Bikes, Cats and Scams

It's the first morning in Shanghai, I walk out the front door of my accommodation, and almost get run over by a scooter going the wrong way down the road.  Wait, that's not a road - that's the footpath.  I guess there is no wrong way down a footpath.
It's surprising, but it seems that almost all of the scooters and motorbikes in Shanghai are electric!  I applaud the noble attempt to reduce smog and pollution - but it sure makes you need to have your wits about you as you cross the road!

My personal photographer's last photo. RIP...

Exploring the city some more, I wander through the old French District, lined with beautiful trees, old colonial style buildings and bicycles.  It's a hot day and not too many people seem to be wandering around so I duck into a shopping mall to cool down.

Sorry about the boring photo

To my surprise I find that strangely the mall is devoid of customers!  No-one is in there shopping.  Does everybody have a job or something?  Where are the tourists?

I don't have a picture of an empty shopping mall.

Wandering further across the city, my GPS system built into my brain brings be to The Bund.

I should be a taxi driver

Now the Bund is a spectacular area - I just hate it that's all.  Jam packed with tourists of every flavor, including approximately 1.2 million Chinese tourists from out of town.  That on it's own is OK - on average Chinese people are pretty small and so don't take up much space - but what pissed me off was that I was approached ten times within one hour to go and have Chinese tea or coffee with a young female Chinese tourist.

Ten Times.

ProTip:  Don't do it.

Luckily I'd done my research before-hand and learned online that it's a common scam in the area - you get approached by a young "tourist" who wants you help them take a picture in front of something interesting - they continue to converse with you, and eventually pop the question to go and sample some Chinese tea.  You go and sample the average-at-best Chinese tea with them, only to find a bill for about $3000 at the end.  Say no, and they invite their gangster friends into the room with you until you pay.  It's sad but I actually met a German tourist later who had it happen to him.  When he didn't have much cash they made him use his credit card.

It's a shame really - because that behavior could easily give Shanghai a bad name.  The rest of Shanghai is not like that at all...
The fact that there seem to be so many of these people approaching me for it in the area - along with "Wanna buy a watch?", and "Want sexy massage?"  must mean somebody is turning a blind eye to it.  At the very least - it's made sure that I stay the hell away from The Bund.

More info can be found on the scam here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1792617