4 2 SHANGHAI SECOND DAY

Today there was no rain.  It has been cool both days, which is wonderful.  We went from 95 degrees at Hong Kong, to 60 degrees in Shanghai.  We prefer the 60 degree weather.
We walked down the Bund today.  The Bund is a walkway along the Wangpo River that runs through the city.  It has been totally redone for the 2010 World Expo that starts here on May 1.  We made it all the way to the end.
We had to backtrack some to get down to the street level, but we found our way to Old Town.  It was our plan to visit the Yu Yuan Gardens.  Duane had visited them previously, but he had gotten heat stroke during his visit, so we thought we would see it together.  Like yesterday, what we end up doing and what we thought we were going to do, turn out to be different things.
While Arleen was shopping in 2 Yuan stores, like out $1 store but only 30 cents, Duane met David.  David is a local who is a retired PE teacher.  He speaks OK English and showed us around the old town including explaining everything about the Taoist Temple.  He told us that 20 years ago the huge tall buildings that we saw in the distance from the old town, did not exist and there was only farmlands.  Arleen said “That unbelievable.”  A normal expression for us.  David asked why she didn’t believe him.  She explained.
David took us to restaurant.  We would call what they served dim sum.  The interesting part was how everything worked.  Yes, the dim sum was delicious.  You went into the restaurant and stood next to a table full of people eating.  One of your group would go to the counter, tell them what you wanted, and receive slips of paper for each item.  Then you wait until the people finish eating.  Then you sit and wait until the food comes.  You order by the flat…..16 pieces of dim sum and a bowl of soup.  We ended up eating with 2 ladies from Korea, who spoke English, and 2 Chinese ladies, who did not.
David tried to help us find what we wanted to buy while helping his former students make money.  Sometimes we actually bought something.
We then had to get back to the ship.  Arleen thought we had until 5:30 to return and Duane thought 4:30.  To be safe we hurried back by taxi.  The taxi driver couldn’t understand where we want to go, so he drove to a hotel and asked the bellhop where we needed to go.  Luckily he received the info he needed and off we went.  He asked through sign language if it was OK to go through the tunnel rather that on the surface roads, which we bumper to bumper.  We said “go for it”.  It turns out that Shanghai has a system of underground roads.  These tunnels not only go under the rivers, of which there are at least 2, but also under the roadways.  We made turns in these tunnels.  We had never before been in a tunnel that had branches.  That was worth the taxi fare.  And we got to the ship while the gangplank was still down, but 2 minutes after the all aboard.