List of Thoughts on First Visit to Shanghai in Over 20 Years
1. Wow it has changed a lot.
2. It is nice being able to speak Chinese around town and do things without having to go through the whole “Wow, you’re Chinese is really good, how long have you been in Taiwan?” ritual eight times a day.
3. The touts in the tourist areas are really annoying–near Bali levels.
4. I’ll probably get smacked for this, but the restaurants seem to have better food.
5. TV here is really boring–no wonder they pirate DVDs so much.
6. I don’t like ending up with counterfeit cash.
7. The pollution here makes Taipei looks like Switzerland (they really need to re-think how they measure progress here).
8. Nice cheap spas.
9. Why doesn’t Taipei have H&M?
10. They might not have freedom of the press or democracy, but hey–they can choose from 10 different types of toothpaste at the store!
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One of the amazing things about going back to Shanghai after a long absence is how colorful the city has become. It was a gray, dirty place on my first trip there — back in the days when apparently the PRC government was still trying to punish the place for all its unsavoury nicknames like “Whore of the Orient” and “Paris of the Orient” and suchlike.
You weren’t there for the hardware show, were you?
Oh, if I had a hammer….
LOL.. yeah, why doesn’t Taipei have an H and M? Or Zara