After breakfast and two and one half hours in the air, we landed in Shanghai. I'm pretty stoked, but now I'm thinking the trip is halfway over. Anyway, China West Airlines was pretty cool, but by now I'm sort of over the top with Chinese food. Anyway, we arrive and I don't know what the heck I was thinking. I arrived at the baggage terminal and started taking everyone's luggage off the turnstile. I'll pay for that later. Everyone else had arrived and Oswald got most of the remaining luggage off. We headed on over towards the exit and our guide, Scottie (he says it's spelled like Scottie Pippen) shuffles us off to the tour bus. We're laughing at the driver, who is sweating and redfaced because of our heavy and very large suitcases. We're all loaded up and headed off to our hotel. Poor driver, he's grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and is wiping his head and face. The drive to the hotel is about an hour. We arrive at the Hilton Shanghai. We're all given our hotel keys and proceed to our rooms after we're given the time of departure for our touring tomorrow. I ask Scottie about an internet café. I ask if there's one near the hotel. He asks one of the front desk people, they go back and forth in Chinese. They come up with one that Scottie had forgotten about, right around from the hotel. He writes the info down for me both in English and Chinese, to give to the cab driver, in the event I used one. Our luggage arrives and of course, I start getting my clothes and things ready for tomorrow. I go through my luggage and notice that an 8-pack of batteries is missing. Danged Chinese. Marcella and I freshen up and prepare to head on out to check out the local stores. The view from our hotel room was spectacular. We knew sort of where we wanted to go as down the street from the hotel we could see lots of lights and glitter. SHOPPING! We didn't eat as we wanted to get out before it was too late. We headed on out and the walk was exhausting. We walked down Hua Shan Road, up what seemed like 100 steps (to walk across the overpass), then down those 100 steps and even further down Hua Shan Road. We passed Chinese people walking very fast. We passed a guy who had brought a blind man to his spot (I guess it was his spot) and helped him setup to play some type of stringed instrument, for money. It's pretty chilly out and the sun has gone down. Finally, we reach the mall. Here's a beautiful fountain in front and it looks like any other mall, but it's sort of circular. The stores are situated in a circle formation. Marcella is looking for a grey pair of pantyhose. We're trying to say grey with no luck. I forgot I had the phrasebooks in my pocket. I pull it out and look up grey and show several salespeople at a few of the hundreds of stores I would have never thought was in this mall. She's also looking for a pair of slacks. I happen upon this jewelry store that had some very unique pieces. The name of the store is Jon Ris Fashions. She had some beautiful handmade pieces and of course I had to buy some. The owner talked to Marcella and I for a long time. She was very hospitable. We were even offered hot water. I guess they have to boil the water, that's probably why it was hot. We asked her were we could possibly find some deals and were directed to a market passed the mall shopping area. Of course, you're always told, "don't follow anyone." But this tiny girl, I figured Marcella and I could take her down if we had to. Anyway, the shop manager had the girl (who she said was on her break) to take us over there. She told us, "whatever you're interested in bargain. Start at ½ of what they want for it and no more." Another extremely long walk and the girl walked fast. We were led from this mall across a busy street through another mall. Then down some dark street where there were open stalls selling all sorts of things. Anyway, the girl led us to like the middle of this dark, dirty and dingy place. Marcella and I tried to shop fast as a lot of the stores were closing up. We walked and walked and walked. I found a couple of pair of sunglasses. The poor saleslady acted as though she hadn't made a sale the entire day. I bought 2 pairs of sunglasses for $6 US. Who knows, I may have a prescription put in them, since I didn't make it to the eyeglass place in Beijing. Anyway, we weren't stared at too much but this is a local shopping area and we were a bit odd being there. We shopped a bit but everything is so tiny (sizes).It was getting late and Marcella and I decided to stop by a pizza shop we'd passed during our adventure across the mall. We were really hungry by this time. The place was called New York Café. We'd sat down and looked over the menu. I ordered a meatball sandwich, fries and a Coke. Marcella ordered an Italian Sausage sandwich and a Budweiser. The food is cooked right then so it took a while. The fries had come up first so we shared those. I asked for salt but had to pull out the phrasebook to explain what I wanted. The fries were hot, hot, hot. Not like home. After we started those, the meal came. They even had a small salad on the plate along with the sandwiches. Again, I ask for