Shanghai Showdown

I can't quite believe this is my final night after nearly three months in China: tomorrow it's off to Bangkok to start a month's volunteer work on a turtle conservation project (I'm no stranger to charidee etc..)

I've now been in Shanghai for about a week-or-so. It feels strange being on the move and having my "freedom" again - I'd really got used to the routine at the academy: when you first arrive it's a shock and you consider how to quit and save face (conclusion: you can't...). I was really sad when the moment came to leave - as you can imagine you make great friends when you train together every day. And if any of you kung-fu meisters are reading this I hope you enjoy the photos of the steak and red wine - ha ha! (sorry)

Getting here was an experience in itself - two sleeper trains, the first to Beijing where I had a 13-hour wait for the next one. In the first I shared a cabin with three men who sounded like they needed sinus operations, even through my earplugs; in the next I was relieved to have only one companion. How splendid, I thought to myself the next morning, that after much hawking and snorting, he coughed a little bit of produce onto the carpet rather than on my bed...

The reason I came here in the first place was of course to rendez-vous with Claus who'd planned a business trip at the end of last year - he left on Tuesday morning as all objectives were achieved. We had great fun as you can imagine - firstly I accompanied him on a couple of meetings as well as a factory visit, using my classical training to pass myself off as a worldly yet strangely mute pharmaceutical-business-executive (!). Thankfully we didn't have any more nights eating out as I'd have undone a lot of training in another week...

I have to say Shanghai is a fantastic place, it has a completely different feel to Beijing, much more international. There is a real buzz in the air as business is booming, restaurants seem to be opening every night - even Eric Clapton played his first concert in China the other day. I'm very tempted to come back here to work for a few months when this travelling is over - which won't be long as my budget is looking more finite every day...

Well I better go, I have to eat something and then pack for tomorrow - hope you enjoy the photos in the meantime. I have no idea what to expect in Thailand but I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I do. Hope you're all well, take care and keep in touch

James

p.s. check out the comedy videos above - sorry you'll have to tilt your head as the person filming (who shall remain nameless) did it portrait style (if anyone has any tips on how to rotate a video file please let me know!)

---

Videos from "Shanghai Showdown":

---

---

---