Shanghai, Second Visit – Day 2

Tuesday April 17, 2018

As I have mentioned before, we always carry sufficient ‘coin of the realm’ to cover expenses in each port we might visit.

Today we are going to go on an RMD spending spree so as not to come home with extra Chinese cash.

Our two objectives are 1) get me a haircut, and 2) Barbara needs her shopping fix on East Nanjing Road.

As we exited the shuttle bus stop at the entrance to Huangpu Park and the beginning of ‘The Bund’ we passed by this beautiful garden. When we were here several weeks ago, Gardner’s were in the process of digging it up for the next floral display – incredible.

In a recent shipboard conversation (at a Mariners Luncheon) a table mate confided that she had received a very nice haircut at a barber shop in the vicinity of the Fairmont Peace Hotel, located on East Nanjing road. First destination.

As we arrived at the entrance to the hotel, to get our bearings, a couple of Americans of Chinese descent approached us to say hello. It was then that we recognized friends that we have cruised with before on three separate occasions; Larry and Anita Lee! They had just disembarked from the NCL Jewel and were on a short excursion before returning home.

Here is a picture of the lobby of the hotel where we met.

As we walked along the “road” Barbara, kept searching for her favorite ‘bargain’ store, to no avail, and I kept an eye out for my target for the day. After circling the block I asked Siri for help. Her directions led us to a very upscale shopping mall on Jiangxi Road, with a “Peter Style” salon one level below the street, where for 88 RMD ($15) I received an excellent haircut.

As Barbara waited for me, she was served ‘tea and cookies’, while my hair was washed, blow dried, trimmed, and neck was shaved, while sitting in a chair wearing a purple smock, and white cover coat. When the young man was finished, he spoke a few words into his smart phone (translator) and I was asked if I wanted my hair washed again. How neat was all that? Once again technology was used to bridge the language barrier.

There was a ‘Food Court’ near the Bund so we headed there for some Dim Sum, which we had promised ourselves, after our KFC challenge, that we would try. As we sat there, the yuan was still blazing a hole in Barbara’s pocket, so when we finished, she headed back to the ‘Road’ and I headed back to the ship.

On the ship my favorite go to lunch is burgers, fries and beer. As I ate, I thought “It doesn’t get much better than this – Dutch beer, Dive-in Burger and fries, wife off shopping, and a sunny afternoon in Shanghai”.

It was close to 5 PM when, after casting off the last remaining line, and three blasts of the ships whistle, we started backing down the Huangpu River. After about a mile, Captain Turner, with sufficient water under the keel and distance between the shoreline, executed a perfect 180 degree turn and set sail for the Yangtze River and the East China Sea. Our sail away had to be in the top 3 sail-aways of our cruising experience.

Two Tugs and and a Harbor Patrol jet boat lead the way in the above photo. We must have been a grand sight!

In this picture we had just passed under the Yanqpu Suspension Bridge – what a sight

Our next port is an old friend; Fukuoka, Japan

Jack W Cummings – Far East Adventure 2018