We're in China, Babe!

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For some time now Sharon and I would marvel to each other, perhaps the first thing in the morning, perhaps as we’re sitting down to eat dinner, or when another of the many items on or Checklist-for-China had been satisfied (e.g. getting shots, sending our passports away for the visa, getting them back again, getting smog masks… somehow I wound up with the one with cute little dragons on it), we would grin at each other and one would say, “We’re goin’ to China, Babe!”

Sharon had to get a tetanus shot; since, hers was woefully out of date. She also needed the one shot my doctor had recommended: the Flu Shot. He had also suggested the Hepatitis-A shot, which we both wound up getting, but he had failed to mention that that shot takes 6 months to get the full protection… you get the first shot (which we got) but it takes a second booster shot about six months later to be fully protected. Other options my doctor offered, but didn’t feel necessary for our trip was the malaria shot. The vaccines were readily available at our local Kroger pharmacy.

Sharon’s last state-side supper wasn’t all that she had hoped that it would be. We did grab a very reasonably priced American-Style breakfast at a fast-food court next to our terminal gate. I even enjoyed what may be my last bowl of oatmeal in some time at the complimentary breakfast at our hotel before catching the 7:00am shuttle to the airport. We were probably going to need what nourishment we could get as this was looking to be a very long day, in fact the start of this day would end up being the end of the next day as we cross the International Dateline. Our route took us north into Canada, along the northern coast of Alaska, across to Siberia, then down well east of North Korea and into Chinese airspace. Beijing is slightly inland and north of where we landed at Shanghai. Our first meal was served early into the flight, and I think it was billed as dinner. It is the first time I’ve received an included meal on an airline and passengers were not offered a choice. We had a roll, rice and 5-spice chicken. Sharon managed to salvage a couple bites of chicken that had not yet been fully overwhelmed by what I thought was a tasty sauce. We both enjoyed the triple chocolate brownie. During the middle of the flight we were both offered a roll with some turkey and cheese (Sharon eagerly) gave me her cheese. We also got a snack that included some vanilla gelato, which Sharon thought was hands down the best food they’d served us so far on this United Airlines flight to Shanghai. That opinion didn’t change when they brought around breakfast and our choices were Omelet of Noodles. We both chose Noodles, but for different reasons. For Sharon, omelets tend to come with melted cheese that isn’t as easily separated from the dish as it was earlier, and I because airlines don’t do the best job when it comes to eggs. Needless to say, I enjoyed the fat noodles and the somewhat spicy sauce that came with them and the typical Chinese vegetable mix of bok choy, bean sprouts, sweet pea and bamboo shoot; but, Sharon did not.

Our flight had quite a few empty seats. We were seated on the right side of the 747, with an aisle and middle seat. The man who had the window seat in our aisle decided to re-locate, so we were left with three seats which made the journey that much better. It would have been quite cramped otherwise. The man tried to occupy one of the very roomy seats by one of the emergency exit, but the airline charges a premium for those that no one was willing to pay on this flight, and he was told he could choose from any of the empty seats in Economy towards the rear of the plane. Some people were laying down across three or even four adjacent seats.

They haven’t installed the individual entertainment units in economy yet though they have all kinds of ads about how they’re going to do it this year. The did show 4 movies on the overhead screens with several tv show reruns between. I didn’t watch any but Sharon killed some time watching Saving Mr. Banks (which we’d already seen) and Frozen (even though it was a cartoon which is not her favorite). She passed on the others. I spent most of my time playing my blackjack program on the computer or ken-ken on my phone.

Clearing customs, immigration and baggage claim was very well organized, and in less than one hour we had done all of this, met our Viking group, and were on our way. It was a long journey to our hotel, and I’m adding Shanghai to my list of cities that you are probably best off not driving in. Most signs do have English subtitles so getting around might not be so daunting for a Westerner, but our driver showed us more than once what it takes to get around in a motor vehicle in this city. And one of the things that it takes is a big vehicle that offers a level of intimidation to other drivers and lets them know that you know that you have the right of way and intend to assert that right. I’ve noticed at some of the traffic signals, especially at some of the smaller intersections, that the traffic light is more of a recommendation to drivers, especially when it comes to the many smaller vehicles such us scooters and bicycles. Our driver did observe all of the traffic signals; but, later that night when Sharon and I walked down to the Bund to see the night-time lights of the city, we walked the several blocks to the water noticing that just because the traffic signal indicated that we should walk, it might not be a good idea to step out in front of a bicycle-rickshaw, mopeds, and bikes who views a Western couple more as a target than someone who has the right to be there. And the traffic lights have the interesting nuance of blinking green just before turning yellow. And most of the taxis seem to be these huge Volkswagon Santana Vistas, a boxy Mercedes-looking sedan. What’s with that?

