Just landed here in Seoul after a 90-minute flight from Shanghai on a eerily empty plane. Even when I flew to Mexico when the swine flu thing was hopping, the plane was more full. This was a huge 777 about 1/3 full, I'm guessing. I had all three seats to myself and there were no passengers in the four seats next to mine, nor the three on the other side of the plane. Not sure how Korean Air made any money on that one... The ride to the airport was first on the subway and then on the Maglev train. This is a magnetic-elevated bullet thing that goes 300 km/hour- that's just under 200 m.p.h. and unlike the Shinkansen of Japan which rides on elevated lines above everything, this train rides just a little higher than the traffic below it. So you really get sense of how fast you're hauling. That was good fun! It covered 30km in seven minutes. Gulp...
I had planned to blog from Shanghai, but in the tourist areas (unlike in seemingly everywhere else in China) there aren't any internet cafes. Actually, this works out better because I am actually doing this myself on the Blogger website, rather than having to use my sister as a mule for my scary words and thoughts. Plus, the good folks that run this airport are letting me do this for free.
The advertised 6-hour bus ride to Shanghai turned out to be around 8 hours. This was standard practice as I found out due to the 23 stops that apparently must be made before entering the highway. Despite the length, the ride was very good on roads that rival the best highways of North America and Europe. We stopped for lunch at one of those places that exist (in the middle of nowhere) just for passing buses to stop for lunch. I swear, it was the cleanest one of those places I've ever seen in any country! Other than the driver's co-pilot guy screaming at some guy for not sitting in his assigned seat, it was a pleasant ride. We found the hostel and didn't do a whole lot that first night after the long day of travel.
The next day we ventured out and started to get a sense of this city. It didn't take long before my buddy Chao muttered the "I can't believe this is China." line. I couldn't believe it either, but I don't know it as well as he does obviously. So why the amazement? Well, as we walked down a street with a shopping center on every corner and all of South Coast Plaza's best tennants at every turn, it was easy to see why we were struck with bewilderment. I knew that the city was a shopper's paradise, but I wasn't expecting this kind of shopping. So even though it was all nice, it was also way beyond my means. We arrived at the Bund area and again were floored by the stores and the Times Square feeling. At night the place came alive and took on a Vegas look. Yesterday we considered going to the top of the tallest building in China for a look at Shanghai at dusk but decided that the $20 to ride an elevator was obscene.
Unfortunately, next year Shanghai is hosting the World Expo which means that this year there is construction all over the place, taking some of the luster off the sights. That, of course, didn't keep huge crowds from the city. It wasn't too hot, but the humidity was pretty brutal. Which reminds me of a not-so-thrilling adventure: My search for deodorant. I ran out yesterday. Of course, I knew I would soon be out so I went looking the day before. I think I would've had better luck finding a snowball in Beirut. When I asked Chao why this was the case, he explained that the overwhelming number of Chinese don't use it because they don't need it. I asked him how this was possible, and he rambled on about being a more evolved superior race. I know he was half-kidding about the superiority thing, but since he mentioned it, I admit that walking the streets one doesn't pick up the scents that one might on the streets of most European cities in the summer. Or maybe the odors are overwhelmed by all the cigarette smoke. I finally did find a can of that Axe crap but the store wanted $10 for it. I decided it was better to smell like an earthy man than a 7th-grade boy. As soon as I am done, I will look for some here at this airport, but it is an airport so I'm not expecting any bargains.
Speaking of smells...I also sought baking soda to clean my sandals and backpack, but was shut out time and time again. After six weeks of sun and sweat, my sandals and especially my backpack couldn't smell worse. The backpack smells like it's been wedged between the saddle and a camel trekking through the desert. I don't actually know what this smells like, but I imagine it is something along the lines of an exhumed corpse. Too much? Well, finally found it at the place with the Axe, but with only two days left at that point, decided to let it add to my aura.
OK, enough with the less-than-glamorous aspects of travel. A note about the food: Wow. Again and again, I ate amazing things all over China. The past week has been especially memorable around the mountain where everything is locally grown and very fresh and then in Shanghai. We ate so well that I'll repeat what I said last year: It's worth all the hassles just to come here and eat. We seemed to find lots of varieties of mushrooms prepared in all kinds of ways including some wild ones that I had never seen. And yet again, I ate lamb and loved it. I got to thinking that I hadn't eaten it in a year since I was in China. I can't eat lamb anywhere that does not require me to use my passport. It's complicated...
Happy to report that today my knees are finally resembling my knees. The brutal descent the other day at the mountain damned near killed my legs the following two days. I guess the 43 years (as of yesterday) are starting to show up in ways beyond the receding hairline. Reality is not a pleasant thing sometimes. And here is another one: This trip is over. In some ways the six weeks flew and in others, it definitely seemed like six weeks. I always do a post-trip entry after I arrive. And in case you aren't aware, I always observe the traditional first meal back. The rule is that if I travel for at least three weeks overseas, then the first meal back must take place at In 'n' Out, provided that I have not had any hamburgers on the trip. I never eat hamburgers anwyhere but America, so that condition is safe. My flight gets in at jsut before 5:00 pm in L.A., so the timing couldn't be much better. The first time I awaken at 3:00 am in a jet-lagged stupor I'll do one last entry to wrap it up.
Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment