New Year's in Shanghai

What an incredible adventure we just had in Shanghai. We had a 4-day weekend for the Lunar New Year, so we decided to head out with a group of 7 other teachers to Shanghai. We heard mixed reviews about what the atmosphere would be like; some said dead because people are with family, some said crazy because Chinese people go wild during the holiday. Well, the only way to find out is to experience it ourselves!!

The trip began at 5am. We got up and grabbed our carry-on bags that we just purchased because the only luggage we possess are 4 large suitcases and 2 gym bags. I didn't want to look like a high maintenance wife that has to check a bag for a 4 day trip, so we bought a duffel and backpack at Adidas, which were on sale. I love sales, it's like saving money!!


We arrived at the Ritz Carlton at 5:50 for the comfy 1 hour bus ride to the airport. As we walked there we started feel the snow coming down. Apparently it was coming down even harder at the airport. Oh boy!! It turns out that our plane was ready to take off, but they needed to de-ice the plane. We had to stay aboard for another hour before the plane took off. Did I mention they tried to take my coffee away from me? Do you know what happens when someone tries to take my coffee from me? I mean, I can handle when Patrick eats the last fry or the last donut hole, but I have absolutely a zero tolerance policy when it comes to my black magic. So I did what any good girl would do, I pretended like I threw it away and then when they weren't looking I slid it under my coat. I'm so sly at 9 am....


Welcome to Shanghai!!! Arla and Zara are the two lovely ladies that accompanied me on the trip. They both have steady men in their lives. It's fun to have couple friends!! Zara and Tormid (from London) just happened to be on our flight and they needed some help with a hotel connection and it just worked out that they joined us for all the fun festivities. Like duck. That's right duck.


For our first meal in Shanghai, we decided to start of with a bang. We had been traveling for a few hours and had a light breakfast, so we needed something filling. We were walking around People's Square, when all of our eyes zoned in to this large red sign that read, "Beijing Duck". It was like straight out of the Hollywood films, we all looked at each other as if we have just solved world hunger. Our hunger that is. We ordered 2 ducks with a few side dishes and we were one satisfied group. Patrick laid out the manly, "can you eat this?" competition and was the first to eat from the duck head. Awww....that's my hubby.


We walked along the Bund the rest of the afternoon. Here is a shot of Shanghai. The tall pointy building is call the Pearl. It's like China's Space Needle. Later we took a small cat nap at the hotel and made our way to an all you can eat Japanese restaurant. Our philosophy is, "we are on vacay. Please eat all you can whenever you can." The rest laughed at me because I like to say vacay. People are just jealous of how naturally I can incorporate slang into my dialogue.


At the all you can eat - all you can drink - we had a blast!! This night we had sashimi, steak, stir fry, all sorts of meat dishes, fish, and about 10 other dishes. We were stuffed, when I realized that fried bananas were on the desert menu. I figured if I am going home with a tummy ache, this lactard is going for the gold and ordering fried bananas with ice cream!!! Needless to say, we ate like rockstars on our first night in China.


Yes of course we got food poisoning. What would a trip be like leaving China with a healthy stomach? Come on, one must step out of the box and live life!! Ok, so everyone got sick except for myself and Richard. Patrick puked on exactly the stroke of midnight, and from everyone else's account of their hurling episodes, most quickly followed. Patrick has always been a trend setter. However it wasn't the barbecue that did everyone in. It was the following dinner, New Year's Eve night. Rob thought he saw a great little place around the corner that look very authentic. Another theme for our trip was to be as authentic as possible.

That night we had bullfrog, fish, prawns, and a whole lot of unrecognizable food. Most of it tasted good. I bowed out before the third round. It might have saved my stomach because of that.

Besides the stomach episodes, we got to experience China's New Year's celebration. It's absolutely unreal. Patrick got a bit on video. This roaring sound was insane. You could hear this for a solid few hours. I thought WWIII broke out. Apparently the Chinese really know how to let loose. I guess back in the day, it was their way of scaring the ghosts or something like that.




I seriously can not place words that can even come close to this experience. Pure and utter chaos does not do this justice.


Here we are on the 65th floor at a bar waiting to ring in the New Year. Unfortunately we had to go home early, which I was ok with. Look at my eyes, don't I look like I need to go home?

After we all had a good night's sleep and some time to recoup from the nasty food episode, we were still able to make the most out of the next two days. We went the French Concession, saw where the fist communist gathering took place, checked out their history museum, saw old Shanghai, and topped it off with a little shopping at H&M. David we bought you a fun b-day present you are going to love!!

Here is old Shanghai. This might have been my most and least favorite place. Look at how cool the buildings are, but it was the wrong day to go. There were about 12 million Chinese people crammed in a small area.


Did you know little old ladies like to shove you with their shoulders? I guess it's an ancient technique that I have now adopted. It's incredibly effective.


Well, we made it home alive the night before heading back to work. Unfortunately I did get sick 3am on Wednesday morning. I was so bummed. I really thought I was in the clear. I got something completely different. I had a ginormous fever and major body pains. I am in the clear now but our buddy Jon went to the hospital and was just released today.

Lesson 1: China will find a way to kick your butt when you least expect it.
Lesson 2: Next time in China, eat at hotel restaurants and only places that are recommended by people you trust.