Day 6: Elvis has left Beijing

(Sung to the tune of "Ra ra ra BOOM de ay")

We're in Shang-HAI today, we're in Shang-HAI today, we're in Shang-HAI today, we're in Shang-HAI today! (FYI, I just found out that Shanghai ain't no treat to spell, either. It's ruining my rhythm.)

I am just delighted. New frontiers to cross, interesting panoramas to see, fascinating people to meet, and more local restaurants on which to test one's gastrointestinal fortitude. Should be great. The thumbnail sketch of the day includes a leisurely breakfast (this is a real treat on a tour, believe me), a visit to a museum, another temple tour, and then some city street sightseeing. By the by, I finally checked the time difference in China and they are 14 hours ahead of us. That means that while we are just easing into our day, it's almost midnight there. So we'll just consider this blog a retrospective.

Following breakfast (I have become curious what exactly constitutes an Asian breakfast--maybe we'll explore that another time), it's off to the Shanghai Museum of Art and History. They will have the option of riding the subway this morning, which sounds irresistible. I'm like a child when it comes to underground transportation; I love the idea that things are happening below the sidewalks and streets. It's like a secret place, and I adore secret places. Anyhoo, away they go, subterranean style. Ranking among the great museums of the world, the Shanghai Museum of Art and History has artifacts from the Song to the Qing dynasties. I'm sometimes iffy on museums, but I bet this one is grand. This may be the one place they encounter in Shanghai with regular toilets, which will certainly have upped the ante on its attraction. Most toilets there are the squat type, which are great if you're 25 with mobile knees and good balance but a bit tricky otherwise. I'm pretty sure the term "pee foot" came from a squat toilet experience.

Afterward they'll have a Mongolian barbecue lunch, which is one of the most scrumptious things even for herbivores like me. I don't care anymore that they're eating local; if their GI tracts haven't adjusted by now, the sissies should just go home to their shiny upright toilets. Here's what I think they felt like after their humongo-bongo lunch:

The temple they're visiting today is relatively young at 100 years. Called the Jade Buddha Temple, it pretty much describes itself. The Buddha statue is carved of solid white jade and encrusted with jewels. Ooh, bling!

And now the Bund awaits. A five mile long riverfront promenade, it contains many of Shanghai's banks and trading houses. In the morning, locals gather to practice the slow, deliberate movements of Tai Chi. The pace shifts in the afternoon when the street performers and vendors arrive to perform and peddle their wares (shopping!). By evening, elegant couples have emerged onto the street to court. Don't you just love the idea of courting? It seems so innocent and lovely. In the past it was not uncommon for three or four generations of Shanghai people to live in the same home, giving young people no privacy. Therefore, lovers would go to parks or the Bund to enjoy time together. Although families no longer live in such close quarters, the tradition has remained.

That's the core of the day. The optional tour tonight will take those who choose on a cruise down the Huangpu River followed by a visit to the new Pudong district. Tomorrow: kindergartners!