Collected my passport from the post office today. I was pleased to see both single entry visas neatly in place, and no water damage appeared anywhere...... read more

Our last day in Shanghai is pleasantly warmer, yet the sky is covered in a haze. Our flight back to Bangkok is in the afternoon so we check out at noon and drop the bags at the hotel for a last walk around the Yu Yuan area. This time we inspect some new streets, crowded with merchants and hawkers. It seems every five meters someone approaches to stick a watch in my face while eagerly shouting "Rolex", "Omega" or "Citzen" (no, that's not a typo). The fact that you categorically dismiss one guy doesn't stop the guy standing five meters behind him to give it a go. Shopkeepers yell out as we pass by and if I ignore them they frantically clap their hands. "Looky looky!", "Special price for you!", "Come buy antiques!" From the general ... read more

It is another sunny day in Shanghai and Kay and I have a made an appointment with Joanne today at noon. We have some time to kill so I show her around the newly discovered Yu Yuan food market which is a sure winner. More meat sticks follow. We then travel to People's Square and wait for Joanne, first at a bench in the park, and then in one of the oversized department stores. As she arrives we head for a coffee house and sit down to plan a bit about how to reach Yiwu tomorrow. We are given directions to the main railway station and instructions on how to obtain train tickets. Taking the MTR northbound we arrive at the busy station and a sizeable hall full of crowds lining up at the ticket counters. ... read more

Early morning arrival at the slightly depressing glass/concrete monster that is Pudong Int'l. We are being hearded through a long corridor with a big group of travellers. I stop by a lonely ATM and stock up on the ever present big and useless yuan bills (nobody ever has any change). Customs and immigration is as hustle free as ever in China and soon we're faced with finding a map and the transfer services. I immediately want to check out the maglev train, which we find after slowly wandering and exploring our way through another walkway. The staff speak as good as no English but manage to convey the fact that the train service doesn't start until 8.30, and we're a good 1.5 hours early. Although Kay doesn't mind hanging around I suggest we head for the ... read more

The most cruical moment of any transcontinental flight always occurs at the smallest of airports involved. I arrive at Jönköping international airport at 11.30 only to learn that my connecting flight to Copenhagen has been delayed due to "technical malfunction" and we're awaiting a new plane. The Skyways crew however gets busy and proceeds to rebook us on new flights out of Copenhagen were necessary. However, since my flight requires a stop over in Bangkok for some reason they cannot issue this ticket (only a connection via Munich to Shanghai) they ask me to check with the SAS service center in Copenhagen. I sense trouble. Wasting the afternoon I sit down, chit-chatting with a 50-something ex-air hostess who is en route to visit her daughter in Paris. When Skyways finally get a plane here our flight ... read more