Homeless in Shanghai

5-9 September 2010

Homeless in Shanghai

The balance of week one in Shanghai: what you need to know.

Chinese cell phones. Getting one was only supposed to take a minute. I suggest going alone and not worrying about if you spend $10 or $30. In retrospect, I wish I’d spent more because it took me several days to figure out how to save a contact on this prehistoric device, which, incidentally, has very little memory to boot.

Eating lunch for <$1. It can be done. I suggest following a notably indiscriminate Spaniard into the most incomprehensible hole in the wall you pass while searching for the least expensive cell phones on the planet. Two quarters worth of dumplings and noodles will fill you right up. The Chinese people laughing at you ordering by pointing at their food is included for free!

Drinks at lunch. Unfortunately you’ll have to throw out another quarter to have a drink with lunch. The catch is, you have to get the drink somewhere else. We found Cokes and an assortment of teas at the shopfront next door. Unfortunately Diet Coke is only available in the expat neighborhoods or large groceries.

Other eating notes. We spotted my friend, Hendrik, eating in a restaurant called “Chinese Fast Food” and remarked on how courageous he was. Then I walked in to give him props and found him eating plain white rice.

The French Concession. On the particular night I led us there, Cotton’s was an awful choice. It was an amazingly secluded courtyard that felt like Midtown Memphis in the midst of one of the largest cities in the world. Anyway, on this particular night, it killed the buzz, but I still have to give it great marks for its signature cocktail, the Cotton Gin. Does it even matter what it tastes like? For a Southern Belle lost in the Far East, the name is enough!

Flat hunting. You won’t even believe this. In fact, it’s worth its own post…

Pictured: New cell phone contracts: don’t forget to read every word! --- Eating scrumptious Yunnanese with my sorority sister, Myraida --- Hendrik eating scrumptious…white rice!