The Bund and Downtown Shanghai

I was not able to sleep. I kept freaking out, thinking that I could not do this. Was it impossible? No, but it was impossibly lonely. Even with Traci by my side I felt alone in this large country. I was just very overwhelmed. I woke up every two hours Thursday night. I ended up getting up around 4am because I could not take it anymore. I wasn't tired, so it wasn't a big deal. It may have been jet lag.

We planned on going into downtown Shanghai. After my quick (and sorta pointless) meeting with my boss, we took the metro with Amia to E. Nanjing Rd. We got off the subway, past some small knickknack stands on the sides of the path of the walkway, and onto a gorgeous pedestrian-only shopping street. We took a left, and walked past giant hotels and souvenir shops (stopping at one or two to see what they offered… we were tourists afterall) and continued down to the Bund.

Ok, I have to admit, I didn’t exactly know what the Bund was. If you hear of something called the Bund, what would you think? It was a huge tourist attraction with great views. Is it a bridge? A building? No, it’s a wall that spans a good portion of the Huangpu River. So after walking next to it for a little bit, we decided to grab some dumplings and look at the guidebook to find out. (PS. Good dumplings near the Bund. For those non-vegetarians, I would suggest the chasha bao or sweet & sour pork dumplings. I tried some of the dough with the sauce and it was amazing.)

So after our lunch, we ventured on top of the Bund. And boy were they right! We got a great view of the Shanghai financial district. We made it a mental note to come back at night to see it all up in lights. (haha, that story is to follow)

What a gorgeous city this city is. I have a good feeling that I’m really going to like it here... if only I could sleep.