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Published: February 18th 2007
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Jord and I take a rest at the Starbucks located in the heart of the Forbidden city for a warm up with a little hot chocolate rrived in Shanghai a little tired after the long train ride from Guilin. After such a long train ride I was looking forward to getting a little more space once getting off. Boy was I wrong. In a city of over 20 000 000 people its hard to find any space at all. Our first tough experience was navigating the subway system, which is extremely intricate and of course all the stops sound the same. We managed to find our way to where our lonely planet said was a cheep hostel but I think it was a cruel joke because we arrived to a 5 star hotel with a luxurious lounge littered with busboys. After checking and finding out that the room rates were about 10 times as expensive as the book said we moved on and found a budget place down the street. It was in a good location near the Bull, the equivalent of the Vancouver Seawall, and walking distance to the subway and main shopping square.
The only thing in Shanghai that numbs the shook of its population density is the cities sky line. Across the river from where the band is and where we were staying
Just a little crowded
After emerging from the subway, I immediately found my self on the most crowded street I have ever been on. lies the most amazing line of sky scrapers I have ever seen. After walking the sea wall it was time to cross the river and check out some of the huge buildings on the other side. There are a few ways to cross the river and we decided on the tourist tunnel that is and underwater tunnel that spans the river. This was one of the weirdest and pointless modes of transportation I have ever seen or even herd about. In the tunnel, little pods with many windows run back and forth along tracks while neon, strobe and laser lights pummel the occupants. A one way trip lasts about 3 minutes and I dedicated an entire 256mb SD card to capture this strange event in movie form.
Once on the other side of the river we mad a b-line to the Jin Mao Tower, the 4th tallest building in the world, and bought a ticket up to the 88th floor. The view of the city was outstanding and I was amazed at just how high we were. What I found ironic was that just a block away was the soon to be 2nd tallest building which is currently under
The Shanghai skyline
Around the shore of Shanghai the sky is as crowded as the streets! construction. It was even close enough to see workers welding on the upper floors.
After spending a few days in Shanghai it was time to go north to the capital, Beijing. Jord and I boarded our Z-class train in the evening and were blown away. This was the most luxurious train I have ever seen. Besides the fact that the beds had silk sheets and down filled comforters, we had an entire “room” to ourselves. After spending a few hours in the bar car we retreated back to our room where we had a few Mario Kart races before crashing. It must have gotten fairly intense because our stewardess had to quiet us down a few times.
We arrived in Beijing in the morning and immediately found an International Youth Hostel right across the street from the train station. The basic rooms were perfect and the price was reasonable for China.
Beijing is one of the nicest cities I have seen yet and it’s a great place to walk around. No one hassles you on the street like in other Southeast Asian countries but unfortunately the whether is much colder.
Jord and I took a walk
Jin Mao Tower - 88 stories up
Everything seems insignificant from the 88th story of the 4th tallest building in the world from our hostel to Tiananmen Square, which lays at the front of the Forbidden City. The square was huge. While walking we saw a dude getting chased by some other guy in a suit. It was really random and when the chaser caught him, he dropped him with a punch to the neck. I’m not too sure why he was getting chased but he must have done something wrong.
After walking around the square we entered the Forbidden City where in the past, the emperor would live his entire life. Unfortunately a few of the buildings were under construction but those that weren’t were spectacular. After checking out the City we had a little hot chocolate at the local Starbucks. The store was actually deep in the heart of the city and shared a building with a souvenir store.
The next day I went on a solo trip to the Great Wall which blew me away. The scenery was beautiful with the sun shining and the air wasn’t too cold at all. The mini bus dropped us off in a valley where the wall stretched up either side of it. I climbed all the way to the highest
88 stories up #2
That is everything except the soon to be 2nd tallest building in the world. point of the wall where I ran into the nicest view of China I have seen. Huge rolling hills ran on in the distance as far as I could see and the Great Wall snaked between and up along them.
The most difficult process I have ever encountered on this trip happened in Beijing, trying to buy a train ticket. I needed to get back to Hanoi Vietnam to meet back up with the Lush’s and I had a little competition. At the time I wanted to head south, so did 400 000 Chinese post secondary students who just got out for holidays. The worst part of it all was they all had reserved tickets, a luxury I couldn’t afford.
There is a train that goes from Beijing all the way to Hanoi but when I enquired about it, there were no spots left. My next option was to get a train to the south of China and take a bus across the boarder. So I went to the ticket sales and asked about a ticket to Nanning, a city near the Vietnamese boarder. They had space but only in the isle. So I bought a standing ticket
Random!!!
We don't know why but just before descending back to ground level Jord and I received one complimentary Pearl each??? for a 24 hour train ride…… OUTCH!
So after saying buy to Jord until I see him back home, I went to the train station where the waiting room was packed with bodies. All the seats were taken and the entire floor was covered with people. I was shocked because I thought it would take a train a kilometer long to hold all these bodies… But I was wrong. When it was time to board we all filed out and each car was filled to the brim, seats and isles. Luckily, most students in China jump at any opportunity to practice English and a couple offered to share their seats with me. I accepted without hesitation. So anyway to make a long story short I spent the first 10 hours squished at the end of a bench seat trying to sleep. After that I ended up upgrading to a soft sleeper for the remainder of the trip.
After waking up from a great sleep and about 30 minuets before Reaching Nanning a bunch of Vietnamese guys boarded the train. They were going all the way to Hanoi on this same train. So I jumped out of bed and
Traveling in Luxury
We had this entire sleeper cabin to ourselves on this Z-class train from Shanghai to Beijing but time spent, when we weren't DSing or sleeping, was enjoyed in the bar car. talked to the conductor of our car and managed, with only minutes to spare, to upgrade my ticket to take me all the way over the boarder to Hanoi. So, what started as a 24 hour train ride with a standing ticket, turned into a 41 hour ride that took me all the way to Hanoi. It was the longest train ride I have ever taken and I hope it stays that way!
I had my actual 21st birthday in Beijing and it ended up being a great night. After an awesome dinner we had some drinks and ended up playing Texas Holdem with a couple Swedes, an Aussie, a guy from New Zealand, Jord, and I. I came third and played well but at the end I just didn’t have the cards and in the end Jord ended up taking it.
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Luxury
Who would have thought that after 4 months of travelling you would end up with silk sheets on your bed!!