Aphorisms of Tully Mars: Day 12 – In Search of Hooters and the Statue Molestation Incident

Day 12 – In Search of Hooters and the Statue Molestation Incident

10/20/2009 03:52:00 PM Tully Mars

The taxi drivers are really fun, if you are into the daring of putting your life in someone else’s hands while cutting thru the heaviest traffic we’ve ever experienced at break neck speeds! The taxi’s all have advertising on them and Sean and I immediately noticed the first day we arrived an advertisement for Hooters on one of the cabs. So we insisted on finding the Shanghai Hooters for our lunch stop of the day.

After PAYING to get on the internet, (the reason updates stopped when we got into Shanghai) we did a quick search for the Shanghai Hooters, found the address and had one of the hotel staff translate it into Mandarin so we could give it to the driver. A quick 20 minute ride and $3 later, we arrive at another shopping district with tall buildings and the Hooter’s sign is quickly seen. The food is just the same as it is in the states, except the Buffalo Shrimp are much bigger in Shanghai. We both got our requisite photos taken with the “Hooters Girls” and headed out for more milling around and shopping.

As we were taking in the sites, Sean and I noticed Tricia had fallen back a little. When we turned to see if she had ducked into another shop AGAIN, we were shocked to see a local statue had captured her and was in the process of molesting my wife! She was total surprised that this bronze statue had the mobility to jump right out in front of her to “make the grab”. There seemed to be statues at all of the shopping areas and this one was posed just right to make the photograph. I wonder how many similar photos have been taken from this very same spot. (Remember that in China it is socially unacceptable to PDA … public display of affection – Now you know how quickly we had to make this shot.)

After our lunch shopping we flagged another taxi and got dropped off at the other end of Nanjing Lu shopping road and walked the entire 7 kilometers back to the hotel. I cannot see any effects of a “bad economy” with the hoards of shoppers and tourists walking not only in the tourist areas, but in the local shopping spots. Some form of capitalism is flourishing in China today, but I am unsure what type system they are creating. The prices on goods in these “nicer” spots are only slightly lower than in the states, however if you are creative and diligent you can find deals.

For dinner Tricia and I ended up walking back over to Nanjing Lu (the big shopping street in Shanghai) and got to watch a sax player knock out a great tune; followed by a noodle dinner at Ajsiegn Ramen. We took Sean a “to go” box or bowl and he scarfed down the dinner when we got back. All in all a pretty easy day as compared to the ones prior.