Advertisement
Pudong
Pearl TV Tower on the left.Rain rain go away, come back another day. Shanghai was remembered for the rain there, the only precipitation we have encountered since setting off 2 months ago (well, snow doesn't count!).
Got the Maglev train from the airport to the city centre. The Maglev is the worlds only light magnetic rail system, suspended above the track and propelled by the forces of magnetism, and can reach a top speed of 430km/hour. Of course, when we were there, it was taking it easy, and only hit 301km/hour...typical!
Wandered around the city, saw the Bund (old commercial area of the city where the European style architecture really stands out from the rest of the city) and the financial district of the Pudong, with the fancy buildings like the Pearl TV Tower (see the background behind Thomas in the picture). Probably the stand-out feature of Shanghai was the advertising of products on LCD flat screens on the street. Very "minority-report" feel to it!
Visited the Shanghai museum (which is enormous), the highlight of which was a complete outfit made of salmon "skin" which was worn by the Oroqen of Dongbei.
Ended up in a row in the middle of one
of the markets when one of the Chinese traders started to roar "SH!T" after me, when I walked away after not accepting his (ridiculously high) price. So of course I roared back at him, and eventually got what I wanted for one third the price at a stall not 5 yards away from him to sicken him even more! Making loads of friends here in China!
Went for a side trip (only 600km round trip!) to Nanjing, former capital of China, and scene of the massacre of 300,000 Chinese civilians at the hands of the invading Japanese army in 1937. Very sad memorial garden, with gruesome displays of excavated victims skeletons and skulls, and a museum full of gory photographs showing (in detail) the atrocities committed including a photographic sequence of a beheading by samurai sword.
Train to Nanjing was hilarious, with the train attendents doing a QVC-wannabe trial, trying to sell us all sorts of gadgets from gel insoles, to nylon socks that were impervious to thrashings by a wire brush, energetically performed by our salesman (because that's why one would consider buying those socks!).
We were even bigger stars in Nanjing (well my pale white
Maglev Speed
...taking it slow at 300.. skin seems to be a winner here, if not at home!). Managed to get on the radio station when we were stopped in the street by the local presenter (who asked us if we knew who he was....eh...no). I was then put on a mobile phone, on live radio with the roving reporter, asking me what I would do for my mother on Mothers Day (as it was in China that day). When I replied with a little Chinese, the poor man nearly fell over with excitement. Great fun.
Beginning to get cravings for food from home, and for me, I'd give up my left leg for some toasted doorstep- bread buttered with Kerrygold!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.042s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0217s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
