Did I ever mention I went to the circus?

Because I did, a few weeks ago. Not the expensive, pretentious Cirque De Soleil circus which is in town for a few weeks, but the slightly cheaper, pretentious “Era- An Intersection Of Time”.

Magnificently, the subway station you take to get to this place is called “Shanghai Circus World” (formerly “The Democratic Clown Republic Of Pratfallia”), so I was pretty much expecting that when the doors of the train opened, there would be an Elephant balancing on a ball would be tottering up the stairs, followed by a line of Seals with their noses aloft.
Unfortunately it was a pretty normal looking station, with no more bearded ladies than usual.

Era- a Circus

Since my tickets were in the VIP section- what can I say? That’s just how I roll- we were sat front and centre, and also had access to the super-secret-room at the interval for free Sprite and biscuits. The show was a cross between incomprehensible (20 different bikes riding around in a circle for 10 minutes) to absolutely mint (some crazy acrobat guys somersaulting through hoops like human Thundercats, a SIX MOTORCYCLE BALL OF DEATH, and some fella who could flip pots up from his feet to his head).

If you ever happen to find yourself strolling around the Shanghai Circus World district- perhaps on a shopping trip for a new top hat, or a leopardskin strongman costume- I would certainly recommend it (but don’t bother with the VIP section, the biscuits are crap).