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MONDAY AFTERNOON | April 14, 2008
At sea enroute from Shanghai to Bejing

Hi everyone!

Our select group had a fabulous two days in Shanghai. What a dynamic city! I do believe it surpassed everyone's expectations with the tall buildings and high tech mixed in with the old ways of China from 200 (or 2,000) years ago.

The Yu Yuan Gardens

We began our day early with our delightful guide Yoyo. At 27 years she was lively and clearly loves being a Shanghaiese. We started our morning at the Yu Yuan Gardens. This one-time palace and garden is now open to the public and bustles with activities and shops surrounding such a pristine and calming garden. We took our time wandering through, appreciating the flowering trees and ponds with the koi fish (large goldfish). Yoyo gave us good history and background on the area. Then we had some free time to devote to the local economy -- everyone seemed to come back to the coach with a little treasure.

From the Yu Yuan Gardens, we drove over to what was the French section of the city and walked along beautiful tree-lined streets and admired the beautiful homes from nearly a century ago. We actually ended our walk at the French Concession Arts and Crafts --an historic home that now houses remarkable treasures made by local artisans. Unfortunately, it was a Saturday and the craftsmen were not at work, but you could see the evidence of their skill in every room from "paper-cutting" paintings to hand-embroidered pictures and on and on. It made us feel good to see these traditions carried on although I am told it is becoming more and more difficult to interest the younger generation in these arts.

After a delightful local lunch, we stopped at the Urban Planning Museum, not something that you would think to be of great interest. But, on the second floor, there is a scale model of the city showing the growth of Shanghai from now until the year 2020 with every building, street, school, tree and river in place. One color denotes what has already been created and another shows what is to come over the next twelve years. (It must be a little disconcerting to see that your home will soon be a skyscraper, or factory or public park!) If you think the Chinese are not forward thinking, think again.

Art pieces on display at the Shanghai Art Museum

We finished the afternoon at the Shanghai Art Museum, truly one of the great museums of the world. The Bronze collection alone is enough to entice you for an entire afternoon, but then there is the Jade collection, the furniture period collection, the jewelry collection and on. Even if you are not a museum person, the architecture of the building is remarkable in itself. And, for shoppers, the museum has a great book store and gift shop; it's hard to leave there without some sort of treasure. Of course, I had to do my part for the economy.

We returned to the ship for a quick dinner and a shower and we were off again. This time to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for the famed Chinese Acrobat Show. We had fantastic seats! If you have been to see Cirque de Soleil then you might have an idea of what our show was like. However, this show was without all the gowns and music and glitter but the acts themselves are better than I have ever seen! The show lasted an hour and one-half and you were literally on the edge of your seat throughout. When you come to Shanghai, do not miss this.

Tired, but happy we returned to our ship to get a good sleep before our next day in Shanghai.

The "water village" in Zhujiajiao

Sunday - Still in Shanghai

We left the ship early this morning for the countryside village of Zhujiajiao. (This village was built along the Grand Canal that once reached nearly all the way from the Yangtze River to Beijing. Still relatively unspoiled, it's a fascinating journey back in time.) Because it was a Sunday, many locals came into the village to enjoy the day as well. However, this old "water village" with it's canals and narrow streets is not somewhere where groups come and we saw no one from the ship. It was terrific to have that insider's edge.

We did wander along poking in the shops and food stalls, dodging the carts, motorcycles and bicycles. We were actually quite a curiosity for the locals with our light hair, round eyes and height. I'm not sure who was taking more pictures of each other; it was great fun. We boarded two small canal boats to tour through the village and caught great scenes of simple life-styles. People were out sunning their birds (in their cage), plucking a chicken for dinner, having a shave by a barber and just visiting with each other.

The prices for goods was extremely low but one of our guests (I won't name her) was so proud she had negotiated for two tea cups and brought the price down to $35. She showed me her purchase and asked if I thought she had bargained well. What she didn't realize was the shop owner was asking for 35 yuan (less than $5) and she paid her $35 dollars. I told her she made their month!

We came back to Shanghai for another great lunch; these lunches have been about ten or twelve different dishes so we've had the opportunity to try many new recipes. Believe me, we didn't leave any food on the table to "take away" and we also didn't go away hungry!

Our last afternoon offered our guests an opportunity for more shopping or for those who wished to join me, I suggested a local Shanghai Salon for Foot and Shoulder Massage. All but two of our guests thought that would be great fun.

They were a little surprised at how different the treatments were in Shanghai than at home. The staff brought in large wooden buckets of warm tea where we soaked our feet before they began. By the time we were finished, an hour and one-half had passed along with lots of giggles and groans (this hurts and I pay money for this?) to "this is the best treatment I have ever had" to one person who said "this might be better than sex". All of this cost us $20 plus a $3 tip. Quite the bargain.

Now we are back at sea en route to Bejing. Our guests are happy for some down time and of course anxious to see Bejing.

I'll keep you posted and if you have questions or comments send your note to info@finevoyages.com. Wish you were here to share the experience with us.

Thinking of you,

Christine Niskanen
Cruise Masters