sjrozan

May 8

Got up today to go out and explore Shanghai on foot with my buddies Anne-Marie and Andy, who are spending the year here and had saved the best of their walking tour book for me. Looked out Nancy's windows to the river and discovered it was pouring. I mean, POURING. Monsoon, typhoon, cats and dogs. It was actually beautiful, 30+ stories above the river, drinking tea and watching the ships -- mostly barges and cargo ships, some ferries -- chug by through the rain. Could hardly see the opposite shore. But being intrepid, Anne-Marie, Andy and I set out anyway. And had a wonderful time. We did one of the old neighborhoods, and in truth, once you're soaked, you can't get any wetter, right? We saw a number of landmarks of old Shanghai, including what was for me the highlight, the building that had been Great World Entertainment in the 20's and 30's. Great World had been the Shanghai Chinese answer to the European theaters and nightclubs where Chinese weren't allowed. It was wilder and more glittering, four floors of clubs, sing-song houses, gambling dens, and whorehouses, where it was reputed that the slits in the girls' cheongsams -- that tight, high-collared dress -- got higher and the shows more risque as you went up from floor to floor. It was at the heart of Shanghai's pre-war wild west reputation, and of course all the Europeans wanted to go there, so the Chinese let them in and took all their money.

After we squished our way throught the morning, I left Anne-Marie and Andy temporarily and went back to Nancy's, where 12 ex-pat writers were waiting for me to give them a talk. Nancy's a writer and these were her writers' group and some assorted others. We had a fabulous lunch, prepared by Nancy's ayi (housekeeper), a shy young woman who sure can cook. I talked to the group and then they talked to me while the rain fell in sheets beyond the windows. Then I had a much-needed nap, after which Anne-Marie and Andy came over for dinner as fabulous as the lunch and also produced by Nancy's ayi, who may, as Nancy claims, be one of the best cooks in Shanghai.

sjrozan I'm a writer, at work on my 11th book. This blog is a record of random and less-random thoughts. If you want to know more about me, check my website, linked here. I also had a blog going from spring through late fall 2004 about the publishing process for my 9th book, ABSENT FRIENDS. That blog's called "Progress" and you can find the link here. I won't make any more entries but I'm leaving it up in case anyone's interested; the process is more or less the same from book to book.
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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (1)		2008-05-15 8:57 PM Shanghai part 2 May 8 Got up today to go out and explore Shanghai on foot with my buddies Anne-Marie and Andy, who are spending the year here and had saved the best of their walking tour book for me. Looked out Nancy's windows to the river and discovered it was pouring. I mean, POURING. Monsoon, typhoon, cats and dogs. It was actually beautiful, 30+ stories above the river, drinking tea and watching the ships -- mostly barges and cargo ships, some ferries -- chug by through the rain. Could hardly see the opposite shore. But being intrepid, Anne-Marie, Andy and I set out anyway. And had a wonderful time. We did one of the old neighborhoods, and in truth, once you're soaked, you can't get any wetter, right? We saw a number of landmarks of old Shanghai, including what was for me the highlight, the building that had been Great World Entertainment in the 20's and 30's. Great World had been the Shanghai Chinese answer to the European theaters and nightclubs where Chinese weren't allowed. It was wilder and more glittering, four floors of clubs, sing-song houses, gambling dens, and whorehouses, where it was reputed that the slits in the girls' cheongsams -- that tight, high-collared dress -- got higher and the shows more risque as you went up from floor to floor. It was at the heart of Shanghai's pre-war wild west reputation, and of course all the Europeans wanted to go there, so the Chinese let them in and took all their money. After we squished our way throught the morning, I left Anne-Marie and Andy temporarily and went back to Nancy's, where 12 ex-pat writers were waiting for me to give them a talk. Nancy's a writer and these were her writers' group and some assorted others. We had a fabulous lunch, prepared by Nancy's ayi (housekeeper), a shy young woman who sure can cook. I talked to the group and then they talked to me while the rain fell in sheets beyond the windows. Then I had a much-needed nap, after which Anne-Marie and Andy came over for dinner as fabulous as the lunch and also produced by Nancy's ayi, who may, as Nancy claims, be one of the best cooks in Shanghai. Read/Post Comments (1) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top