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We started at the French Quarter; a quaint little maze of short buildings and high priced eateries; none of which were Chinese. The crowd looked diverse and international with one thing in common, business. I imagined that this is where businessmen from around the world were wined and dined in the hopes of moving their manufacturing to China. Travelers keep saying that “Shanghai is not China”, but I think it is China just dressed up in a pretty dress and high heels. A seductress of sorts to charm the likes of IBM and countless other international companies looking to reduce cost and increase profit. But maybe that’s just my imagination running wild. We took a couple pictures and moved on.

Our next stop was Yufo Temple home to a 6 foot tall Buddha carved out of Jade. The Buddhist prayer ritual is a very beautiful exercise that starts by lighting a handful of incense sticks. Once lit and smoking, the incense is pressed between two praying hands and brought to chest height. After a moment the hands still pressed together are brought up to one’s forehead where they rest for another moment. This cyclical motion from chest to forehead is repeated exactly three times after which the incense is discarded into a smoking cauldron. The prayer ritual combined with the constant burning of incense makes for a very serene and relaxed atmosphere. It’s hard to take a bad photo inside a Buddhist temple, so we lingered for a few hours and snapped a few photos.

Next stop, “The Fake”. A huge underground market where every product sold is a knock-off of some popular brand. We were both expecting a full-on assault by vendors and maybe even pickpockets, but it turned out to be more like a mall. Each person sat outside of their store and said the standard tourist stuff you would expect: “Lady, want a bag?” I think we were both a little disappointed by the complete lack of chaos =) Bargaining in China is not the same as Mexico. When your traveling through Mexico and want to buy a hammock or sombrero at the local tourist-mart your first counter should be for 33% of asking price and you should be happy to get 50%. In China, however, your first counter should be 15% of asking price. The vendor gets offended and walks away waving his hand as to say “No, no, no. Go away”. You respond by turning around and also walking away, which will get you the vendor’s first counteroffer. This time, from 10 feet away, you counter with 18% of the original asking price. The vendor will pretend like there’s a communication issue, so, he’ll pull out the universal bargaining machine, the calculator, and motion you to come closer. You repeat your 18% offer, but this time on the big calculator. The vendor will smile and wave his hand as to say “No, no, no”. After the vendor’s second counter, you grab the calculator and type in 20% and this time you need to start waving your hands too. He won’t accept your offer. This is you queue to walk away. If you did everything right, just as you’re about to turn the corner he’ll accept your offer. You’re now the proud new owner of some useless piece of junk that will completely collapse onto itself in two uses.

Final stop was the Pudong boardwalk on the other side of the river from where we are staying. We’re still not quite sure how the subway crossed the river, but we did feel a change in cabin temperature, so we’re assuming underwater. Crossing the river allowed us to look at back at our district and photograph a night spectacle unlike any we’ve seen before. Think Las Vegas strip at night, but better =) After a long day, we headed back to the hostel and on our way saw our first Kung Fu street fight. The winner opened with a roundhouse kick to the chest followed by a three-punch combo (left jab, straight right, left hook). Awesome!