Wakeup Call [Shanghai]

One of the less popular features of this trip has been the morning wake-up call. Gloria announces the night before when or mandatory wakeup call will come. The latest — and this only happened once — has been 8:00.

I'm a morning person, so I'm usually up anyway, but arm-wrestling the guys out of bed has been entertaining. Aaron has a sticker on his door that says "I like to wake up at the crack of noon" — and last night he and Tom came in a bt after 3. And he's the easy one.

This morning, the wakeup call came at 5:00.

This close to the equinox, the sun's already up. So how do you tell it's 5 am in Shanghai?

No cars.

Neighbors [Shanghai]

We had a fabulous fourth of July celebration with our Lincoln Street neighbors, Bea and Dave, who are currently stationed in Shanghai and generously invited all 15 of us over for a picnic.

Complete with fireworks!

Mini Three Gorges

In Wushan, we got off the cruise liner to explore a Yangtze tributary, the Daning River, first by ferry,

and then by a convoy of sampans,

down an even smaller tributary.

We saw monkeys clambering around a cave,

gorgeous waterfalls,

goats,

several hanging coffin caves (one occupied), and locals serenading the tourists.

Lois reports that this river was only a few meters wide and the entire thing had to be traversed by sampan when they were here 7 years ago. I wonder where the monkeys moved?

The Peace Hotel [Shanghai]

Here's the hotel where Tom & Aaron did not hear jazz last night

— it's under renovation as part of the general overhaul for Shanghai's 2010 World Expo. The blue mascot is everywhere,

and all road roads are torn up because they're putting in an underground transportation system;

not sure which is more annoying.

The Peace Hotel is on the Bund, the old International Quarter & financial district from colonial days.

Because of the construction, we were only able to see it from the bus. Unfortunately, we spent too much time in post-lunch silk shopping and so were unable to see the Shanghai Art Museum except from the bus too.

Acrobats [Shanghai]

Every bit as extraordinary as advertised. Our guide said they start training at 3.

The Ballinest Hotel Yet [Pullman Shanghai Skyway]

I believe this to be some sort of encomium. Here’s the lobby

and the view from our 26th floor room

And here’s the bathroom, which kind of scares me — since this is the view from the room through the glass wall.

Like all the hotel rooms in China, this one includes for 50 RMB an “emergency kit.” This one’s especially deluxe, with two international standard condoms, something called “the passions lasting,” and two kinds of Yirenbao special bath gel, one for men and one for women.

Edward Makes Friends Everywhere [Wushan]