Shanghai, day 2

While Vanessa was busy learning about China's informal, yet largely effective recycling program, I made my way to the Shanghai Museum where my fellow explorers were at least as interesting as the exhibits. The Museum offers floor after floor of ceramics, traditional paintings, archaic currencies, seals, furniture and calligraphy, some of which are remarkable not just for their craftsmanship and aesthetic, but also for the distant century in which they were completed.

Directly outside the museum I was approached by the couple pictured below, who initiated a a friendly conversation with me, eventually inviting me to tea. He introduced himself as Tiger, and I can't quite remember what she said her name was, but we can call her Lilly. Tiger and Lilly are tea bandits, desparados who prey upon hapless tourists by luring them into tea houses and ordering delicious food. Actually, they were incredibly nice and helped me figure out how to get to the Youyuan Gardens and Bazaar in Old Town, where I had the most amazing steamed dumplings and paid around a dollar for my entire lunch. Perhaps that helps put the tea house scam into perspective, as they're reputedly quite expensive and the tea bandit's job is to basically get you there, order a lot of food, and then plead poverty when the check arrives. I presume the bandits get a kick back from the tea house, but it could be as simple as a free lunch. In any event, Tiger gave me his digits and offered to hook me up with some sweet tickets to see the Shanghai Acrobats, where his friend has the connect. (Sorry, I watch Weeds, The Wire, and Breaking Bad 18 hours a day, every day, in that order; so the lingo is starting to stick).

Youyan Gardens was only going to be open for an hour longer by the time I found it, as Tiger's directions turned out to be good, but not great. After filling up on dumplings I opted to wander around the market, enjoying the golden hues of the late afternoon.  Old Town was abuzz with street vendors, cyclists, carts, students and laconic cab drivers, one of whom I ultimately overpaid just so that he'd drive my exhausted carcass back to the hotel. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be something interesting going on and I spent much of the afternoon glued to my camera. This proved particularly handy when a knock off watch peddler refused to leave me alone. I turned the camera on him, and by the 9th or 10th shot he wandered off to bother someone else. You can see his picture directly below the shot of Snake Eyes asking a cop for directions.

That evening we tried to visit a particularly well regarded Shanghaiese restaurant, but found that they'd closed early for the approaching May Day holiday. Unfazed, we took a picture in front of its massive facade with our host and his food critic pal. I can't remember the name of the restaurant where we wound up, but it was very good as well, and we had our first taste of jelly fish (tastes exactly like blackberry jam). As with all good traveling experiences, almost every meal in Shanghai was a new and toothsome adventure. Some of my favorite restaurants are taquerias and little noodle shops, so for me China was teeming with great food in just the kind of nondescript locales that I enjoy.