au revoir!

final brunch of xlb and sjb and we're off!

i hope we can do many more such trips, HOM says. yes, i agree. but lovely too to have had this one. we are thankful.

if we are ever in shanghai around, say, our anniversary date, and resources permit, i tell HOM, i want to stay at 和平饭店. HOM says ok.

last dinner

our final nite before we decamp. we choose laozhengxing, our old favorite on fuzhou road, all quiet with wide apart tables for gentle conversation and the familiar great cooking. 

it's been an altogether lovely interlude before re-entering the old grind and facing HOM's upcoming re-scope.

so call me shallow, but i'll take shanghai any day over urumqi.

lady of the moon

super long lines on nanjing road today on account of the festival tomorrow. unlike back home the mooncakes here come out warm from the oven. in any case, glad we are not in those snaking waits.

attending

we leave the pub. room elevators this way, the fellow at the door says.

we exit the elevator. breakfast to your right, murmurs the guy at the lobby.

i balance my bowl and my plate. let me help you with the bowl, ma'am, the waiter says, and suits his action to his words.

where's the trash bin? i ask the concierge. let me take it for you, he replies, and my trash disappears.

there is being courteous and helpful, and there is quietly and smoothly anticipating my needs which is a whole different level of hospitality. 和平饭店 gets the gold amidst a host of great service contenders this trip.

ye olde jazz band

a misnomer if there was one. they play 70s oldies shanghai classics hokkien songs and when the saints come marching in. just not jazz. but i have a roaring good time nevertheless.

we should do this more often, i tell HOM. live music has a specialness that youtube doesn't.

yummo

special lunch treat in that elevated restaurant* with friends celebrating their wedding anniversary so we get the love treatment and rose petals. the food is gorgeously umami and (plebe that i am) i enjoy it tremendously and forget to enjoy the view.

*at the top of the shanghai tower

duoyun

like a magical enclave in the sky. the book culture looks alive and well and it almost feels like a travesty to look at the non-book distractants. dad would have loved a visit here. i buy my first paper book in years, partly because it calls out to me (shanghai! women!) and partly because dad would have bought a book or two as well.

thoughts on travel-mates

very tiring types:

• the one who must cover every possible location and tick it off his list
• the one who must take twenty photos in various poses at every possible spot

my kinda folks:

• the one who needs the loo at every stop and in between too (me)
• the organized punctual ones with no actual agenda of their own (people i like)
• the optimizer who gets the best deals and gives the best suggestions (that's HOM)

the soul-suckers:

• the one who gripes at everything and trusts no one in a foreign land
• the sucker who buys every tale and the produce attached as well
• the one who talks non-stop (arghhhhh)
• the one who listens and hears nothing and then asks what? when? what?

as you can see, i am indulging in a bit of therapeutic ventilation.

fairmont peace hotel

there was the e&o, and there is the 和平饭店.

same modernized vintage esthetic superbly delivered. a tad less real estate than the e&o, possibly due to more exorbitant prices. but on the bund! at the cusp of walking street! with his-and-hers sinks! separate closet space! multiple charging points!

it wasn't on the bucket list before but it's there now.

full disclosure: there's no laundry room but there's a gym.

qipao tailor (again)

my dream is to have a qipao made in shanghai, my friend says. let me bring you to my tailor then, i tell her. always glad to have an excuse to visit!

give me a couple more years, i tell the tailor. i will be getting another one tailored. the maroon silk, i think. with three quarter sleeves. although to be honest there is one tonight in flowery cotton that whispers my name.

goin' places

huangshan north to shanghai hongqiao, business class.

there are many worse ways to travel. whoo hoo!

huangshan, done!

not being the sporty adventurer type, this counts as a major achievement. although one confesses that part of that is due to being hauled up many of the steps under duress the enticement of a hot shower and the promise of ice cream.

for the record there is no good ice cream up there.

the perfect hotel room

must-haves for this middle-aged traveler:

• firm mattress soft pillows
• bedside charging potential for every occupant
• powerful hot water in the shower
• and hair conditioner, not just shampoo
• a table to sit at
• space to stretch into, and
• a minimalist decorating philosophy

also, the ideal hotel (not the room) needs self-service detergent-ready washer and separate dryer. and a gym. 

table for two

simple food. good company. with promise of a nap later.

beihai hotel

much of the magic of yupinglou including modern minimalist chinoiserie and a bathroom with every convenience. 

PLUS (most appreciated, this) a laundry room with (mark you this) two shoe drying cabinets.

yessss.

huangshan foosh

owing to pitch nite darkness and a treacherously unexpected step i take a flying leap onto all fours.

the good news is, despite an OSTA in extreme negative territory, there is no fragility fracture.

the other good news is that my trusty phone escapes unscathed. 

yupinglou hotel

great location a short climb from the cable car station magnificent view with promise of sunset instant hot water on tap and all the mod cons in the room including a nice tête-à-tête set-up. so call me shallow but this takes its place amongst my all-time most impressive hotels.

anhui!

material change from XJ! we see green vegetables in abundance there is easy access to the loos and they actually enforce no smoking indoors. plus TP is provided! the times they are a'gettin' better.

hungree

  dinner and dessert. delivered to your room. 

nearly orgasmic.

chain hotel big city

back in possibly my favorite city in the east. in a nice holiday inn express. 

where the girl at the hotel reception is confidently reassuring and delightfully helpful. and no smoking means just that. and the washer comes pre-loaded with detergent. and the dryer lint catcher is lint-less. and the meituan options are (possibly) legion.

oh shanghai, how i have missed you!