After leaving the train I headed straight for the metro, once there I realised I did not know where to go because it was 6:30am and too early to go to the hostel. So I decided I would head to the Peoples Square and see what it looked like before too many people got up.
Coming back above ground I saw the Peoples Square and headed towards it but as I did a friendly traffic officer smiled and I asked him where The Bund was and he pointed me in the direction away from the park. I reasoned this would be the best place to explore this morning because it is the main place to visit in Shanghai. On the way, once again, I saw lots of the older generation practicing their tai chi and doing their exercises. I was really surprised to see a couple warming up (or down) either way they were really flexible, as you can see from a photo I took.
I really enjoyed my walk along this road and sometime in the week I will explore it further.
I needed the loo and when I found one it was a squatting one rather than a sitting one like we are use to in the west. I really needed to go but the toilet had no paper. I found a guy mopping the floor and I ask and very ungraciously demonstrated, in that wiping your bottom kind of way, that I needed toilet paper. He pointed to the vending machine and said 1 yuan. It only took coins! I had 1 a 1 Yuan note. This was getting desperate! I showed him the note and looked at him whilst demonstrating ‘swap’ the best I could. He got it and I had the toilet paper to go and use this type of toilet for the first time. It was an experience, one I am sure I will be doing again and again throughout my travels.
Along the Bund I saw a sign for the Fu Gardens but ended up in a little park. I looked around the park for a while before discovering some of the markets I had read about that have interesting nick-nacks and fakes of all-sorts. I really enjoyed meandering around all the stalls and as result never reach the Fu Gardens which I will see another day.
I then wandered back down The Bund towards the metro to find the hostel, which for the first time I found really quickly and got settled in ready for tomorrow and the induction at the Orphanage.
