Our trip in Shanghai '96
We traveled to Shanghai in China on 8th-11th of February, 1996. We were able to meet our friend whom we got acquainted during our staying in the United States about 20 years ago. During this travel we had a very good memory.
The first day We left Narita for Shanghai at 10:10 o'clock and it took 2 hours and 55 minutes to reach Shanghai. We felt comfortable during our flight because our seat was on the second flour. From the Shanghai Airport, We moved to the hotel by bus. The Shanghai down town was filled with bicycles, taxis and people on the road. BUMP! ! ! The bus which we rode in bumped at the taxi. Fortunately, there was no injured person. After the policemen and the people of the travel agency came, we went to the Sheraton Hotel by another bus. It was about four o'clock we entered the Hotel room. Immediately, we made a phone call to our friend and decided to meet in the lobby at 8 p.m. And then we took a walk near the Hotel for a short time. We saw the subway station and entered the department store. We were embarrassed because neither English nor Japanese were available at all when we wanted to buy the cake. It was possible to buy something by the gesture and we returned the hotel. Here was China. @ We went to the restaurant in an uppermost floor at the hotel to eat the Shanghai crab dinner at six o'clock. There was a live performance with musical instruments of China during the dinner and atmosphere was a very nice. Meal was very delicious. The Shanghai crabs were smaller than we expected and we ate them at once. We skipped the dessert because we had an appointment with our friends in the lobby at 8 p.m. We went down in the lobby, and we met Mr.L (Our friend) after 13 year's absence. (*^^*) He was with his wife in the lobby. We invited them to the room and we handed our presents. After that we made arrangements for the tomorrow's sightseeing. @ The second day Mr.L and his wife came to the hotel at 9 a.m. They guided Shanghai down town by taxi on the following day. We had a lunch at the NANSYO restaurant which is famous for the SYORONPO. It was very delicious. (*^^*). After lunch, we went to the temple named GYOKUBUTUJI and saw the image of Shakamuni made of jade. The image had a very calm face and we felt our minds were washed. After that, we climbed to the top of the Television tower which is the highest tower in the Asia. There were many skyscrapers under construction and in the near future it will become a metropolis like Tokyo. After that, we took the ferry and went to the opposite bank. There was a solemn building of the Europe and America style where the foreigner had lived there in old times. Because a modern building stood on the side, I felt exotic atmosphere. Then we went to the department store. A famous carpet was displayed there. After shopping, we had a dinner at the restaurant which is famous for Beijing duck. We ordered Beijing duck and then we had a lot of dishes used Beijing duck such as soup from its bone, egg dish from its oil and fry dish from its body. Our friend ordered some more dishes even after we felt our stomach were almost full. We were a little embarrassed. Our friend said, "We treat guests we Chinese order dishes more than they need to eat. This is the way how Chinese treats guest. There is no need to worry even if there are dishes not eaten. In addition, we refused the invitation that they would guide us to the market and we changed to pick up us from 9 a.m. tomorrow morning to afternoon. We returned the room, and took the bath. My husband ate too much, so he had a stomachache. But after he took a Seirogan he was recovered. Chinese has stamina!! @The third day We were encouraged by enough sleep. After breakfastC we went to the department store by subway. We wanted to buy the musical tape. I asked about the musical tape but there was no person who could speak English. One lady went to find the person who could speak English but that lady didn't come to us because she was very shy. Anyway we bought two musical tapes. After that we returned to the hotel. In the afternoon our friend and his son guided us to the temple named RYUKAKO-JI and the botanical garden. Then we went to a new shopping center. There was some person who understood Japanese. There were many handcraft goods, for example silk carpets, two sided embroidery, handkerchievs, and so on. After that, we went to our friend's house. They lived in the sixth floor of the apartment and there was no elevator. Our friend's mother and wife made a lot of dishes. They were very good and delicious. However, I was surprised for dishes made from the pigeon (^^;). The rice gruel with pitan which was served at last was very delicious. I thought I would try to cook them because they gave me the cooking book of Chinese dishes. We took pictures with our friend's family before leaving. There was no light on the stairs, so we went down with the help of the pocket lights. But our friend got down quickly because he became accustomed. @ The fourth day The next morning, our friends and his elder son came to see off the hotel. They gave us the MAOTAI-SAKE. We were impressed with their hospitality. Friend's family was also very warm and his mother who was 84 years old was vivid. I thought that Japanese culture was influenced by China, I hope we would come and go more easily between both countries. We could touch a part of Chinese, and I noticed that I always worried about small things. I wanted to live more naturally without taking a shortsighted view of point. |
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