Shanghai, Strads and Salivary Glands

Armed with about 30 hours and the Chinese characters for Shanghai and Jiangyin (so we could get back!) we were off on the local bus to Shanghai! The mission--to find a cello I can use for the next two years, since I didn't fly out here with mine. Thanks to a friend of a co-worker and searching online, I was able to determine there were two instrument "districts" in Shanghai. I'd been warned pricing and quality would be completely erratic, and boy was that the truth! In all, we walked about 8 miles and I think I played every cello in the city. I cannot believe, that with a conservatory and symphony orchestra in town, that they really don't have anything of higher quality. On the other hand, I'm also glad that the cellos didn't make me hysterical over what I paid for mine back home!

Most of the instruments were absolute junk. It felt as if the shop owners were selling instruments, purely  because they were able to get real estate in these particular neighborhoods, not because they knew anything about instruments. One store was selling cellos without strings. And no, you couldn't buy strings from them. Others would have cellos but only bass bows or some other useless combination. In another store, a man who didn't play the cello, wanted to buy a starter cello and asked the clerk who spoke a little English, to have me try them out on his behalf. I was the only one who seemed to realize how horribly out of tune the beater cellos were, and the clerk kept telling me I was "far too serious" as I spent five minutes attempting to tune the cellos, as none of the pegs would stick. Would he have me test drive a car with an out-of-whack gear box?

Naturally, the shop that had been recommended was closed when we arrived on Sunday, but when we arrived on Monday, alleluia! A proper instrument shop! I selected the one I liked best, and made a counter offer. Which, unfortunately, was accepted immediately, so I could have gone even lower. But it's still an absolutely steal, and about a tenth of the price I'd guess it's worth back home. So perhaps I'll be starting an exporting business here.... It feels good to be playing again for the first time since my surgery. My fingers seem to remember what they are supposed to be doing and no more numb hand!

So we didn't really have any time to do anything touristy, although we did make our way thru several parks and wandered thru the French Concession and Xintiandi district as we made our way to the shops.

Random building in Xintiandi

We have to go back! Our hotel was absolutely amazing....The Langham just opened a new location, and thanks to jetsetter.com we scored a $500 room for $150! An unheard of deal in Shanghai! Only when we got to our room and flipped thru the directory, did we realize the hotel had a dress code! Oops. Since we were on such a quick trip, we basically brought toothbrushes and just wore the same clothes both days. We we not nearly chic enough, but oh well. We even had a heated, remote controlled toilet!

Remote with height, reclining, flush, dryer, and 3 bidet options!

But overall, we loved Shanghai at first impression--so much cleaner and less smoggy than Jiangyin, so much more to do and see, and far fewer people staring at us foreigners. In preparation for the Beijing Olympics, the worst polluting factories were shut down, as many flights go thru Shanghai, and they have not been allowed to re-open. What a difference! Even the Metro system is so clean, makes Boston's T look like a CDC disaster zone. Although I suppose it doesn't take much to be critical of the T.

Fuxing Park

Upon checking out, we asked the concierge for help finding the bus schedule back to Jiangyin. First, he wondered why we would even want to go there:

C: "It's a very local city--no one speaks English."

Us: We just moved there for Brian's work.

C: Shock. "Well, then I'll look up the train schedule, much better."

Us: No, there isn't a train station in Jiangyin, we want the bus schedule please.

C: How about I arrange a car? Much more comfortable.

Us: We got here on a bus.

C: With farmers?!?!

Cleary, we were not the cliente the Langham was expecting! But the concierge was very nice and helpful thru it all, and we got on a "farmer's bus" and back to Jiangyin. When it comes down to $100 for a car or $15 for bus tickets, it's a pretty easy call. We slept almost the entire two hour trip to Shanghai, so we didn't mind getting back on the bus. The concierge should have asked: "with spitting farmers?" Seriously. There was a man sitting across from me who thought he was competing for national pride in the spitting wars. I was gagging at times he was putting so much effort in to it. I kept looking for where his I.V. was hidden, that he was able to maintain such salivary prowess. And he was just spitting on the floor, so it was sloshing all around. I seemed to be the only person phased by this. RE. PUL. SIVE. 

But Shanghai was great, and I'd gladly get on the bus again. Afterall, I have survived the local bus in Mexico from Puerto Vallarta over the mountains to San Pancho with the driver that was taking swigs straight from the bottle!

Alley way in Xintiandi near hotel