A couple weeks ago, Hillary and I made our first trip to China for some sightseeing and visiting friends who are stationed there. The trip all came about when one of our friends in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia wanted to take advantage of the week long holiday at the end of Ramadhan by visiting the East.
We started our trip in Shanghai where our friend Justin is living. On our first full day there, we went to Shanghai's famous fabric market with stall after stall of fabrics and tailors. Hillary and I both had several dress shirts made for about $11 each (amazing price since these are now the nicest shirts I own). I also had a tux made since we're going to be going to the Marine's Birthday Ball soon and I figured paying $100 to have one made to my specifications was a better deal than renting one for the same price! I also had a suit made for about $70. Not to mention that they had all this ready for us two days later!
We did our fair share of sightseeing, but the trip was also great because we were able to hang out with our friends who we got to know well in DC. Our friend coming from Riyadh provided entertainment as he was trying to make up for lost time in the land of women in burkas, where they are completely covered except for their eyes.
I don't want the post to get too long, so I'll just say that Shanghai is an amazing city. It feels very European in that there are huge sidewalks and people walking everywhere; cafes and stores lining the streets. Very different from Jakarta. I'll also recommend that if you go, the fall is a great time to go. Our friends say that the pollution there is horrendous, but we only had one night in Beijing that was as bad as they say it is most of the year. More to come on the time in Beijing.
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