shanghai. less than advertised. before visiting shanghai, i was filled with glorious images of an asian metropolis like no other. clean streets, beautiful buildings, people wearing tight designer clothing, no stink greeting you at every corner. i was wrong. shanghai turned out to be a lot like taipei. a little cleaner. but not as modern as i anticipated. there is maybe a three mile stretch of shanghai that is full of glorious skyscrapers and cool architecture. but for the most part, shanghai was like any other big asian city i've visited. famous cities are kind of disappointing. i think now i understand the disappointment when people come to visit LA. they expect to see beautiful people on beautiful beaches. visions of movie stars probably dance invitingly before their eyes. and then they come and see the traffic. and the smog. and the traffic. again. and then they return to their original point of departure. clutching postcards and undeveloped rolls of film. so they can show their friends what a great time they had.



i kind of detest taking pictures at famous places. or of famous places. i think that's the purpose of pictures half the time. to show the people back home that, "here! in the distant background! it's the big HOLLYWOOD sign! can't you see it?" and then everyone oohs and aahs because you've been there. and they never realize that the picture was taken with twenty bums lined up behind you, waiting for you to drop a couple of quarters. we didn't take a single picture in shanghai. i have no proof i was ever there. maybe i wasn't. who knows?



however. shanghai is probably a great city to live in. the food here is remarkably cheap (even by china standards). the standard of living is high, the salaries are high, and everything from houses to clothing is cheap. i've already gone over my booty previously. and since then, i've added a few items more. (did you know a five series beemer costs about a hundred grand here? damn.) after a couple of you guys get out here, we'll compare notes. i had a really good week because of mr hsiao and everyone else, but in general, the city was a little disappointing. or maybe i'm just jaded. take your pick.