Tuesday we didn't do much during the day--just some laundry and planning out of events--but in the evening we decided to go to an Italian place called Good Fellas, near the Bund, partly because we haven't been to that area yet. We got a cab pretty quickly and it cost only about $5. Then we strolled around the Bund at night--beautiful views, lots of people! It reminded me of a combination of Vegas and New York. Very modern, opulent buildings, touristy. Then we went to the restaurant, which was good but I think a bit overrated. (It was reviewed as the #5 restaurant in Shanghai...I think this is an overstatement.) Kerry got a wonderful lasagna, but my ravioli was just okay. I did like the beef carpaccio and their chocolate dessert, though. It was interesting to be in a place that reminded me of NYC restaurant: lots of music, English being spoken, intimate setting with not many tables. One of our waitresses was this beautiful, charismatic Russian woman who engaged us in conversation about the Russian alphabet and Prince. On the way back, we had some issues. Kerry encountered a beggar woman who grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go. He just kept walking and eventually she gave up. We encountered a taxi who at first said "no" to our request and then asked for 100 RMB to take us back. We were tired--it was 11 pm by this point--so we acquiesced--even though I quickly figured out that we were being ripped off. Still, he got us back quickly (are there speeding laws in Shanghai? This guy didn't think so).
Today began with a trip to SISU to sign some paperwork in order to procure my residency permit. I was only there 10 minutes but it took an hour to get there (I took the bus and there was a traffic jam), and then it took about 30 minutes to get back. I am beginning to realize that since we don't have a car that there's only so much that we're going to get done during the day. I then had lunch and took a nap while Kerry went grocery shopping (another walk). Later, we decided to use the subway system and explore the city a bit. We ended up going to a rather decrepit-looking mall (I think it was an abandoned building!) that included about six rooms of adult sex toys. The entire thing was a bit creepy, especially when a Chinese woman tried to explain sex toys to us in Chinese. We made a fairly quick exit. But, on a positive note, we did become more confident with both the bus and subway systems as a result of this experience.
Major lesson for the day: if you don't use a taxi, scooter, or car, it may take A LONG TIME to get where you want in Shanghai.
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