Odyssey: Day 1

Just awoke to the sound of traffic and the glare of sunshine. I looked to my right and peeked out the window to confirm: I really am in Shanghai.

After leaving LAX on Wednesday, a 14-hour plane trip to Hong Kong, 6-hour nap, then 23-hour train ride to Shanghai, I finally arrived yesterday (Saturday) at 2pm.

First thought upon stepping out to the main plaza in front of the train station: goddamn there are a lot of people here! Second thought, while crossing the street: I wonder if I’m going to die. I met Liana up at Mc Donalds and we took a cab to her apartment, where I was offered my own PHAT room overlooking the city and introduced to her warm and welcoming roommate, Jen. I took a much-needed shower, sifted through Liana’s clothes for suits and pants to have copied at a tailor, and headed downstairs with her to meander the streets of her neighborhood.

We first went to a touristy outdoor mall, and I was shocked at how much it resembled the malls at home, except this one looked brand-new, was impeccably designed, and if you looked up, you could see the ubiquitous looming skyscrapers and skeletons of skyscrapers-to-be.

I booked a free appointment at the Vidal Sassoon salon there, offering myself as a guinea pig for one of the salon students, so on Thursday I will have completely different hair. I will be sure to ask for as many colors of the rainbow as possible. Pictures will be forthcoming.

Then, we left to meander the narrow streets, dodging the occasional crazy taxi. Sucking down fried dumplings, we walked through the antique market, where I was sorely tempted to but a Mao lighter (must…hold…out…for...better…deals).

When we stepped into the open-air market I felt as if I had stepped back in time, or traversed from some ultra-modern world back to the China I remember visiting as a child. Street vendors laid out their food on blankets on the side of the road and yelled at us as we passed by. All sorts of goodies were for sale—delicious bright-red tomatoes, all manner of vegetable, chickens dead, alive and somewhere in between, but what amused me the most were the live sea snakes and eels. My dad will have a field day here when he arrives in 2 weeks.

We tried to follow the elusive scent of some stinky tofu, but alas were unable to find any that had not sold out. Stopped by the apartment to change and headed to Liana’s boss’s house to meet people before going out to dinner.

Liana has a dream-job: she does creative consulting for what must be one of the most alive, intellectual yet down-to-earth men I have met. In the next hour, I met the dinner guests: a painter from Paris here to visit after his exhibition in Hong Kong, an antiques collector, also from Paris, an ambassador to France, Sun Yet-Sen’s granddaughter, an architect, a fashion designer, the editor of Vogue magazine China…and the list goes on, each as interesting as the next. This being barely a week since leaving the confines of USD, I appropriately felt like I had stepped into some sort of dream. Even more so when we reached our destination for dinner—a complete replica of a Suzhou (spelling is wrong I know) water garden, in its center a restaurant that looked like a palace, floating like a jewel on the water. I was overwhelmed to say the least—I had never been privy to such high-brow company, and it surprise me how warm everybody was. Talking to them inspired me to pursue a path in life I enjoy, as these people all had one thing in common—they love what they do.

Then, off we went clubbing until around 3am, at which point I had to leave for utter exhaustion and oversaturation. I had a cigarette with Jen and JD (a new acquaintance) on a swing, staring up into the sky at the one visible star.

Happiness is: getting away.