The big, big city and no I don't want to buy a watch thanks..

Well it's raining in Shanghai today, its amazing how quickly the temperature has dropped - so it's definitely time for me to leave. It's a week since my last post and I can't believe how quickly time is going.. even though it doesn't seem like I've done that much.
Shanghai is a big, big city and there is debate as to whether or not it's culture is the 'real' China.
It is 'the New York' of China and does have it's own culture but it definitely isn't like the traditional Chinese culture that the west knows - but that of a big city, which is ok, but not something I'll miss while on my holidays. Today my journey to the cities of China ends, and tonight I fly west to the Himalaya's and maybe some fresh air!
I decided to take it a bit easier in the big city and have had Thai massage, oil massage and cupping all done to help me relax. Massage is big in China and reasonably priced so it would have been rude not to try it all out. The cupping was a bit more thorough than I've had before, but helped loosen up some tightness I got while playing 18 holes of golf with Kane on the gold course attached to his villa. It was another great way to relax and you have to have a caddie, which just adds to the relaxation!

I spent a couple of days in central Shanghai checking out some of the local attractions but I have to admit the intensity and crowds made these fairly draining days out (hence the excuses for massage and relaxing!).
Last Friday was museum day. I started out at the Sex culture museum which has won quite a few international awards. A lot of the exhibits were a bit of fun and it was also good in that it recognised that women in Chinese culture have not always been treated very well. From there I caught the 'Bund sightseeing tunnel' under the Huangpu river which was nice, cheesy, multimedia fun with special lighting and music flashing into your space age carriage, before heading to the Shanghai Museum.
There was a big queue to get in but it was worth it as there was an amazing collection of bronze, sculpture, ceramics & porcelain, artwork & calligraphy, jade, furniture and minority costume, with some stuff dating back to the Neolithic age. I particularly liked the sculpture and jade and was surprised at how interesting the history of porcelain was!
I tired out by the early arvo and headed for some late lunch when I was accosted by more overly 'friendly' Chinese on the tea scam. One poor French guy was in the process of bailing some of them up and warning other tourists about the tea scammers which is really the only bad side of Chinese that I have experienced over here. Generally the people are really friendly and helpful - even if they don't know how to queue and spit a bit!
So I headed to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition center which was pretty cool. They have massive models of Shanghai, and you can also see all the plans for the future development of Shanghai and all the different areas or precincts. It was particularly Chines how some of the multimedia for the New Technology Precinct wasn't working! There was also a large section on the 2010 Expo which is going to be in Shanghai and the location for that looks amazing.
Over the past week I also spent time on the motorised scooter having a look around Hongmei lu which is where Kane and Sam live, and had fun trying out the public transport - and being helped out by friendly locals..
I also spent an afternoon in the French Concession area of Shangahi and the old town to get a bit of a feel for the town, the highlights as always, was going into the parks and seeing large groups of people doing Tai Chi together, playing cards and games and ballroom dancing together. It was really fun to see a couple of traffic police ballroom dancing in their uniform in the park. That evening Kane and Sam and I went out to a flash Japanese restaurant for some really yummy food - which is another part of the French Concession and Shanghai.
A big thanks to my friends Kane and Sammy for letting me stay with them and check out the ex-pat lifestyle in Shanghai and also hi and bye to Thomas and my new girlfriend Sophie...

If you are looking to buy a watch, some bags or jackets - theres lots of people who are willing to help you out in Shanghai. I made the mistake of not coming to China to shop... My backback feels big enough already!