Lunch in Shanghai

I went downstairs to ask what time check out was.  The guy told me 12pm.  I asked if 1 was ok, and he said, sure, he'll tell his manager.  I got halfway out the door and came back to the front desk.  Where is there a Bank of China? 

There are three banks on every block Shanghai, but only one accepts my debit card, and that is Bank of China.  The receptionist was a little uncertain about how to tell me to get there, so she called over the bell hop.  The bell hop told me to turn left on Huai Hai Lou and then walk for 10 minutes until I see the Bank of China.  I asked him to write it for me.  So then it was off to Huai Hai Lou!

Last night, on the streets looking for dinner, I thought this was a sleepy little neighborhood. During the day it's so not sleepy.  Every door is a storefront with a sidewalk stand of all kinds of things.  I passed a bird and goldfish market, and several craft stands.  When I saw a woman on a corner standing at a buffet, I looked inside, there was a woman eating by herself. 

I like places where you can go and not feel conscious about eating by yourself. 

So she took out a tray, and I asked for sliced sausage with green peppers, diced tofu in that sauce, and cucumbers.  Hey is that scrambled egg with tomatoes?  Yes!  5 kuai.  Less than a dollar.  I went to go sit down, and the lady said, hey don't forget your rice!  The lady next to me put a large portion of rice that she had measured out in a Styrofoam to-go box. 

I asked a lady that was eating if I could sit at her table, she said, yes, and looked at me like I was weird for asking.  Later she got up and left, and two older ladies came up to the table, and wondered if my eating partner had gone for water or something.  No, she's not here, I said.  Please be seated.  They shared about 6 tall, pork filled pot-stickers, and later the lady brought them both bowls of soup with cubes of liver and clear broth. 

When I was done, I got up and left to find a bottle of water.  There are all kinds of places to get a bottle of water, but I I chose a kiosk on the street, and the lady sold me a big, cold bottle for 3 kuai.  As I walked away, I opened it, and it was delicious, but it wasn't water.  It was one of those fizzy lemon drinks that is also salty.  It was delicious, but I had to throw it out.  Diabetes!  I looked at the nutritional information, and it had zero protein, a bunch of sodium, and then a bunch of "energy."  I am guessing that "energy" is Chinese for "sugar." 

Finally, I found the Bank of China, and it was right next to my subway station, where I had been hailing a cab last night.  Had I known I was so close, I might not have taken the cab.  I can find my way around big cities on my own, but it's a lot harder when it's night, it's raining, and I'm dragging a small suitcase.  I won't be taking a cab again. 

Hangzhou is a different story; it's much more crowded, disorienting.  For some reason, Hangzhou seems more Chinese than Shanghai, which is ridiculous, because both are Chinese, it's just that Shanghai is Shanghai. 

I'm going to mellow out a bit and chill in my room until checkout an hour from now.