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Published: June 25th 2008
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Getting the book thrown at them
A requirement for foreigners as a result of increased security for the Olympics, which necessitated a 2 hour grilling for Carly and Craig on their first day. Hey all,
Well, after a momentously quick decision to come to China for six weeks....and one very long flight...Carly and Craig arrived, and were immediately sucked into Shanghai¡'s orbit. Which on their particular arrival date was a coincidence of our first serious heat wave, accompanied by increased gasoline prices, which in turn resulted in people rushing to the pumps and horrendous traffic jams - even by Shanghai's standard! And so their adventure began...
On our part, after hearing the fantastic news that Carly and Craig were coming and would be staying in our apartment while we're gone - giving us 10 days together before we ourselves fly back for the summer -- we gave them instructions gleaned from first Chris, and then Carrie's visits: Upon landing at Pudong, come through the only arrival gate there is, turn right and, should we be late, wait for us at the one and only restaurant waiting there.
Meanwhile, on the drive to the airport, I was coping with my own heat wave dilemmas, and due to my excitement (and possibly heat stroke!?) in the taxi I realized that I'd lost my cell phone. This was coupled with the horrendous prospect of
Chilling after the grilling
Checking out bargains on Antique Street... the work required to replace a cell phone in Shanghai, so I ordered the taxi to turn back to the school, followed by the store where I'd had picked up a Singaporean Curry Kit for supper. Needless to say, the phone was nowhere to be seen, and as a result of the detour the taxi ended up caught in the traffic jams, and the driver's suspicious head jerks made us wonder if he had fallen victim of the Shanghai taxi driver's curse...namely falling asleep behind the wheel. But he managed to pick up Roel and get us to the airport safely, where his question of which terminal -- one or two -- had us wondering anew. Because lo' and behold, between now and Carrie's departure in March there's been an addition of an entirely brand new terminal to Shanghai's international airport, a little fact that we hadn't even been aware of. And this terminal turns out to have many gates and, apart from a lone Burger King at the far end of a mile long corridor, no 'restaurants' per se. However, Carly and Craig spotted US wandering around in a daze...and they were the ones just getting off a 14-hour
...nothing like freedom
Which Shanghai, ironically, offers plenty of...though fewer and fewer old streets to explore with it. non-stop. But they looked fantastic, and claimed that the flight was too, and helped along considerably with personal in-seat movie screens. Apparently, according to Craig, it only takes five movies to get you across the world! Happy to have them on our side, we grabbed them up and a mini-van back to our apartment. And this time, jerks and bumps notwithstanding through gridlock traffic, at least our driver was awake. And the two hour drive gave us time to make this mental note: before we leave next week on our own flight home, we'd better check which terminal we're flying out from: one, two...or could there possibly be a terminal three by then?
But that was then...since, we've managed to buy a new phone, get Carly and Craig settled in their new summer digs, squeeze in a few more pleasant Shanghai highlights...Antique Street, Art Street, Yu Yuan, Fenbang St., and of course, Xin Tian De and the Bund...and have them report that while recovering from jetlag, the sights, sounds and smells of the city are bringing back memories of their own three-year stay in Asia - with a Shanghai twist, which is that absolutely nothing here is easy...but then,
So many crickets...
Craig seems to be making his choice at the Plant & Insect market. maybe that's part of its charm. In any case, it's part of life in Shanghai...but Carly and Craig are up for the challenge! Old hands at Asia, and despite all they are soaking up all Shanghai has to offer...and that's a lot! With their usual buoyant enthusiasm they are already exploring both the old and new areas of the city, finding noodle and dumpling shops in the bargain, while Carly is adding words to her burgeoning Chinese vocabulary! And after our jaunts, chilling in the number of outdoor cafes Shanghai has to offer has been a delight. So little time, and so much to catch up on...but before we leave we'll impart them with the knowledge of all of our haunts and best bike routes, and we're sure they'll have some new ones for us to check out when we return in the fall.
And so guys, welcome to our world....we're so glad you could join us! We hope you enjoy it this summer as much as we have for the past 10 months.
And we hope to see one and all back home, soon!
Love,
Amy & Roel
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Carly
non-member comment
Slanderer!
Carly is too. Here she is enjoying a Shanghai delicacy, and availabe on the streets of our neighbourhood.'' I am not available on the streets Mom!