Ni Hao!
As I write this, I am on a bus heading from Shanghai to Nanjing. The trip will take us 4 hours, so I figured I’d be productive by getting some writing in. So let me fill you in on the trip so far.
*dreamy flashback sequence*
It all began dark and early Monday morning when Kalli and Mrs. Hulse took me to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. I entered terminal 2 at about 4:45 am with a few mini-bagels in my pocket and two stuffed bags ready to embark. After checking in, I headed to the gate, where I began to meet my fellow travelers. A couple of us played cards and I thought about how crazy it was that I was going to China! By 6 am, we boarded our flight to Chicago, and we were off. I was out like a light.
In Chicago, we had an awesome 3 hour layover (sarcasm intended). We sat around over breakfast and talked about assorted stuff. More cards. More anticipation. Finally, at 11:30 central time, we took off from Chicago on a Boeing 747-400. The pilot announced that we would be taking a polar route- 300 miles from the North Pole, down through Russia and Mongolia, then finally through China to Shanghai. Unfortunately, our group was scattered around the plane, so I did not really talk to anyone the entire trip. Instead, I took a Tylenol pm and was out for the count. 6 hours later, I finally came around, but we were only half way there! 13 hours and a half was a REALLY long time to be on the plane, but frequent snoozing helped pass the time.
So finally (after another couple hours of napping), we landed at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport! Even though the sun had never set, the local time was 1:30 pm Tuesday. Pulling into the gate, the pilot announced that quarantine officials had to take care of some business before we could disembark. Soon, men in Tyvek suits, goggles, and facemasks boarded the plane with their handheld laser thermal imaging units. They approached every person, pointed the handheld at their forehead, and took a reading. Thankfully everyone in our group passed the thermal reading even though one person was held because he checked “cough” on a swine flu symptoms form… he was soon released.
After clearing customs, we met our tour guide, loaded onto a bus, and headed into the city. The weather was in the low 60s, and even with the heavy smog, it was still cloudy and threatening rain. We went to dinner in an ornately decorated boat on the Huangpu River.
I suppose I will interrupt my story here to talk about food. Our four major meals in Shanghai were all really similar. We would arrive and sit down at two family style tables. In the center of each table was a large, circular, glass turntable. From out of nowhere, waiters and waitresses would bring all manner of plates and dishes of a wide variety of food. Vegetables, fish, chicken, bean curd (tofu), soup… and mystery substances. I suppose about one-third of the food I have consumed I haven’t been able to identify conclusively. Most of the food has tasted good, but there have definitely been dishes difficult to stomach too. Thankfully, since each meal has been family-style (lots of dishes spread around), I have probably already consumed over 50 different dishes. A lot of it has been fried, a few things served with head attached (fish, chicken), and there has been plenty of rice, eggs, and dumplings as well. So, because there has been sooo much food already, it will be difficult for me to identify particular items. As the trip continues, however, I will “identify” and describe a few specific foods that I really appreciate… or not.
And now, we return to our intrepid traveler… After dinner, we headed to a river boat cruise. Shanghai- a gray and seemingly drab city – came to life at sunset. All the sky scrapers had elaborate neon lights and I felt that we were taking a cruise around Manhattan! It was really a spectacular 30 minute ride, except we were all extremely jet-lagged. Thankfully, my pictures have and will continue to remind me of our boat around Shanghai. Finally, we took the bus to the Shanghai Swan Hotel. It was 9 pm (9 am EDT), but it felt like 4 am. I was soon asleep.
Yesterday, my roommate Kevin and I found ourselves wide awake at 5 am, ready to start the day. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and meandered around until meeting the group at 8:30. To begin, we went to the Shanghai Museum. This museum featured paintings, calligraphy, jade sculptures, ceramics, and currency from the area’s history. I was particularly fond of the calligraphy, which was extremely artistic. Too bad I can’t read any of it!
After the museum, we visited Shanghai’s Pudong TV and Radio Tower. The tower resembles a spaceship with a tripod base and a pair of giant purple spheres. The tower is comparable to the CN tower in many ways: similar height, awesome glass floor, lots of tourists. It was awesome. I realized I’m doing pretty well on towers. I’ve been up the Seattle Space Needle, CN tower, Washington Monument, Eiffel Tower, and now the Pudong TV tower.
Following the tower, we grabbed lunch and went to some ancient gardens and a market. The gardens were peaceful, but we somewhat rushed through them. In the adjacent market, we quickly learned that Shanghai is known for peddlers selling fake Rolexes and other cheap goods. They were everywhere… and I guess we kind of stuck out in a crowd of Asians. I saw a couple things I really wanted, but since bartering was the name of the game and lunch was starting to hit me pretty hard, I passed up on shopping. I hope I didn’t miss my best shopping opportunity for the trip! *sigh*
From the market, we went to dinner, where I poked around at some food and wasn’t feeling too adventurous. Finally, we ended the day by going to see an acrobat show – Cirque du Soleil style. It was amazing! Nonetheless, I was exhausted so our return to the hotel brought some much-needed relaxation.
This morning, we checked out of the Swan Hotel and went for some shopping on Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road reminded me a lot of the shopping street in Vienna. There were many big fashion stores, surrounded by a variety of food places. It was amazing to see how open the economic situation is. Companies such as Lacoste, Wrangler, Nike, Apple, Rolex, Brooks Brothers, Starbucks, KFC, Hagen Dazs, Sony, McDonalds, and others were well represented there and around the city. In fact, I haven’t seen very much evidence at all of the communist government that supposedly limits political and social freedoms. It will be interesting to see how Nanjing compares to Shanghai in this regard.
After spending time on Nanjing Road, we visited Shanghai’s Jade Buddha Temple. The temple was remarkably peaceful and quiet, so I enjoyed having the opportunity to look around. That said, I felt strange looking around and taking pictures of the temple, especially because it was being used by worshippers. Just like the churches in Europe, I wish photography and visitations were limited or prohibited, because tourism just doesn’t belong in a place of worship. But that’s their choice.
*end dreamy flashback sequence* So after lunch, we boarded the bus and hit the road. By the look of things, this part of the country is an unending terrain of concrete houses and distant high rise buildings. It seems to be mostly flat, but mountains in the distance promise some interesting terrain.
Well, we just pulled off to a service area, so I’m going to go get some water and maybe a snack. Next time I write, I’ll be in Nanjing! Talk to you again soon!