Typhoon Tangents

Unfortunately, my last few days in Shanghai I managed to find myself in the midst of a typhoon. While there were some sights that I still wanted to see, I had no intention of soaking through three layers of clothes in the process. So, I resorted to plan B: eat my way through Shanghai. Collin, a friend who I had made earlier that weekend, introduced me to some delicious takeout and probably the best soup dumplings I have ever had in my life. Miraculously, the takeout was delivered by hand in the poruing rain, but I guess to the people of Shanghai, it was just a light drizzle. 

View of Century Park and Shanghai skyline from my hotel in Pudong. 

My last meal was soup dumplings from Jia Jia Tang Bao with Collin.  This is a no frills dumpling house with made to order dumplings of all kinds. I managed to peak my head back into the kitchen to catch a few shots. I don't think I've ever seen fingers move that fast! I'm pretty sure we ended up going through 5 trays of dumplings on our own. And while I had to be practically rolled to the train to get to the airport from how full I was, my taste buds hadn't been that happy all trip. And, besides, I'm sure the dumplings were calorie free...

I ate up until the very last minute before I had to head to the airport, where I took the Maglev, which hits speeds hovering around 400 km/h (roughly 230 mph). I was a little sad to be leaving Shanghai after getting a sneak peak into the city. There are plenty of sights left to see, so I guess there will just have to be a next time. 

Shanghai'd

For my first full day in the city I decided to roam around the Bund, drink an obnoxious amount of tea, and eat lots and lots of street food. That seems reasonable enough, right? 

It was fun just to people watch for a while. Shanghai is so drastically different from my first stop in China. You don't get an overwhelming sense of history, or the Party, like you do in Beijing. I think the youthfulness of the city paired with the modern skyline puts people in a different mindset all together. Everyone is ready to shop, eat, drink, and just have a good time. So, that's what I did.

A quick note on the tea 'ceremonies': agree on a price before you start.
Often they are looking to totally rip you off, so better to be safe than sorry.

 As far as the street food goes, just line up where a lot of locals seem to be going.
 I ended up only paying a whole $0.70 for lunch. Can't go wrong with that!