China Chapter 6

It's about 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning in Shanghai. I am finally getting back on track as far as sleep is concerned.

Well, last night we probably had one of the best meals I think we've eaten since coming to China. It consisted of a corn-porridge soup (this was probably the worst of everything), a really spicy sweet chicken dish, sliced cold beef, shrimp with some snow peas, sauteed celery and pearl onions, deep fried beef, and red bean won tons. It all was delicious.

We then ventured off to the Shanghai Acrobats show at the Ritz Carlton. While we were going to the show, Mrs. Xu was describing what our day would be on Saturday (today), and how we were going to go about planning for the day. No sooner did she start talking, the Empress, yet again, interrupted the conversation and pulled out a list of about 6 things scratched out on a cocktail napkin (more about that in a second) that she wanted to make sure she saw while she was in Shanghai. She also started badmouthing Annie (again) about how Annie made the tour all about Annie.

I'm beginning to think our Empress is a royal pain in the ass.

Mrs. Xu, being experienced and deft, I think is getting a sense of what the Empress is like, and said, "well, I have many things on the list that I must show you as part of the tour, and if we have time later, we might be able to see some of those other things."

The Empress then shot back, "well, we will probably want to do our own thing in the afternoon." I'm hoping that Mr. Lee drops them off IN the Yellow Sea. My vote is to let them SWIM their way back.

To Wong Fu said that they had gotten into the vodka from the time that we were dropped off at the airport, and the time that we were on our way to lunch. The Empress was shit-faced. Yippee. At dinner, they were asking some very personal questions of mom and myself, and then they wanted to know what we were going to write as a comment card back to Pacific Delights Tours about our guide Annie in Beijing. I told them that we were planning to send comments back, and that there were several things that we wanted to mention (and in my mind I'm thinking "like them" for example). After about 5 minutes of trying to pry specifically what we were going to include, Tim/To Wong Foo said, "well, let's change the subject." I responded, "great idea."

Well, the acrobat show FAR exceeded anything that I have ever seen. I remember seeing the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe show on PBS when I was a kid, and remember all of the elements of Chinese Opera, the traditional clothing, the balancing and the tumbling, and the contortion. It was all there, only updated to more of a modern thing. It was spectacular! How they are able to do the things they do are amazing, and what energy they all possess. Mrs. Xu said that if you get tickets to see a show like this in Shanghai, at the Ritz, you are very, VERY lucky because it is a treat.

It certainly was.

Today we're off to do a lot of things, like the Shanghai Museum, the Children's Palace, the Bund, and some other things. Then tonight, Mrs. Xu recommended a dumpling restaurant to try for supper tonight. She says that it's great, and that it's where she always takes her family's out of town guests when they visit her. Should be exciting!