Days 1 and 2 in Shanghai

After a l o n g plane ride over here, we arrived in Shanghai, checked into the hotel, and crashed. Yesterday was spent taking care of a few errands, including train tickets, checking in at the consulate, getting an adapter, and the like. Daniel enjoyed wandering through the tech sections of a couple of the malls we went to. It was fun watching everyone stare at him wherever we went. Coming back to the Pudong side of the city after our errands, we had dinner in a cute little restaurant and then set about getting back to the hotel. That proved to be a bit of a challenge. It had been raining all day, and when the weather is bad, it can be pretty hard to get a taxi as more people are also trying to get one and competition is fierce. So we came out of the restaurant by the subway stop and walked over to where taxis were lining up. We soon discovered that we were going to have to battle the throngs of people practically beating each other with their umbrellas to claim a taxi; as soon as one would pull up, the first person to sprint out into the street and put his/her hand on the car, and then run with it until it stopped to let its passengers out, would then be able to get in. After about 30 minutes of this fun, it was clear that Daniel and I were definitely not aggressive enough for this game.

So began an hour or so of walking through the rain towards the hotel, trying to catch a taxi. We finally got one about 2 miles from the hotel, after we were completely soaked and I had blisters all over my feet. But we were soon back at the hotel, and almost as quickly zonked out.

We go by train to Yangzhou today. I've never been, so it will be fun to see what it's like. The travel guide says it's a cute little city.


Wisdom from Daniel:
Don't Wear sandals when it is raining, as you might slip and fall. (Wisdom Proven by Jean Anne herself)
Take sharp objects when going to claim a taxi, as they help ward off the natives. (Wisdom not yet proven, but it is in the list for next time)
Lemon Ritz crakers are a good, clean bet when you are hungry.
And Finally, Big people scare little girls that are on their way to school. (Wisdom proven by me)