salad dressing with little understanding. Just then walks in the owner. He tells me, "keep that book (phrasebook)." He tells the girl behind the counter what I want. We enjoy our meal and he comes over to talk to us. His name was Denny. He owned the place and was from Cali via Philly. He owns several restaurants around he U.S. and China. He offered us some free pizza, but we were full by that time and figured we'd take him up on the offer maybe tomorrow. On the internet I discovered so many Americans who own businesses in China. We finished up and headed back to the hotel. That's when I actually learned that the blind guy was playing for money. We made that long walk back up all those stairs (the escalator was broken going and coming), then down all those stairs on the other side. We got into our room and settled in for the night. The next morning we had a great breakfast in the hotel. Not as huge as the Shangri-La's, but as long as they served omlettes, I was satisfied. But at this point I was a bit tired of runny in the middle omlettes, so I explained to the cook exactly how to cook mine. I really think they're afraid of burning them. We had to meet Scottie at the bus around 9 A.M. so, we headed back up to the room to get our things for the day. We were all loaded and on our way. Our first stop was the Jade Hall of the Grand Buddha Temple. This was a very interesting place. Chinese people came to pay their respects and pray. They even lit incense in the large burners outside of the temple. There was so much incense burning, there were large billows of smoke in the courtyard. Scottie was very thorough in his description of the history of this place. We walked around to the 3 Buddha's Temple. At first glance we thought there was a swastika on his chest but Scottie explained that it was a symbol of sunshine and fire. The founder of Buddhism is sitting on a lotus blossom on which he was baptized. The Buddha on the right is the power Buddha. We went on through taking lots of pictures. We walked on to the Jade Buddha. This Buddha had feminine qualities but we were told that Buddha is both male and female. This Buddha was absolutely breathtaking and carved from one slab of jade. Sorry, we couldn't take any pictures of this one. We walked through some gardens. He goldfish (the Chinese call them carp, which they are, but) here were so beautiful. All sorts of colors. A lady came over with a plate of rice. She threw the rice into the pond and the fish came a swimming. We were able to get some good shots then. We headed on over to the Leaning Buddha. This was a great Buddha also. These things are huge and carved from one slab of jade. While waiting outside, we became tourist attractions again. At least Oswald was. These short Shanghainese people wanted to take pictures with him. After shopping in the gift shop we headed on over to the ancient Yu Yuan (Garden of Peace and Comfort). This was a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing maze of ponds, pavilions, elaborate rockeries and bridges. We reached the gardens after a long walk from the tour bus, through a bustling shopping street. Beggars were in abundance. There were beautiful walking paths and small bridges. This looked like a great place to get married. We spent quite a bit of time here. We even went into the Chamber of Happiness. The architecture here was magnificent. Yes, I said it. Magnificent. Breathtaking. The tops of the structures were guarded by sculpted dragons. The carved windows (no glass and which Scottie told me was called "Leak Scenery" (the sun leaked through the iron carvings) were so intricate. There were bonsai trees and as cold as it was there were bumble bees buzzing around the beautiful blooming flowers. We spent a lot of time here but had to head on out. Scottie led us back through the bustling shopping street, reminding us to watch our bags and valuables, and on to the bus. We drove along the Bund (waterfront) in the Old City. There were plenty western style buildings here. We ended up at Nanjing Dong Road, China's premier shopping avenue. We were given 45 minutes to shop here. There's even an electric train for tired shoppers to hop on and off. I found the prices here quite steep and there's no bargaining here. Prices are as marked. At this hotel along this road there was a guy singing Opera, I guess to attract customers. The music was piped in, of course. This guy approaches me while I'm walking and asks me if I'm looking for purses. I tell him yes. What the heck did I do that for? This guy leads behind the shopping strip, down some long, very long alley. The alley is probably 3 blocks long. Then he crosses the street and then he walks down the street. I motion to him, with a frown on my stupid face and say with my hands out, "where the heck are you taking me?" He says, "just a little bit further, not far." Finally, I get to this store that looks closed. I'm still on the opposite side of the street and I say to him, "that store is closed." He assures me that it is not closed. I go in, there's all these Chinese people sitting around. Some are eating. The clothes look like secondhand clothing. I tell