Shanghai, day one
I made it to Shanghai in one piece and no worse for the wear. The flight was about 13 hours, plus another hour or two on the ground as we waited for the United maintenance crew to fix the plane. Upon arriving in Shanghai, we made it through customs with surprisingly little trouble. I had to promise that I wasn’t bringing more than 400 sticks of cigarettes or any material detrimental to the Peoples Republic of China, but the process was much more efficient and friendly than in the US.
We took a bus into the city and got a little flavor for Shanghai. There are large buildings everywhere, and you’re always in view of a construction site. The pollution makes everything look a little dingy from the outside, but at night the city sparkles. Our hotel is very nice and I’m sure to be comfortable living here for the next three weeks.
I went on my first small shopping adventure at the supermarket. In the store, I felt delightfully overwhelmed and out of place. I’m really not going to fool anybody into thinking I’m a local here. I purchased some bottled water for 1.3 RMB (about 17 cents) and successfully paid and thanked the cashier. (At the moment, my language skills begin and end with “thank you”).
Shanghai is great. I can now plainly see that China is the future. Check back here for more in the coming days!
Filed under Shanghai : Comments (0) : Aug 11th, 2007 by tadfad
