My New Coat

Pix aren't compressed. Sorry if it took forever to download. Jim and I will get this figured out. The photos are from the Shanghai Museum, which is full of antiquities, and this being China, I mean antiquities. The sign isn't easily read, but it's an example of Chinglish. I'll be finding much more amusing examples.

You can see a little of the Shanghai skyline in the background. As big cities go, Shanghai is pretty interesting architecturally, not just a bunch of big boxy steel and glass buildings. There is a ton of new construction going on, in particular because the World Expo will be here in '10. A lot of the pollution isn't industrial, it's construction dust. Rubble from demolished buildings is everywhere. Not unusual to see men hacking away at it to recover whatever metal might be inside. And they earn $1-$2/day doing that.

For lunch today we had the best Thai I've ever had. Most memorable was the "Rice Crackers with Coconut Dip." `The rice crackers were about 1/4' thick made with whole cooked rice grains and really crunchy. They sort of resembled thin Rice Krispy Treats in appearance. The Coconut Dip was pureed coconut with red curry and lime leaves. Unbelievably delicious.

This morning we went to the huge fabric market, floor after floor of stalls of peddlars selling silk, silk, and more silk, suitings , shirtings and coat fabrics. Samples hang around the periphery and are on mannequins. Alot of samples are very pretty but don't look like they'd flatter me at all. But I fell in love with a dark gray cashmere coat. After my closer inspection a tailor was summoned and lickety split he appeared. He was very thorough with his tape measure. In a week's time I will get a custom made coat that fits beautifully. Jim has gotten very nice suits, shirts, and a leather jacket made at the market. My double cashmere coat will cost $95. (Not a typo.)