Afternoon Walk

Back from a very long afternoon walk. I started this adventure by taking two subways to get to a place recommended by the Grandfather. It's called Xintiandi and it's a new, western style outdoor shopping center. I guess he thought I would like that, but the truth is I want the old and gritty Shanghai, not the new and modern, with Austin Martin and Jaguar dealerships. There was one street near Xintiandi that was cool. They are building the new, glitzy shops on the bottom levels of the older, more rustic living spaces, with the ubiquitous air conditioner boxes still on the outside. I love this mix of old and new.

After a while I realized I had walked more than half way around the "U" shape that would take me close to the hotel, so I decided to keep going. It was a great part of Shanghai. The only thing I didn't enjoy was another modern shopping area near Shaanxi, where the number of people pushing watches where ridiculous. But along the way I walked through some old streets, one in particular named Donglu Lu, that is covered in trees and full of old shops and the delightful charm of Shanghai.

I started trying to take pictures of the thousands of alleyways in this city. They are all very unique and full of mystery. The only problem is that in every alley, there is at least one person standing there looking out. That makes it a little uncomfortable to stop and take a picture. Too bad, it would make a great coffee table book.