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In China it was a long weekend. Sunday was Mid Autumn or Mooncake Festival so we did not have to work on the Monday (yesterday). I have a friend in Shanghai and she offered us a bed for free (good words!), so another English teacher and I bravely set out to spend the weekend in Shanghai.

It is a 2 hours plus train ride from Shaoxing - and an amazing experience. We watched as the amazing countryside, towns and cities flashed by the speeding train. We had a comfortable ride - we think we must have been in "first class". One amazing event on the train is that the railway staff (conductors?) after offering food and drink (never cold drinks!) along the journey, sell the strangest of items. One of the staff appears with a basket of items, and does the sales pitch for each item.

On this trip one item was a wind up torch - which I bought, there were socks, toothbrushes, toys and reflexology pads for your shoes.

When we arrived at Shanghai - which was VERY busy due to the long weekend, we had to purchase our return ticket. It took a while to get to the right window, and then we asked a young man to help us. He was VERY helpful, and we chatted with him while we waited in the queue. He learned that my friend and I were/had been nurses, and he phoned his girl friend who was arriving from Shaoxing. She is a nursing student. She told us later that he was excited about meeting two foreigners, but she was scared. Very anxious!

Her boyfriend bought our return tickets and one for her, so that she would have company on the trip back to Shaoxing. So we have two new friends now. So funny that she was scared of us - and in the end she spend much of the train trip asleep on my shoulder!

We found my friend waiting at a railway station - we managed two changes of trains that day - and after a short rest went into Nanjing Walking Street which was packed with people.

We walked to the Bund - and when the rain came pelting down, we scurried to find a coffee place. We found the Martini Bar - and as the coffee was awful started drinking cocktails, by now joined by two American businesswomen. What a time we had! So many laughs with new friends.

Our taxi ride home you will have to read about.

The next day we went to Old Shanghai - full of traders, touts, people, food outlets, people, and RAIN.

But we managed to buy lots of things and have a lot of laughs. We found going down dark alleys (there's safety in numbers here) was where the bargains were.

Our next adventure was to the Shanghai Cirucs. We had to walk a long way (as taxi's were not stopping for us, to get to the Metro for the journey to the circus venue. It is a permanent circus and performs every night. And it was spectacular. The most exciting acrobats and performers in a very well orchestrated show.

We did get a taxi back as the Metro had stopped for the night.

The next morning we packed and left. What an extra ordinary weekend.

Going to Shanghai? Go to Nanjing Walking Street, Old Shanghai, Xin Tian Di, the Bund, Pudong, and the Shanghai Circus. Oh, there are many more things to see too.

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