Walking Shanghai, dodging pretty women

Shanghai, China's bustling world center of finance, is an easy city for walking downtown, shopping and sightseeing and gazing at throngs of passersby.

Pay attention to the army of men in khaki uniforms, with hats that read in English: "Traffic Assistant" -- perhaps from a stash of baseball caps, made of course in China, that never found their way to heads in the United States.

The aforementioned traffic is on foot, and the stern hat wearers bark their instructions at intersections they guard with zeal, waiting for a change in traffic light so they can amplify such simple English words as "Walk" and "Don't Walk."

Based on their tone, I interpreted the Chinese orders from these hat men to mean: "GET BACK, YOU STUPID PEDESTRIAN."  

And: "DO NOT STEP ONTO THE STREET, YOU BRAZEN CRIMINAL."

These instructions, directed at anyone who moved even an inch or two from the curb, did not seem to rattle any of the Chinese pedestrians. 

Fending off inquisitive women

You'll have little difficulty finding English on street signs, in shops and restaurants on the main thoroughfares, which look like they were copied from high-rise, commercial streets in other parts of the world -- brightly lighted, with signs from upscale stores and familiar fast food joints.

The thriving walking street of Nanjing Donglu is packed with shoppers,  while fancy cars clog the roads near the riverside Bund, which is the city's commercial and hospitality center. Its park is an assembly place for locals to walk, fly kites and practice tai chi.        Right, playing in a park near the Old City Wall

As I was clearly a westerner and was walking alone, frequently I was stopped on Nanjing Donglu and near the Bund by young people, mostly women, who said they wanted to talk.

"We are practicing our English" was their opening remark. "Where from? Ohio? Very beautiful. You been to Los Angeles? Hawaii? Very beautiful." They would talk and ask questions until I moved on.  "Where you work? What you do? You in movies? Celebrity?"

Shanghai also has its pretty street women who are known to entice western men to join them for coffee.  Many an Internet blog warns unsuspecting men away from what could turn out to be something very expensive. Never in my life have I turned down so many pretty women in such a short time.

Rail tour on the cheap

Shanghai's Metro system is extensive and inexpensive. Stops and prices are written in English and Chinese. Most rides are less than a dollar. 

Two blocks from my hotel, the  Okura Garden (rates this spring started at less than $150 with breakfast), I picked out my destination on a touch screen, slipped some Yuan -- amounting to about 50 cents -- into the slot, and out came a ticket that I fed into a machine at the beginning and the end of the ride. 

Take care on the Metro's Line 4, though, which only moves in one direction, in a wide circle. When I entered the Metro station, I was three stops from my goal, but soon realized that I was traveling the opposite way. 

The good news was that my 20-stop tour of Shanghai, much of it above ground, cost less than 50 cents.  

Next: Exploring the Old Town and Searching for Dental Floss

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