him, "I want T-Shirts not this stuff." He waves and says, "come, come." He takes me up some small winding staircase. I know, I know, I didn't tell any of you this story in person, as I know you'd all be saying, "Deb, what the hell is wrong with you?" Anyway, I get upstairs and it's a showroom of stolen s***. Now I live in America, what the heck would make him think I wanted NBA, NFL and MLB crap. I could buy this stuff at home. I immediately turned around and walked down that tiny winding staircase and walked out of that store or whatever it was supposed to be. Now I know that all the stolen stuff is either behind a revolving wall or in the back up some winding staircase. You all know I have a very good sense of direction, so I hightailed my ass outta there. I did happen upon a gift shop that sold baseball caps. Embroidered T-Shirts are extremely hard to find. I should open up a T-Shirt shop in Xi 'An and Shanghai. There was a wine shop I wanted to stop in but figured I'd wait until my last leg of the trip to get that. After walking what seemed miles by myself (bumping into people from our group along the way) I headed back to the pit-stop where Scottie was going to pick us up. Our chariot arrived and we were off to the hotel. We were to visit Children's Municipal Palace, a school for talented children; however, since school was in, there would be no students there this time of day. We head back to the hotel and the rest for tonight's Acrobatic Show.Scottie and the driver pick us up around 5:30 P.M. and we head over to a nice restaurant for dinner. I forget the name of it . It was on Chang De Road. After dinner we walked around the restaurant as there was embroidered art there, for sale. The pictures were beautiful. Very intricate. Very expensive also. Some were $5,000 - $6,000. I went to use the ladies room and of course ended up in the men's room. No worries. The cleaning lady just laughed along with me or at me. We headed downstairs to the Chinese Embroidery Gallery. We loaded up on the bus and headed over to the Acrobatic Show. This show was great. I got a little sleepy but then someone passed gas and I had to get up and move. There was a lady balancing bowls, cups and saucers on her head. She dropped things several times and I got sleepy. The highlight began with the tumblers and the acrobats that reminded me of Cirque De Soleil. The show ended with motorcyclists in this huge ball. The kind of stunt you see at the circus. They were really good. They had 5 motorcyclists in the ball at one time. It was a great show. Back to the hotel from a long exhausting day. We ended the night with Scottie giving us information about his picking us up for the airport on Wednesday. This evening I decided I'd take a taxi over to the Internet café. I couldn't believe the taxi fare was only $2 US. The place was down an alley. I wasn't afraid just thought it was weird. I walked down passing another alley and then noticed the arrow pointing up on the neon sign. So I walked down that alley and a door to the elevator opened and two men came out pushing carts of stinky food. I think there was a restaurant in this building also. The elevator floor was very dirty but I ventured on. Just as the door was closing a thin guy slipped in. He was facing the other way. So I whispered, "I guess I better turn around." He smiled and gestured, "yes." The door opened to a huge game room. As I stepped out and looked to the right and to the left , not having a clue as to where I was going. The guy said, "internet?" I said, "yes." He said, "this way." I got to the counter and was informed that I couldn't use the computers because I didn't have my passport. The gentleman from the elevator was very kind and talked the woman into letting me go on his. I was very thankful as I did not want to go back to the hotel to get my passport. The gentleman told me, "if you need any help, I'll be sitting right over there." I thanked him again. The woman still did not understand me as I was trying to ask, "how much?" Another gentleman, who worked there, came over. He spoke English but did not understand that I wanted to use the computer about 2 hours. I showed him my watch and he told the girl how much to charge me. I think it was like $6 US for 2 hours. The place was very dark and the cigarette smoke was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. The gentleman logged me on and there I sat for the next 3 hours. This was a sweet deal compared to the last hotel where I paid $25 US for 1 hour. I laughed as I listened to all of your voicemails. It was really good to hear off of your voices. Especially you Ron! I headed out, back on that dirty elevator and down that crusty alley. There were taxis sitting just outside. I gave the driver my hotel card. Those are absolutely a great idea. I don't know who thought of those but it's really cool. The hotels all have cards that tell the taxi driver where to take you. Not only that, some hotels have other tourist spots on the cards and all you have to do is check a box next to where you want to go. Anyway, it was after midnight and maybe the fare went up but the ride back was $3 US. I got in and