Got off to an early enough start, bidding Fransis goodbye, as he headed to Wuhu or Huha or someting to that effect for a business trip. Christiaan was feeling better, so he caught the bus to school, and we had breakfast. When Jay got back from dropping off Fransis, we prepared to head out, but Christiaan’s school called to say he still wasn’t feeling well. Jay drove us to the school to pick him up, and we took him back to the house.
Stopped at the bank to get some money, then headed to the Pudong side of the river, or the Eastern Promenade. Nice views of the old Bund from our vantage point, and the river was quite busy with boats. Stopped at a small grocery store to get a variety of things Elizabeth needed. The store caters to expats, and had a lot of foreign brands.
Jay took us to Super Brand Mall after that, where we headed to the fifth floor to get some food. Today was a sight seeing day, so we were trying to avoid any shopping. I’m not sure going to a mall was the best strategy, but we didn’t do too bad. Started out in one restaurant, before determining (thanks to Jay, who had joined us for lunch) that all the meat dishes were really vegetarian dishes flavoured to taste like meat. We left before anyone had a chance to order, and headed to Thai Thai, which was a fast-food Thai restaurant of sorts. Quite odd to see people smoking in the restaurant. Had a nice variety of dishes there and, of course, we stopped in at a shop or two on our way back to the car.
The Shanghai Museum costs 20 RMB to enter, which is about $2.50 – a nice change from the 50 New Zealand dollars I paid to get into Te Puia in Rotorua. A nice, quiet museum, filled with calligraphy, ceramics, statues, costumes, and currency. A lot of the items were a little redundant, but they had some nice pieces. We had to visit the gift shop next, and they had some actual authentic pieces for sale. Prices were reasonable, as well.
Headed back home for a delightful Indonesian meal. I think the jet lag was playing a toll on us all – I came back upstairs at 7:45pm and everyone had gone to bed. I lasted a little longer myself, but in the end I drifted off too.
