My latest China adventure has begun.

[Rick Lee]

I type from a ridiculously opulent Howard Johnson's in Shanghai that cost less than the total dive Hojo's we stayed at in Phoenix two night before to get the free parking for three weeks.

Not bad for $50 per night, eh?


We're near the Hongqiao airport, which is very far from the main int'l. Pudong airport because we want to catch a fast train to Nanjing after we grub this morning. So it's not touristy here at all. First hot pot place we stumbled upon last night was a home run.





Gratuitous shot of Mt. Fuji from 11k meters en route to PVG.



Lots more to come. Only saw one bad car accident last night within an hour of arriving. Couldn't stop for photos, but it was a bicyclist hit by a truck. No idea of injuries, but it looked bad.

[imcarthur]

Gān bēi, Rick. Enjoy yourself & keep the updates rolling.

Ian

[azasadny]

Have fun! Thanks for the picture of Mt Fuji, I love that place!

[Rick Lee]

Just came back from a stellar and dirt cheap breakfast at a real hole in the wall, even by Chinese standards. I hate the hotel breakfasts here, usually horribly overpriced and a lame attempt at copying American style breakfast buffets. In fact, the only western food I've ever eaten here was one such breakfast to placate my dad last time here when the folks came.

The hotel we're in gets around $15 per person for their (I'm guessing) lame breakfast. But we got away with $4 total for the two of us at a much more authentic place. This is how you do it.

[jriera]

I hate you Rick!!!

Travel safe.

[livi]

Looks great, Rick! Looking forward to further travel reports and pics!

Be safe!

[gtc]

What's the stuff in the rectangular metal tray?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by gtc

What's the stuff in the rectangular metal tray?

Those are pure sin and death, super thick and fatty chunks of bacon. They melt in your mouth and you can feel your arteries clog within minutes. They were reputedly one of Chairman Mao's favorites. I didn't have any today. I had a buddy here who used to down a plate of those and about 10 smokes at one meal. He's dead now, made it to about 55.

[VincentVega]

Keep us posted RL. I've said it before but I really want to tag along with you one of these times.

[jluetjen]

It's funny; I've never been able to get into the Asian breakfasts of ancient egg kanji made from the previous evening's left-over pot of rice, or in Southeast Asia the left-over curry from the night before. I'm happy to eat just about anything for the rest of the day, but just give me a little bit of a western breakfast as comfort food to start my day.

[Rick Lee]

Had a little excitement at dinner in Nanjing tonight. A dish we had not ordered arrived and we all took a piece. It was a local specialty, a duck, all chopped up, steamed and then chilled. All of us thought someone else at the table had ordered it. But it belonged to the table next to us. So the waitress just took it after we had taken a few pieces, pretended to take it to the kitchen, which was behind glass and visible to everyone in the dining room and then tried to bring it to the correct table. Those folks knew what was up and made a real fuss. The waitress tried to act innocent, but they were having none of it, refused it and wouldn't pay for it (rightly so). We figured they just put it back in the kitchen until the next group came and ordered the same thing and would be none the wiser. Wow.



Then we went to their version of Costco, called Metro, which is actually the German version of Costco. And they had a serious German beer selection too. But I only ever drink local (to the country) beer when I travel, so I passed up Koenig Pilsener for Yanjing. It took some willpower.



This really reminded me of the scene in Goodfellas when they found Frankie Carbone's body.



Gotta be an irony here somewhere.






Here we are on the fast train from Shanghai to Nanjing, about 90 min. with two stops. Last time it took four hrs.

[sc_rufctr]

I envy you. Enjoy.

[motion]

Nice pics and stories, Rick. You're lucky to be comfortable traveling in China. I sure couldn't do it.

[Tishabet]

Cool pics and stories!

[GH85Carrera]

It looks like an interesting trip. I would like to try a trip like that.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by motion

Nice pics and stories, Rick. You're lucky to be comfortable traveling in China. I sure couldn't do it.

Ah, but you could and would probably enjoy it more than I am now too. I was thinking about you today because of a comment you made in a previous thread about getting too comfortable and wanting to get outside your comfort zone. That's how I did China the first time in 2005. The curiosity was just killing me after dating a woman from (co-incidentally) Nanjing and then getting dumped before we were able to make a trip here together. So I stuck a pin in a map, booked a flight, booked no tour and just showed up and winged it for three weeks. I did have some local help, but was largely at the mercy of strangers. It was very challenging, but immensely rewarding. It changed my life. When you roll that way, you learn more about yourself than the country you're visting, even though China is pretty different from the US and next to no one here speaks English.

Now I'm fat and lazy, my wife handling everything for me here. It was a mini thrill when I left the hotel this morning while she was still sleeping, I walked around, found some mini mart the size of your bathroom and bought some green tea and smokes, said "good morning" in Chinese and had to quickly understand the pricing when the clerk told me what I owed her. I used to do stuff a lot more involved when my Chinese was more limited.

I like the feeling of being stuck in a strange place with $50 in my pocket, no cell phone or map and having to use my wits to figure my way out of the jam. I'll probably take a few domestic flights here on my own, while my wife stays with her folks. So there could be some more adventure to write about. For now it's just savoring the amazing food and sights (again). But I'll take it.

[krystar]

are u still in shanghai? there's this restaurant that i don't know the name of. the restaurant is next to like a public park. the signature dish is a big 5gallon bowl of piping hot oil with chili and spices inside. and they slice white fish really thin and bring it to table raw on a platter. the waiter puts the fish in the oil and it ready to eat within seconds. you have GOT to try it. when i was there, we finished the first serving and ordered another!

[DonDavis]

sub'd.

Looks fantastic! What a great trip. Looking forward to hearing more and more.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I like the feeling of being stuck in a strange place with $50 in my pocket, no cell phone or map and having to use my wits to figure my way out of the jam.

Yes. Me too. That's the real charm of foreign travel IMO.

Keep the pics coming. I started my China travels in the late 1980's—so that 300km/h bullet train is a strange sight. Amazing really how much China has changed in just one generation.

As for the food: As Dudley Moore once remarked "sex and Chinese food are the only two things in life worth living for"... However one thing you really have to ignore is the hygiene factor. Few things are more appalling than looking into your average Chinese restaurant kitchen.

[nostatic]

that's where the flavor comes from...