SHANGHAI.

So we survived our first encounter with the Chinese train system! My last post mentioned we were going to take the overnight train from Beijing to Shanghai from Friday night to Saturday morning. So it is currently Sat morning after 9am here, but still Friday night back in the States. The kid next to me is watching the Red Sox vs. Tigers game online as we speak. Before we left Beijing yesterday, we had pretty much a whole day to kill. Mark and I ventured to the Temple of Heaven, a large park with beautiful temples that were used to praised god for a good harvest. When we went to buy our tickets at the gate, we ran into a nice young Chinese woman probably in her late 20s. She heard us speaking English and offered to help speak to the ticket taker. Since she was alone, she asked if she could tag along with us as we toured the park. We were pleased to have her join us and we began our walk. Her name was Joy and we learned that she was born in Taiwan, studied in New York City, works as a Marketing Director in Shanghai, and was just visiting Beijing. Her English was very good and her Chinese came in very handy. After seeing some sights in the park, we walked to the Peal Market to try and scorch some deals for knock-offs. This is where Joy's Chinese really really came in handy for us. I ended up getting a "Gucci" watch for less than $20 thanks to her. They originally wanted about $90. Score for Joey and Joy! Mark also got a good deal on an "Armani" watch, with no help from Joy. After we parted ways with Joy, we went to the restaurant right by our hostel and ordered a plate of sweet and sour pork, royal style chicken (spicy with peanuts and onions), rice, and 4 large beers. The bill was less than $4 per person and were stuffed! We then made our way to the train station amidts the chaos of fellow travelers. We had really no clue how it worked, but after Mark asked someone, we found out we were on the wrong floor. We headed downstairs to find that our luxury seats had their own special entrance to the platform. We rode in comfort overnight to Shanghai and have just now checked into our new hostel, which is brand new. We thought we were getting a smokin deal for only $1.07 a night, since that was the price when we booked online, but we have to settle for $8 a night. Free internet, clean bunks, A/C, free washing machine, and free breakfast make it tolerable though. I will update later.