and didn’t pack one), for $6.
The night ended with Dumplings for dinner (luckily we found a place with Veggie ones, which is rarer then you may imagine, and Coldstone again (this time I actually got something, as opposed to the last time).
Yet another great day in a great country. Stand by…only 5 ish more days left (I’ll start condensing them….or at least I’ll try)…