Shanghai'd!

There is at least one silver lining to having no trips for six months, and that is that all the hassles of getting a visa and arranging the tickets are that much more bearable when the time finally comes around. Such was the case with the latest trip, to Shanghai. Chinese visas are expensive with a US passport, but of course that wasn't coming out of my pocket. And since I was glad to be getting out again - especially to a new-to-me country - I didn't mind the late evening flight either.

The Shanghai airport is a lot more modern and well-kept than I was expecting. Amusingly, the international arrivals gate was marked "International-Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwan," neatly sidestepping the question of whether or not those locations are international. (I have heard some amusingly nasty stories from my Taiwanese friends about going through immigration checks in mainland China - they stamp your passport, then shove it roughly back at you and grumble "Taiwan is not a country!" I renewed my passport back in Luxembourg in early 2008, so there was no risk of my having to explain my work visas from Taiwan.) All I saw of Shanghai that first night beyond the airport was our hotel. It was a nice hotel, though!

We had two days in Shanghai, of which only about six hours involved actual business, so there was plenty of time for sightseeing. This was complicated a bit by the fact that it was very cold, and remember, I haven't been to anyplace cold in two years. That was less than pleasant. But we braved the cold to visit the main shopping district, which was pleasantly busy and colorful. I got to see a lot of Shanghai from the taxi along the way, which I always enjoy. Even if it is just a drive by view, there is something really fascinating about seeing how and where people live in a place I've never visited before. Speaking of which, besides being cold, Shanghai is huge. I believe it was the biggest city in the world at one point, and it's still one of the biggest. It definitely shows from the route we took downtown!

Like I said, the shopping district was great. Delightfully Asian, right down to the fake Rolexes for sale everywhere and the hawkers working so hard to pawn them off on every Westerner who turns up. Speaking of "Western," there seems to be a Pizza Hut on every corner. But we stuck to more authentically Chinese food, at a local eatery. Along with the fish soup I got, we also had a round of the inimitable stinky tofu that was the bane of every Westerner's existence back in Taiwan. Since I didn't have to smell it being prepared, it turned out to be pretty good. Nice surprise! This was accompanied by Tsing-Tao, served in cans with the old fashioned pull-tabs that come all the way off - who knew those were even still made anywhere?! (It wasn't the only time I felt a bit like I'd been sent back to America circa 1975: smoking was permitted in the hotel lobby. I'm one of those lucky non-smokers who doesn't mind smoke much, but it was pretty strange to see people lighting up indoors.)

Despite the frigid weather, it is the end of winter and cold-weather clothes were on clearance, so I got a sweater at 80% off. It came in handy for our last day in Shanghai, which was spent entirely downtown. Like Singapore and its extremely hot weather, indoor shopping centers are your friend. I had a bit too much time to kill at one such mall downtown on Wednesday, but it was a nice enough place and there was plenty of window shopping to do. I also got to visit the Oriental Pearl Tower, probably the biggest tourist draw in Shanghai. Even from there, seeing the end of the city is tough! Quite a view, though. The weather wasn't nearly as chilly either, though I was still very happy to head south again at the end of the day.

I look forward to the day when our company can afford business class on planes. That would have made for the perfect ending to a great trip. Sleeping in coach is always an...interesting experience. But it was great to be back on the road! There may be another trip to India in the works soon. We'll see.