Shanghai was also a side trip to revisit a city we had seen in 2000.  The Pudong area was just starting to be built up then, with the Oriental Pearl Tower still being constructed, and now it’s a mega-metropolis.  We wanted to see the changes.  So we opted for the Waldorf Astoria hotel on the Bund, with a river view right across to Pudong – a perfect setting.  Again, we ended up taking almost a whole day of travel.  Tom was most interested in the museums, so we started our first full day at the Shanghai Art Museum.  It has an entire floor dedicated to Tom’s loves – Chinese painting and calligraphy.  Unfortunately that floor was closed getting ready for a BIG exhibit that was opening on December 7.  So after the museum, we went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, which was an impressive as last time. The have a scale model of all present and planned buildings in Shanghai.

On the second day, we went to both Long Museums, and then to the Park Hyatt for tea and a view from the 87th floor of the Pudong area, looking back across the river to our hotel area.  The view was pretty amazing.

It was the trip of a lifetime for sure, but here are are a few humorous things we learned:

1. We might have been able to take 6-month or 3-month vacations when we were younger, but in our mid-70s, five weeks is too long for these older bodies.
2. Don’t leave your $1000 in cash on the kitchen counter like we did, because ATMs in places like Myanmar and China might not like your Debit cards.  On the last day of the trip, I sat in a museum lobby so Tom could see some paintings because we didn’t have enough cash for two tickets and they didn’t take credit cards. ;-p  We got to Atlanta with $1 in our pocket!
3. Don’t leave half your medical marijuana CBD drops at home because concierges in communist countries look at you very funny if you ask where you can buy it.  (Maybe you’re undercover?)
4. If you’re going to a place for the only/last time in your life, you’re sometimes going to miss out.  Here’s a few things we missed: we couldn’t see the glory of Yangon Shwedagon Temple because it was covered and under reconstruction, ditto for the reclining Buddha in Yangon; we missed some of the temples in Bagan because there was a late plane and office mixup on balloon vendors, and we missed the Chinese paintings in the Shanghai Museum because of timing.  Doubt that we’ll ever get back, but you never know. 😉
5. The stories from the guides and locals were informative but never quite the same.  We heard multiple stories about the birth of Buddha, about the Rohingya people (they’re called Bengalis by the government and the locals), the options of “The Lady” (Aung San Suu Kyi who is universally loved by all Burmese, but not so much by the military), about the validity of elections, about the fairness – or corruption – of communism, and so on. Our guide in Myanmar even used the term ‘fake news’ when asked about military aggression in the Rohingya region. Trump pollutes everything!
6. On a positive note, we upgraded our rooms throughout the trip to give us a little more room each night and thought it worth the cost.  When you’re tired from travelling, you like to feel spoiled.
7. Although we like the cost advantage of a group tour, we prefer the convenience of a private tour and are now planning a private Tanzania wildlife trip (only three weeks for mid-July) with the travel agent wife of our Bagan balloon pilot.

Here are a few of the things that made a lasting impression:

1. Glitter of the Grand Palace in Bangkok
2. Energy and size of Shanghai
3. Number of motor scooters in Vietnam and Cambodia
4. Effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam and the horror of the Killing Fields in Cambodia
5. Sheer number of pagodas in Myanmar
6. Pure fun of our first hot air balloon ride
7. Finally seeing Angkor Wat in person
8. How real Buddhists live their beliefs every day
9. How lucky we are to be able to afford healthcare
10. Peacefulness of floating along a river, be it the Mekong or Irrawaddy.

We are very lucky to have had the chance for this trip, and lucky to have friends like you to share it with! Thanks for reading!

Cheryl (and editor Tom)

 

Three views from our room over to Pudong…

The Shanghai Museum

This bowl is from about 3800 B.C.!

 

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

Christmas at the Waldorf

Long Museums

Night walk on the Bund