Shangahi Stopover...

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Okay just one more...
I arrived in Shanghai around 8pm Tuesday night and as I stepped off the plane I was greeted by a small asian man holding a sign with my name. He then lead me in the direction of customs where I managed to conquer all the long line-ups and headed for my baggage shortly after. It was after my baggage pick up that I was rushed out the doors of the airport and into a shuttle. I was the only person in it and no one spoke any english to me really, they just pointed at things so I wasn't entirely clear of what was happening. The man driving the shuttle crazily drove me to a hotel near the airport to stay the night until the next day when I could catch my connecting flight back to Vancouver. The hotel was called the East Land Luxury Hotel, a nice place but far from luxurious. I guess you can't really expect too much, after all the airline paid for it and I was in China. The first thing I did when I got up to my room was order room service. I had never done that in my life before, and for the dish that I had wanted it was only like $3.50 or $4.00 Canadian so I thought what the hell, holidays are the best time for going all out. I woke up excitedly around 6:30am to eat my free breakfast and go out exploring what I could see of the city in the time I had left. The breakfast wasn't that great. I had no idea what any of the dishes were and what kind of interesting array of meats they might contain. Being a vegetarian I stuck to a couple of slices of cucumber and tomatoes and had a sesame seed pastry.
The first thing I noticed when I went out into the streets was how much the city reminded me of Bangkok, but a lot more modernized. There were the same crowded sidewalks and streets where everyone was whizzing past me on anything from motorbikes, to trucks, to buses, to bicycles. And boy do they like honking too! Every second someone was honking at someone to get past in a hurry trying to make their way to wherever it was they were headed. There were also the same vendors walking the streets with their carts full of whatever it was they were off to make a living from. Most of them were selling things like fruit and vegetables and traditional chinese meals. My favorite are the ones full of fresh pineapples. For just a few cents you can buy a little baggie full of chopped up fruit on little sticks that makes for a wonderful snack. There were also the same style of markets throughout. The same household items, knockoff clothing and traditional foods everywhere. I don't know if I liked it there or not. It was so busy and there were so many people. As I walked through the area all of the little kids would stop to take a look at me and poke their mothers and fathers to take a look too. I did not see one other white girl wandering the area, so I guess that it is probably a rare occassion. It was really cold too. The wind was blowing quite hard and it was raining on and off. There were lots of things I wished I could have bought but every bank I went to would not exchange my aussie dollars. They wanted US. Of course I should have known. There were a few places I was directed to go to in search of an exchange, but I couldn't be bothered to take a taxi somewhere or bus or whatever just to get some yen for the few hours I had left. I got tired of roaming the streets and went back to the hotel. There was this garden right behind the hotel that was for guests to enjoy so I thought I would just take in the sights of that and relax for awhile. So I started walking through the garden, stopped to take a few photos and continued on my way around the bend. As soon as I turned the corner I felt uneasy as I spotted a huge german shepard who had also just spotted me. I quickly turned around and decided I had had enough of the garden. I just wanted to go back to my hotel room and was hoping that the dog would not want to join me. I made it out safely and decided I was done with exploring. I waited an hour or so back upstairs and then was sent in another shuttle back to the airport. There I waited to catch my flight onto Vancouver and shopped for souveniers. There at least I could use my visa so I didn't need their money afterall. Although I am sure I got totally ripped off on all of my purchases.
I took a few photos and thought you might like to see them...

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