DAY 89 - DAY 2 SHANGHAI, CHINA

Outstanding World Cruise Shoreside Event Last Evening In Shanghai  ✔  Enjoyed A Leisurely Day On The Ship ✔  

Shanghai is an amazing city in so many different ways including daytime and evening.  Before we visited this city for the first time on our tour yesterday people would tell us about how unreal the size and scope of this city is.  However, it was hard to comprehend this until we had the opportunity to see this city for ourselves.


In many ways, this is a very young city even though they talk about the old and the new as most of  the old is still relatively new in the scheme of things.   Many of the locals whom we met, took great pride in their description of this city.  They went out of their way to highlight and to take great pride in highlighting those areas that are considered to be number one in the world whether that is the height of selected buildings or having fastest high speed railway route.  

We just wanted to take a moment to highlight some of what we observed.


Size.  The size of this city is about five times the size of Los Angeles and on top of this its population is reported to be over 23 million people.


Look and Feel.  The Bund provides the ideal place to see both the old and the new of Shanghai.  On one side you see buildings with more of a European Architecture representing the old.  At the same time when you turn your head and look over to the modern side of the city you are struck by not only the height of the buildings but the individual shape of each building.  In many ways,  it doesn't just look modern like you may see in newly built cities such as Dubai  Rather, to us it has the look of a futuristic city on another planet and something you might see while watching a science fiction space movie.


At the same time as you travel around the city you will see medium to high rise apartment buildings that look to be in very poor shape where while at the same time you see similar size buildings that look beautiful that are homes to those who have become successful and are building personal wealth.


Day and Night.  The city takes on a different feel in the day and in the night.  While Hong Kong has that unique nighttime look with many building all lit up it looks pale in comparison to  Shanghai.


Capitalism.  There is no question that capitalism is flourishing in many parts of China and this city is an example of that.  We could not fathom the number of stores that we saw just in the area that we were in and there are many other shopping districts all throughout  the city.  On top of that there are many recently completed Hotels for those traveling on business and pleasure.  We were also amazed at the number of high end automobiles that we saw as we walked and drove around the city.  In short, Shanghai is known for international banking, commerce, and is both a business center and as a major international port.


We wanted to also take a moment to share a few additional comments that go beyond Shanghai that are based on what we have observed and also take into account what we have also learned over the past few years from several of the on board lecturers whose subject matter does include China.


China is very strategic in their thinking.  They see the world and their nation in a very long terms perspective rather than just focusing on the current world.  As such, they are making strategic decisions for the longer term looking out several centuries from today.  You see this in so many ways including the investments they are making in other countries around the world to obtain a wide range of natural resources that they will require to successfully flourish in the years, decades and centuries to come.


They appear to be leveraging globalization better than most other nations in the way they are competing around the world.  As one of the tour guides mentioned, they are good at copying best practices and that goes beyond just copying products.  At the same time, they seem to realize that in the future they also need to become innovators.


Challenges.  Clearly any country the size of China both in terms of shear physical size and with a population of approximately 1.2 billion people will undoubtedly face many challenges going forward.    One unknown is the changing political landscape and whether or not the practices of their government will need to continue to change in the future and whether or not their citizens will demand change.  


Another challenge just based on what we have seen and experienced is the pollution. No one we met in Hong Kong and the other two ports we have visited seems to acknowledge this issue and they seem to just say it is fog.  In our visits to Hong Kong over the last several years all we can say is that we see less and less sunshine and that was true since we left Hong Kong.  We can only share our own experiences.  When we were in Hong Kong the last time before this cruise we spent countless hours walking the city day and night.  Each night Keith would think that he was getting sick because his throat was sore but by morning he was better.  This went on each succeeding day.  Similarly, when Anne Marie took a rather long walk on the Promenade Deck on the afternoon we were in Xiamen, she became quite hoarse and felt wheezy and she needed to use the inhaler she fortunately brought with her.  One has to wonder what impact this pollution will have on those who live in China on a permanent basis.  Time will only tell.


We wanted to share some additional photos from yesterday's tour.


This was one of the markets we walked through.  It went on and on and on....Hopefully this will give you a sense to the high density of people.

These are some additional photos from Yu Yuan Gardens which as we mentioned we found to be extraordinary.

This is a photo of the interior of the restaurant where we had lunch.

We have never had hot tea in a glass. This was jasmine tea and you will see a before and after photo.  The first one is the after photo when the flower seemed to open up in front of us after a couple of minutes.

This photo is before the flower open up.

Many of the locals ate their lunch outside.

Some of the more traditional architecture that one can see from The Bund.

These photos show more of the current and futuristic architecture.

While we didn't eat in the Crystal Dining Room last evening due to the World Cruise Shoreside Event these are the dinner menus from last evening.

After returning back to the ship yesterday afternoon we freshened up so that we could get ready for the World Cruise Shoreside Event.  We met friends Bob and Glo at the Crystal Cove and then we walked off the ship together onto one of the buses that awaited to take us to the second and the final World Cruise Shoreside Events for the 2012 World Cruise.

There were many familiar faces on the bus.  The ride took only about forty minutes.  The tour guide covered a wealth of information.  Admittedly, about fifteen minutes into the drive we were ready to take a break from the tour guide as some of what she covered we had heard earlier in the day from our own tour guide.  However,  for those who didn't take an organized tour she did provide a wealth of information about the city.

