Days 1/2 (July 18-19, 2014): Journey to Asia

Welcome to the blog of our short trip to Asia!  Funny:  one plans for a trip so far in advance, it all seems so far off, and then BAM!  Before you know it, you’re in a taxi to the airport.  Such was the case for us at 5:15am on Friday.  Having had contractors in all week doing a big flooring job, there was an unusually hectic scramble to get ready to leave.

We had vowed never to transit through New York again, having been caught too many times in the chaos and delays of NYC air traffic control.  But alas, we found ourselves on United Airlines through Newark yet again.  Fortunately, this time, all went smoothly.  Wheels up in Halifax right on schedule, at 7am,

an on-time arrival, and then out of Newark againat 10:45am.  Our flight from Newark to Shanghai’s Pudong Airport was aboard a Boeing 777-200.  

We were in the back, and every seat was filled.  Standing in the queue to board, it struck us that, as Caucasians, we were a scant minority among all the Chinese passengers.  Of the approximately 350 people on board, probably 5% were non-Chinese.

The 14 hour flight was uneventful.  They fed us three times, including ice cream!  Our routing took us over the North Pole

and into Russian airspace, which was a little daunting to see on the flight screen,

given the Russians' downing of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 on Thursday.  

We landed half an hour early in Shanghai.  Having crossed the International Date Line, it was suddenly Saturday afternoon.  The Chinese visas were a royal pain to obtain in advance, but they ensured a smooth passage through Customs.  We got out some Chinese Yuan at an ATM (about six Yuan to a Loonie), jumped in a cab, and headed to our Radisson Blu Xing Quo Hotel, where we checked in by 3pm.

The hotel is in the former consular district, known as the French Concession.  And in a city which seems to have little green space, it is located in an amazing compound of villas, where Chairman Mao se Tung and his wife once lived.  

The 34C temperature, the humidity, the smog, the traffic, our fatigue – and the inviting solitude of the compound – almost convinced us to forget sightseeing and just go to sleep for the afternoon.  But we got ourselves together and ventured out before5pm.

It is difficult to relay how large Shanghai is and for how far the unbelievable landscape of copycat apartment blocks extends.  Driving the 50km from the international airport towards downtown, you get the impression that it is a city on steroids.  And then you catch your first glimpse of downtown:  its magnitude and grandeur makes Manhattan look like child’s play.  

Beijing has its Great Wall, Shanghai has The Bund.  And that’s where we decided to start our exploration.  The Bund is a wide pedestrian mall that runs for a couple of kilometres along the banks of the busy Huangpu River.  China has a billion people – and I swear, half of them were on The Bund this afternoon!  Why?  Because day or night, The Bund is the viewing place for this amazing sight:

We spent a couple of hours walking The Bund and taking in the modern but breakthtaking view of the skyscrapers and – after dark – lightshows across the River in Pudong.  

Then we found a very popular restaurant called “Shanghai Grandmother” (Lonely Planet recommended) and had our first great Chinese meal in the country.  We were back at the hotel at 8pm.  Once I post this entry, we are done for the night!  

And one last thing to note:  The Communist government of China has banned access to Facebook, Twitter, etc.  So if I appear absent on Facebook, that’s the reason!

Thanks for checking in.  Tomorrow we will really sink our teeth into Shanghai.  Check back for details.  Hope you are enjoying your weekend.