Shanghai Days

Shanghai days were busy at first.
Echo and I took a very romantic vacation to Hangzhou. Marco Polo once said that it was the most beautiful city on earth. The fully intact old town brought us right back to the early years of Chinese civilization. We toured a pharmacy that had been open for hundreds of years. Inside fumes of ancient herbs mixed with old lady to create a somewhat perplexing odour. In the back we found a doctor with hair white as snow, smoking away and writing prescriptions - just like the good ole days!
We went for a romantic boat ride to an island with another lake inside. From there we could glimpse three pavilions that were put in the lake over 1000 years ago. It is said, with a somewhat strangely romantic tone, that the old emperors used to come here with their second nipples (mistresses) and get them pregnant.
How romantic
As Echo had to work I spent the rest of my days walking around Shanghai. The economic crisis seems not to have hit China. Its full on materialistic all the way. The expensive shops were bustling, the food courts were packed, and the streets were lined with red cows.
The cows in China are nothing like the ones in India; they dont move, they're red, and they're not permanent.
On January 25th they celebrate the New Year. This year, my year, is the year of the Ox.