As soon as I appeared at the arrival hall, the driver waved at me. He has picked me there several times in the last weeks. It was hot and humid. We walked to the carpark and started our drive from Pudong to the city. The strong air conditioning was relaxing and refreshing.
I was staying at the JW Marriott. I arrived in my room and laid down on my bed for a while. I was tired, the flights, the heat, the jet lag, meetings during the day, e-mail and teleconferences in the evening.
I took a shower. Most of the rooms at JW are fantastic. The hotel is pricey (about $400 a night), but it is worth the while. My shower was directly onto the window panel. If you dim the lights, you can see the Pudong skyline while you shower. The steam gave the city a mysterious look. I felt much better.
I put on my jeans and a T-shirt. I looked down from the 47th floor and I saw the contrast of this city of 16 million souls. Ultramodern high rise buildings in the middle of old and run down housing complexes. Many of them will not be there anymore when I come back next time. I saw several white, red and blue spinning signs in one of those complexes. I needed a hair cut and a
head massage (gen xi tou).In a few minutes I was in one of those little shops. It was midnight. The hairdresser, a young guy, looked tired. I explained to him what I wanted. He washed my hair, gave me a head massage and cut my hair. He did a great job. He looked so tired. Maybe he had been working since 9 in the morning. It was past midnight now.
I asked him how much I owed him. He told me RMB 10 (US$ 1.25). I never give tips, because I do not like to alter the market price. This time I broke my rule (I would do that later again) and I gave him RMB 20.
I felt I still needed a body massage. I wandered around. It was a bit risky, because I did not know the area well. I saw another shop with the spinning sign.. In the outside there was a sign with the price list. A one hour massage for RMB 30 (less than US$ 4). I ventured in. It was almost 1am.
4 comments:
Wow! I didn't know the prices in Shangai were so low!
By the way, the customer in that photo isn't you, right?
I found out your web and I liked it. It's nice to read what Catalans abroad are doing and what they think about the politics in here!
Salut!
Aljube,
You are right, the customer is not me. It's a photo I borrowed from someone else.
The place I went to, was less sophisticated.
WOW $4 bucks!!!!! thats really expensive compared with the hair cut! hmm, someone like you must have been there the day before and MESSED UP the market price!!!!
When I went to Poland (the first time, the second we had a car), we were taking taxis all around. The faces of the taxi drivers were so funny: we were giving them mostly the same amount in tip. Coming from London, where an easy run can cost you £15, the same run for about 10Zł (which are like £3+), it is easy to give some extra cash.
Post a Comment