Some Time to Kill

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With a few hours to kill before our first vendor picked us up in Shanghai, we hit the streets for some local flavor. I saw this chair and thought of my kids saying "knick-knack-seat-back." Notice the lock! This old boy must be serious about saving his seat and having this place to sit. There were a lot of things that caught my eye and that I wanted to capture, but I can't post them all here, so I'll just put a few of my favorites up.

My next (and probably favorite shot of the morning happened just a few steps later when I saw this guy dump a bag of garbage out on the steps in front of another hotel/restaurant. These three chefs surrounded him, one proud of the find he'd pulled from the garbage bin, holding it high for his co-workers to covet. Look at the shrimp on ice on the steps next to the garbage that was dumped. It was really fun to see this one develop, and all in just a few seconds. I grabbed the camera, framed and got this one shot off.

Of course, no pictures of street life in China would be complete without someone carting something unusual on his bicycle. I saw a guy pulling a king-sized mattress down the street from my hotel room window, but while on the street, this guy in his yellow raincoat, red basket and tree caught my eye.

We wandered over to a market place that was pretty crowded and noisy. I lost track of how many people approached us and asked if we wanted to buy a watch, Prada bag, or DVDs. They seemed to leave me alone after I told them "no thanks", but seemed to pester Mike a lot more than they did me. Either he looks like a bigger sucker, or he has that "I'm-shopping-for-knock-off-goods" air about him.

This second shot is just another indicative photo of what the streets are like here. I love the line of Chinese flags.

I wanted a picture that would represent how much I stick out over here (being over 6 feet tall), and Mike took several, one of which showed something I had never seen before. Where the heck did that bald spot come from?

We had some good laughs and a little fun. With Mike's missing luggage, we were on a mission to find deodorant and a few other things. It took us a long time, and a lot of shops before we found one that had some, but we were successful. So now, Mike doesn't stink anymore.

I missed getting a good shot of a true "experience." We decided to take one guy up on his offer to show us North Face jackets (Chelsey, you'd better appreciate what I did for you here). He told us to follow him and took us down this back alleyway. My first reaction was to run. It looked like some place where they would lead us and then beat the crap out of and rob us. Being the brave soul I am, I let Mike go first. I took a "hip shot", but should have waited until we turned the corner into the real "alley." It got much worse, and my senses were screaming "no!" Still, I found and bought a jacket (probably paid too much for it) and Chelsey better appreciate it.

Now, off to our first vendor.