SHANGHAI, CHINA

Well, I've made it to the mainland and the amazing city of Shanghai, which despite having a bit of history behind it is now most definitely the face of the "New China"--in other words, it's modern, it's clean, it's cosmopolitan, and it has the most futuristic sci-fi skyline I've seen outside of Disney's Tomorrowland.

I'm staying at a place called the Captain Hostel, a rather posh youth hostel with a nautical theme running throughout ("sailor bunks" and "cabins" instead of dorms and private rooms, for example). In fact, when I first stepped in the elevator I was accosted by a blonde woman in a full pirate costume who invited me to a "pirate party" at the upstairs bar--her bikini top was completely covered in gold doubloons. "It's my treasure chest," she giggled. Well, obviously.

Side note: Believe it or not, this is not the first youth hostel costume party I've encountered on this trip. What I'm wondering is, who the hell gets motivated to buy a pirate costume for a youth hostel theme night, anyway?! Where do you find one, anyway? And is it really worth taking time out of your vacation to scour the streets of Shanghai for a fake eyepatch? I don't get it.

Conveniently, my hostel is only a block away from The Bund, a classy section of impressive colonial and Art Deco buildings along the banks of the Huangpu River. It's an incredible area to walk around, especially at night, when the buildings of the Bund, as well as the modern skyscrapers of the Pudong New Area across the river, are illuminated. That's just what I did this evening. I also discovered that there's a nightly psychedelic light show here, just like in Hong Kong, where they light up the waterfront in a rainbow of neon patterns.

And for the first time since Australia, it's actually cool at night. Yes!