When we crossed over the bridge that took us over to what is known as the Pudong area of Shanghai we were amazed at all that we saw.  We learned from our tour guide that it was not too long ago that this areas was open farmland and in a relatively short timeframe they created a beautiful areas with its splendidly looking buildings along with an assortment of beautiful displays and even greenery.

The theme of the event was "Shanghai Time Travel" and it was appropriately held at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.  As we pulled up to the Museum we were struck with the shear size of this building.  It was enormous.

Almost 3 millions people visit the museum each year and it is one of China's most visited modern museums.

This museum represents the new Shanghai and was selected by Crystal Cruises to provide a setting for the theme of the event which being time travel was to take us from the old to the new Shanghai.

We were the first bus to arrive to the venue and when we walked into the facility we were greeted by several members of the Crystal Cruises Ensemble of singers and dancers who wore traditional Chinese outfits.

Anne Marie with friends Bob and Glo posed with two locals

We were greeted by Crystal Cruises Vice President John Stoll whose responsibilities include all of the Crystal Cruises Shore Excursions and Land Programs, Port Operations, and also planning of the Shoreside Events.  The planning for each event starts almost 18 months in advance.

By the time we had entered the venue for the performance we were also greeted by Captain Glenn, Cruise Director Rick Spath, Hotel Director Josef and World Cruise Hostess Elise.

(Anne Marie with Vice President John Stoll)

This was one of two performers who played music for us when we first took our seats.

Anne Marie sat to the right of Glo and to the right of Anne Marie was Bob and Keith was to the right of Bob.

Cruise Director Rick Spath welcomed everyone to the event.

Rick also introduced Captain Glenn.  While Captain Glenn made is welcome remarks he did so with h a mixture of words that sounded both like a form of Chinese with a nice touch of Norwegian.

Next up, Beijing.

When we entered the venue we were amazed at the room set up.  It boasted a  beautiful ceiling, the tables all had white tablecloths along with centerpieces and the table was nicely set with place settings for each guest.

We sat with friends Bob and Glo as well as several other friends including Brian and his daughter Emma, Marvin, Sandy and Mike as well as Cruise Director Rick Spath who joined our table. Thanks to Marvin, we had a beautiful table location in front of the stage.

Once seated we were treated to an exception performance by local entertainers and to a wonderful array of cold and hot canapés and sweets that were served on a lazy susan. 

The cold canapés included:

Smoked Salmon Gravlax with Caviar and Cream, Fraiches on Rye Toast, Foie Gras Parfait with Blueberry on Bricohe (we passed on this one), Prawn Cocktail, Beef Carpaccio, and Tomato Bruschetta.

The hot canapés included:

Shanghai Famous Steamed Pork Dumpling, Steamed Sui Mai Dumpling, Mini Chicken Satay, Deep Fried Spring Roll, Crab Meat and Lemongrass Cake, Seafood Vol-au-vent, Curry Vegetarian Somoza, Beijing Roasted Duck and Sliced Roasted Duck.

The Sweets included:

Real Chocolate Brownie, Blueberry Cheese Mousse, Mini Cheese Cake and Fresh Fruit Platter.

Waiters came around to serve red and white wine both from California.  Water, Soft Drinks and Beer was also available.


Waiters also came around on several different occasions with different canapes and eventually the desserts.

The performances were very interesting and entertaining and represented both old and new. 

The opening dance was titled Dream Back to the Qing Dynasty.  There was a Chinese Acrobatics Performance that was truly amazing.  This was followed by Traditional Chinese Calligraphy Dance.  There was also Chinese Kungfu, Chinese Zither, A Lazer Show and a Final Dance.

Following the performance we returned to the ship on buses that awaited us.  When we arrived back to the ship we were greeted by Hotel Director Josef, and Cruise Director Rick Spath with a lavish buffet awaiting us.  We changed and the ladies went to the Crystal Cove where they sat with other friends and enjoyed some snacks from the buffet and some wine.  Keith and Bob enjoyed a great talk and eventually made it over to the Crystal Cove.  They didn’t get a chance to eat from the buffet but we all had some snacks such popcorn.

This was an absolutely fantastic evening  that we will remember for the rest of our lives  We greatly appreciated all of the time and effort that goes into the planning of such wonderful shore side events.

We didn’t  get to sleep until sometime after midnight and we didn’t set the alarm clock.  Keith’s internal alarm clock was evidently working.  While he didn’t get up at the time he normally does he was still up quite early and was back up at the Fitness Center.  Anne Marie didn’t workout before breakfast so we ended up having breakfast a little earlier than normal and then Anne Marie worked out afterwards.


We made the decision to stay on the ship rather than to go into Shanghai.  We were not alone.  It was quite chilly today with some showers in the forecast and we wanted to take advantage of the time to get organized for our upcoming two night three day stay in Beijing and to also take care of other items.    


On top of this we did did reading, writing, and laundry.

We met Cruise Director Rick Spath for lunch and we dined in the Crystal Dining Room.  After skipping a day of salad, we each enjoyed nice salad entrees for lunch.


In the afternoon, Anne Marie worked out in the Fitness Center and Keith got together with friend Bob.


This evening we will dine in the Crystal Dining Room.


The ship leaves at 8:00 PM this evening for our next port of call in China.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....


“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”  -Muhammad Ali


Keith and Anne Marie