Hey, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all that!

Unfortunately Christmas is not really a thing in China, so there's not much of a difference between this week and any other week for me. Heck, I remember in suburban Hangzhou, ten years ago, people were about as familiar with it as westerners are with Chinese New Year - not very. They'd probably say, "There's some old guy in red, there's a tree, and people exchange gifts... I dunno?" Appropriately, that's about all you get in Shanghai. To SH's credit though, it's a much more international city, and there are quite a few decorations in areas that foreigners would frequent - downtown, malls, and the like. There's even a few Christmas markets around town, and we managed to go to two of them. Ya know... they're nice I guess. Got some glühwein, saw a tree. But this is definitely the exception more than the rule. I won't say no to a free day off from work though, which is more than I was expecting. The offer on the table was for a week off, but the rest of the staff voted against it, and opted instead for double pay. Which, I get, because it's not like we have family to visit here anyway. But I will always vote for time off over pay, because I guess that's the type of person I am.

But regardless of time off, we have gotten into a few things as of late. A few months ago, work had a staff welcome dinner at a fancy mall restaurant nearby. While I was incredibly, incredibly unimpressed with that dinner (seriously, one of the worst meals of my life, don't get me started), I did pass this place that was "Upside-down World" or something like that. I was so curious about it, I kept it in my mind, and now, one quiet weekend later, Ella and I went to check it out. It's basically an apartment where everything is bolted to the ceiling, and light fixtures to the ground. It is completely unnecessary, ridiculous, and only serves to take amusing photos. In short, I loved it, so here's a bunch of photos:

The last post or two I mentioned there are some day trips in Shanghai I've been wanting to try out, and we got a chance to do just that. We took the longest metro line far north to Jiading District, an unremarkable suburb that just happened to have two things I wanted to see. One was the village of Nanxiang, which claim to have invented xiaolongbao (Chinese soup dumplings). For some crazy reason, this is not the first time I have eaten the "original" xiaolongbao. But this one is on Wikipedia, so you know it's at least somewhat legit. I have to say, they were pretty good? But with only 3 or so ingredients, it's kind of hard to really stand out among the competitors. Still, it was a unique experience that was worth the trip, at least for me. While the restaurant there claims to be "the original", there is a competing claim from a restaurant that shut down recently, which is kind of a shame. It's kind of like "Original Rays" in NYC - there's a sort of well accepted answer as to what the "original" was, but either through greed, an absence of record keeping, or both, there are several claimants. Anyway, it's as close as you can get. Which, not going to lie, that's a big reason as to why I travel. So 50 years from now, at a dumpling shop in who knows where, I can stroke my beard and tell an unnecessarily long-winded story about how I took the metro, uphill, both ways, to eat "the original".

But also up in this part of town is a museum that I rarely see discussed, The Shanghai Automobile Museum. I guess because it is so far north of the city, it's not a place people make the time to go out to. And just like the Astronomy Museum from the last entry, it's a shame, because this place is something special. Now, let me preface by saying I am not a car guy - to me, cars are like power tools: they serve a purpose, I acknowledge how they can be cool, but I would prefer not to own them or have to own them. However, this museum was incredibly impressive even to me. It the first cars ever made up to today, and they are in absolutely amazing condition. I don't know if I've ever seen a Ford Model T before (maybe at the Smithsonian?), but this thing looked like it just rolled off the assembly line. Their collection is, IMO, the most impressive in the world. Maybe there is a better one somewhere in the US (honestly, there must be), but a place like this in suburban Shanghai is the absolute last place I would expect. There's a few hundred cars there, and all of them are in mint condition. For a car enthusiast, or even someone with a passing interest, I think this is a must see.

On Christmas Day itself, it was actually very cold for Shanghai - below freezing, in fact. We even got some flurries, so I guess it was a white Christmas? Ella and I decided that staying inside watching TV would be a bit depressing, so we decided to brave going out to do some stuff. The first stop was a noodle shop that has a Michelin Star, which I've been curious to try. We've tried another noodle shop with a Michelin Star before, and those are legit, some of the best noodles I've ever had. So I had high hopes for this one. But in the end I was pretty disappointed. They weren't bad by any means, but they were...fine? Good even. Still, I've had better noodles for far less. At $5 a bowl they didn't exactly break the bank, but I just expected better. And if you ask locals to direct you to better noodles in the $2-$3 range, what's the point? I have to think that the Michelin Star people just arrived in China the night before, woke up late, and went to the closest noodle shop to their hotel. In case anyone sees this in the future, you can skip 阿娘面馆 (Mother's Noodle Shop). Just down the road is the much better, cheaper, and equally acclaimed Michelin Starred spot, 味香斋 (which means... umm... Flavorful, Fragrant, and something? Anyway, it's "Weixiangzhai").

After a perfectly okay lunch, we headed across the river to the Pearl Tower. Despite being the most famous landmark of Shanghai, this is the first time I've ever been inside, although not to the top. Actually, I don't really get the appeal of going to the top. It's nowhere near the tallest building in Shanghai. Heck, regular apartment buildings are taller than it is. Yet it's 220 yuan (~$30) to go up. I should probably take a look online to see if there's anything interesting, because if so, they certainly don't advertise it. Also, if I want to go to an observation deck, I'd rather drop 180 yuan (~$25) to go up the Shanghai Tower, which has the highest observation deck in the world (the building is shorter than the Burj, but apparently the Burj's observation deck isn't at the top?). Anyway, one day I would like to do that, because you know, "Worlds Blankiest Blank". Today wasn't that day though, because we were going to the basement of the Pearl Tower. They have a Shanghai City History Museum tucked down there, which for 35 yuan (~$5 / one overpriced bowl of noodles) is much more palatable. It is a surprisingly good museum, with lots of dioramas and scenes from how Shanghai used to be from the turn of the century up to the 70s or so. I can't believe I've never heard of this place before - while it's not going to knock your socks off, it was a very nice experience and worth the money. So yeah, if you're in Pudong, check it out after you've snapped photos of all the buildings. After, we tried to see a mosque which apparently has a good night market, but it was closed. So, off to dinner at a local pub, which was pretty busy. We ran into a bunch of old friends, which made for a pretty nice Christmas evening, all things considered.

But I'll leave it here for now. Unfortunately, Ella was sick for New Years so we stayed in. I commented that I think this is the first time I've had a chill New Years, maybe ever. I remember when I was a kid up through High School I would always have New Years sleepovers, and then through my 20s there was always a bar or house party to go to. Maybe this is a sign of getting old, not staying out drinking until 1, 2 AM, and then figuring out some way to get home. Ella woke up, coincidentally, at 11:59. So we still got to ring in the new year together, which is really all I could ask for.

But if I could be greedy and ask for one more thing, it's that travel gets back to normal in 2022. I haven't been out of the country in two years, and that's too long. While there may be some domestic travel on the table for the winter holiday in a few weeks, it's just not the same. Happy New Year, everyone!