Last day to shop

This is my last night in Shanghai. It's been an amazing experience in China. Yesterday mom and I went to the Oriental Pearl site and looked at the night views. It was a very busy and glamorous area where even more tourists and stores gathered and collided. There were many restaurants and bars occupied the bay, and it was a challenge to find a way to get by them without paying. Fortunately we found a path onto the sidewalk through Fuga Bar, and we got to enjoy the views with many visiting families and couples. I had to admit, even though I enjoyed the scenery, it could get overwhelming. Perhaps I will only bring friends here next time I am in Shanghai.

Today's goal is simple: Finish up all the shopping. Mom and I went to Carrefour inside another shopping mall. This market's like the Wal-Mart of China, but originally it came from France. I think this was my favorite store in Shanghai by far. We didn't have to bargain and prices were usually cheap. I bought many things in the store and I knew I wasn't being ripped off. That felt quite good. There was another Shanghai store that had mostly fair prices and required no negotiation skills to shop... HOLA. It's like Bed Bath & Beyond in the US, but smaller and cuter. Sigh. I am now realizing my sweet vacation is coming to an end.

The shopping continued after lunch. We went to Cheng Huang Miao to browse and shop some more. This was another madhouse happening. So many shops and so many manic shoppers came together to do business. Fortunately we were in no rush and we actually found some decent deals. Yes mom had to bargain, but it wasn't as bad as our Gubei mall experience where everything there was marked up 4 - 5 times over. We walked out happily, that was until we saw the traffic and the people on the streets. It was crazy. Where did all these cars and people come from? We had to escape this area and walk about 15 minutes to get on the touring bus which would take us home.

By the way, I haven't mentioned that if you decided to visit China, remember to buy little packets of tissue papers so you'd have them with you at all times. Most public restrooms here were not equipped to have them or people just took them after they did their business, so it was to your benefit to keep some on you always. You never know when the nature will call.

Wow - Tomorrow I'm on another flight going back to the US. I don't know what to think.