Fabric Markets, Construction Magic, Cheap Massages, & More!!

We were pretty delinquent in writing a July update, so here’s the summary of the month. While there was a lot of travel, we did a good job of preserving our weekends for time together. It was wonderful. Some of the things we enjoyed:

Fabric Market - We discovered and liked it enough to make 3 stops in 2 weeks. There are about 300 stalls of which we tried ~10. Only 1 was below expectations. After a bit of trial and error, we figured out how it works. You take clothing or pictures you really like and want copied. You pick the store based on the fabric options, price you’re able to negotiate, and your guess of their quality. Lila had several blouses, a suit and a skirt made. Karl had some shirts, shorts, and linen pants made.
Approximate prices we paid at the market:
Men’s dress shirts = $11; men’s linen pants = $11; men’s shorts = $8.50
Women’s blouses = $14; woman’s wool suit (180 wool) = $45; woman’s silk blouse = $14
We had a blast and are excited to find this very inexpensive and funky method of shopping!

Flower Markets – Visited 2 different ones in the past few weeks. We bought some beautiful orchids, some outdoor plants for the balcony, and a few stalks of lotus that are taller than Lila. Great bargain, adds life and color to our apartment. We still can’t figure out why they dye roses weird colors (blue), then wrap the flower itself in netting and paper to do arrangements. Not so attractive.

Construction Magic – We were on the Pudong side of town on a clear day and got to see the tallest building in world (at least this month it is!). It’s beautiful! Also, we were surprised one morning to wake up and notice workers removing a tower from the building across street. Next thing we know, it was torn down. We’ve learned that buildings age in dog years here, and are quick to be torn down so something bigger and more stylish can be built.

Massages: Thank goodness they’re cheap. We now have a favorite new one (Sakura) – which is 3 minutes walk away. We average one massage per week over the past few weeks. The 2 hour traditional massage costs us about $25.

Restaurants: We found a few new places. Whisk is right around the corner, tucked behind a gate. Good food, reasonable, and easy. They also have awesome chocolate desserts! We visited the Bund brewery and enjoyed some real micro brew beer. Lila’s colleagues took us out to the famed Constellation bar, with its uber-precise traditional mixologist. We had so much fun we went back on our own – convenient 5minute walk. And Karl finally took Lila to Driver Peter’s favorite noodle bar where the man pulls and throws a bunch of dough then presto! Noodles. J

Waterfront: One Saturday, we found ourselves at this funky old mansion turned restaurant on the east side of the river. We were surprised that Shanghai really doesn’t look so big from the waterfront. Karl described it as "LA-like." We watched the busy river and barges going by. Some of the barges were carrying so many rocks they were half way submerged. Clearly the transportation laws are a bit different.

Office Stuff: In July, Lila had to deliver her first business update meeting, represent the entire organization in Family Day (which required her wearing a purple wig and hip hopping on stage). She took business trips up north to Shenyang & Beijing. Karl changed cubicles and hosted a US coworker. He’s been learning a lot about China from his team and is always full of fun facts.

Wandering: We also spent a lot of time wandering around on "many hour walks." We walked from our apartment to Jing An Temple. We did the Frommers walking tour of Old Town – which took us through a wet market, by the ancient city wall, and by a fight at a Taoist temple which brought 3 policemen! We did another walking tour of the Bund by the old 1930 European-style buildings. We met a college couple who were anxious to practice their English. We also had our first art appreciation class provided by a college art group (of course we were encouraged to purchase their student artwork afterwards).