2013.08.04 Sunday - Shanghai

Feeling very hot @ Yuyuan Gardens

Sunday brought the prospect of wonderful Shanghai adventures, only to be almost wiped out by the time we had been out in the street for only a couple of minutes. The atmosphere was just so oppressive it was almost unbearable. Felt like you needed a scythe to cut through the air to make headway. Bought a pair of sunglasses and headed into Starbucks for breakfast which wasn’t too bad.  Starbucks appear to be very popular everywhere in Asia and Europe! Eventually headed off the the Yuyuan Gardens which was supposedly very pretty and which also had markets nearby in the old part of Shanghai. 
 

Jan with her re-hydration in tow.

Headed for a beer pretty quickly as the heat and crowds were just so exhausting. Had some dumplings which were rather good but you can taste the horrid fat they cook stuff in and it puts you off a bit. 

The Markets @ Yuyuan Gardens.

Soon came to the conclusion that Shanghai would be best visited in autumn or spring but certainly not in summer  .. and not winter either which is apparently pretty extreme. Maybe a bit like Melbourne on steroids. Apparently it has been the hottest year in the last ten here. Temperatures around the 37-40 degrees for quite a while now and set to continue/increase over the next week!!!
 

Hard to tell if it was spray or steam!!

Bought a few things at the markets and then walked around a bit feeling increasingly exhausted.  

Ducks @ the Yuyuan Gardens .. maybe in a dumpling next week!!

Yuyuan Gardens and lots of umbrellas to counter the heat.

Left Yuyuan gardens and traipsed around the older part of the city before deciding to catch a cab back to the hotel to ‘unmelt’ a bit. 

Jan @ Yuyuan Gardens after Beer & Dumplings

Photographed a few things like food stalls much to the annoyance of some of the locals who don’t like being “snapped”. Lots of unusual/odd fruits.

Massive Jackfruit in Old Shanghai Markets

Fruit on a stick in Old Shanghai Markets

This is McDonalds in Shanghai. Heaps of food chains like Starbucks, Subway and KFC.

Went to the Captain’s Bar later that night. So many people are begging for money etc. One woman had her child out begging for her .. very sad .. actually let the child run out in the street amongst the cars to ask. I nearly had a cow watching one little seemingly 4 year old darting through the traffic to ask!! It had started to rain so we were also running trying not to get wet. Storm ended up being quite spectacular. In thed rush to avoid the rain I slipped over on the street and banged my knee up! No one offered to help me up! Just amazing with so many people around! 

The Pearl Tower and Light Show courtesy of Nature and Shanghai Electric From the deck@ The Captain's Bar

 The meal at the Bar was pretty ordinary but the atmosphere quite pleasant AND it was air conditioned. It was still pouring as we left to catch a cab back to the hotel .. quite exhausted after such a packed, hot day.