The very nice Viking Cruise lady who met us at the airport, informed us that our guide’s name was Arhut (Ar-hoot). Just our luck, everyone else had different guides with names like Tony and Bill. She said we’d meet him at our hotel, The Westin Bund, after our first stop at the other hotel our fellow cruisers would be staying at. She giggled and said our guide is easy to spot by his pony-tale, assuring us that Arhut indeed was a guy. When we met Arhut, we found out instead his name was actually Arnold, and from his fluid Americanized English it would have been difficult to distinguish him from the other Viking Cruise guests; except, of course, he was much younger than most of us. Sharon speculated that we would be among the youngest on this cruise; although, I’m not sure that is going to be true. Arnold was extremely helpful, getting us checked in, giving suggestions for dinner, directions to the Bund, where to get breakfast in the morning, and where to meet him again in the morning at 8am for the city tour. He did caution us, that if we do walk around, to take precautions against pick-pockets. I guess it’s pretty easy to spot who the tourists are.

Our room on the corner of the twenty-third floor is impressive, very modern with all the amenities you’d expect in a top-notch hotel. We have a two-side window view of the city skyline. We changed out of our travel duds and into clothes for dinner and walking to the Bund. We took Arnold’s suggestion of eating downstairs at the hotel, where you could order off the menu items such as sandwiches or choose the buffet. We noticed that several other Viking Cruisers were also eating in this bistro-like restaurant with an impressive multi-floor lighting, and surrounded by a Chinese garden and water. A massive light sculpture was the centerpiece of this indoor-outdoor dining experience. Speaking of sculptures, I had noticed on the downtown drive near the hotel, a massive outdoor bronze sculpture by Salvador Dali as one of his “Melting Clocks”. I only recognized the work and artist from a segment I watched on Pawn Stars… so I guess sometimes you do learn things from television. Sharon made due with the “Make your own sandwich” choice, choosing white toasted bread and grilled chicken. It never occurred to her that her sandwich would be served club sandwich style or that the chicken would be cold. My pumpkin soup was delicious; probably the best I’ve ever had. I also enjoyed the rice noodles with fish cake, prawns, dried pork and several Chinese vegetables.

We changed a hundred dollar bill into the local currency at the hotel. The exchange rate is highly regulated, so there isn’t the profiteering plight you often need to worry about when exchanging money in foreign countries. The guy at the front desk took me around the corner to the machine that did it all. It accepts foreign currency in one paper money input (that’s all you do). It tells you how many Yuan you will get… today’s rate was 6.05 to the dollar. After accepting that exchange, out came six hundred Yuan notes and one 5 Yuan note. I changed one of the hundred notes into smaller notes at the front desk.

The Bund at night offered an impressive light show, with various dinner vessels navigating the waterway, and lights reflecting in all colors off the water. It had rained today, and humidity was high, and the air had a sea-side fog effect about it that just would not burn away. Earlier on the bus, I had wondered because of the limited visibility whether this was in part due to smog. This might have been the case, but because of the rain, I doubt that the smog was a problem today. What made that perhaps seem possible was the heavy cigarette stench in our bus taking us from the airport, and this second hand smoke was probably the irritant that was affecting my eyes. It took the U.S. over a quarter century to get smoking out of restaurants, workplaces, transportation, and I’m hoping this is not going to be something that takes enjoyment away from this trip for us, because we have very high expectations. And I would have to say, so far those expectations are mostly being exceeded. Despite the very long trip, we were on our way to being acclimated quite easily.

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Comments

[Janet]

Hi Sharon and John, Thanks for your first China report. I'm sure it was a long trip. I did enjoy reading about your traveling and finding food. Hope you find great food along the way. I also enjoyed the pictures. Thanks for including them. As you know we had snow today and it is gone now. Hope that is the end of it. Well not much to say looking forward to you next blog. Enjoy have fun and take lots of pictures. Janet