got my shower , said my prayers and called it a night.Our last day in Shanghai was a free day. We started the day with a nice breakfast. I drink a couple of cups of coffee before I eat. Just to pass the time. Marcella said she'd like to go back to that mall, for a manicure and to see if she could find some slacks. We headed on over there after breakfast and Marcella did find some slacks. She found a place to get a manicure and the girl told me she'd be done in about 30 minutes, so I headed around to do some shopping on my own. I decided to go back and get that purse for Donna, I'd seen yesterday. Then I headed on around to tell the lady where I purchased the jewelry, goodbye. She was very nice. I headed on around and picked up Marcella and we looked around some more. Her manicure was only $5 US and her nails looked good. The mall had millions of stores. I went to another store looking for purses. Two had revolving walls. I didn't even know they were revolving until the shopkeepers pushed them to take me in the back to look at purses. We walked and walked and then decided to head back to the pizza shop. We stopped in the subway area, I was looking for postcards. No luck. We sat down to eat and then headed back to the hotel. I stopped in the gift shop of the hotel to find single postcards. I don't want to ever hear anyone talking about a stamp costing 41 cents. Each postcard stamp was about 60 cents US. Anyway, I headed on up to the room and got cleaned up and repacked. I would have loved another day here. I thought about it and forgot I had to get rid of that Chinese money. I thought about getting a massage. I got dressed and told Marcella I was going to go down to the Spa but first I was going to try that massage parlor in the alley next to the hotel. We could see the big red "MASSAGE" sign, from our hotel window. I headed down and out of the hotel. It was a pretty nice night, not too windy. I wanted to use all the money I had so, I asked for the works. The ladies did not speak Chinese but had a list of services in English. I pointed to what I wanted and voila! The rooms were very dim. And there were probably 10 rooms with glass walls on each. The walls to the adjoining rooms were frosted glass. It sounded like there were all men there. And the moans and groans from them were crusty. I don't know if they were in ecstasy or what, but they were crusty. The girl I had was named Cao Wei Jun and her number was 24. She was very, very good. The massage lasted about an hour. I flinched when she rubbed that bad knee. She went to get some other type of oil as I could smell it. She rubbed my knee back and forth so fast, I thought she was trying to start a fire. But it felt really good afterwards. Then she asked me to turn on my side. I'm wondering what the heck is she going to do. Then she wipes my ear down and around it. Then she puts some oil on her hand and starts to massage my ear. Hmmmmmmmmmm! That's kinky, but it felt pretty stimulating. Shut up Ron! Then she picks up these colored pencils (yes, I was peeking) and I wonder what she's going to do with those. She then puts one in my ear. You all know me. I say to myself, "I'll just go with it because I think I can take her if I had to." Anyway, she strikes a match and lights the other end of what I thought was a child's pencil. The thing burns like a candle and I feel something warm and slightly frying and popping in my ear. I'm thinking this must be some type of relaxation thing. After a couple of minutes, she takes it out and massages my ear again, briefly. Then she takes something and cleans my ears out. This was great. I turned on my other side and went through the same thing again. I could hear much better. Only because of my cold and all that flying. After that session, I got dressed. I also had two left sandals. I put them on anyway. I feeling too good to care. She took me over to some vibrating chair. I didn't care for the feel of that so I turned it off. She brought this big container. It looked like those barrel type planters for flowers. It had a huge tea bag in it and the water was very warm. She lifted my feet and put them in the bath. I sat there for a while, they served me tea, tea and more tea. While sitting there I watched all the MEN pay for services rendered. I thought to myself, "am I in the wrong place? Is this place just for men? Too late now ANNNND, they didn't turn me away." There was a guy in another chair getting a foot massage, but he looked American but may have not been. He had his legs spread wide open while the girl was on the floor massaging his feet. What the heck is that for? Anyway, Cao Wei Jun came and dried one foot and commenced with the massage. Then she dried the other foot and commenced with the massage. So now, after three hours, I do not want to go back to that hotel.I got back and told Marcella about the wonderful massage. She thought I had went to an internet café since I was gone for 3 hours. This had to be the best Massage I ever had and all for $61 US. I made sure I had everything packed and my clothes ready for tomorrow's flight to Hong Kong. Shanghai is absolutely a place I'd like to just fly to.