What a suprise, a Shanghai Suprise!!

Hello, I've just arrived in Nanjing, which is north of Shanghai, from which I will be going to Beijing in a few days.

Anyway, this is what has been happening!!

Well, I caught the bus from Swansea at 7am and I tried to get a little sleep on the bus as I knew I had a long day ahead of me. The one thing that really stuck in my head were this bunch of middle aged women. The thing was, was that they were wearing pink tracksuits. You know, the kind of furry ones. I thought, has the trend of being a chav or "Vicky Pollard"-esque reached the middle aged. I was shocked.

Anyway, once at the airport I tried one of these self check in things, which was quite good, I could even change my seat number. So I thought, I might as well get a window seat. Once I had waited, and gone through everything, the flight took off on schedule. Being a boring sod, I decided it was time to catch up on some films I had missed in the cinema. So I watched Dodgeball (very funny), Super Size Me (quality, slightly scary documentary), Collateral and some old episodes of Father Ted. The meal was Pork Loin with pasta, and breakfast was an Omelet (which I did not eat, but there was more besides). I had a couple of glasses of red wine as well, so that got me off to sleep after a few hours.

Once at Shanghai airport, all of a sudden I felt slightly overwhelmed. But I met a early thirties business man from germany in the queue for Taxi's which seemed to calm my worries. He paid for the taxi in to the centre of Shanghai where he was staying. As he was staying in the 5 star sheraton grand, we stopped here and the concierge got me a taxi to the hotel that I was actually staying. You see, the original taxi driver did not know where it was!! Useless!! Once I got to my hotel it was around 2:30 pm, so I could check in.

The room was very spacious and turned out to be a business suite with a complimentary breakfast, so I decided to keep it for another night, as I didn't want to rush around shanghai carrying a 25kg bag. So I settled there, had a bit of a sleep, then decided to venture out in the evening to get some food and have a look about. As you well know, I am not a picky eater, but over here, I just don't know what's what. So I decided to stick to what I know, Chicken McNuggets, Pringles and some beer.

After that feast, it was time for bed. My first proper day started with a breakfast of butter and Jam on toast, some fresh coffee and some fruit juice. Marvelous! Now I was set. During the previous evening, I had noted down what "places of interest" I would like to see. So off I set at 8:45 to look around shanghai. The thing I found with Shanghai, was that there isn't much TO see. There was "The Bund", which is where all the investment banks established themselves in the late 1800's, "Frenchtown" where it looks a little like a paris backstreet until you go 200 meters north to find huge shopping centers.

Pretty much, Shanghai is a typical major city. Full of Hustle and bustle, and little to see. Imagine how one would feel if you visited Birmingham as a tourist attraction. However, there was one quite funny thing I did do. "The Bund Tourist Tunnel", this put you in a little car and took you from one side of the river to the next, during the time it took to cross, it gave you a light show, dubbed as "Hi-tech spectacular", which made me laugh. It was like a tripping sequence from a sixties film.

While walking around Shanghai I got offered or saw all kind of things. A whole fox fur going for next to nothing, cats being able to just walk all over fish in the fish markets, so buying food unless totally air sealed is a no no as far as I am concerned. I walked for 8-9 hours straight around Shanghai, with only water and a chocolate bar to fuel me. So I thought on the way back to the hotel, I'd get some supplies for me to have a snack and to make some sandwiches for tomorrows train journey. I bought some bread, ham (couldn't'd find and processed cheese), crisps, 100 % apple juice and some water. Once back in the hotel, I discovered that most of China's savory type food also has sugar in it. For example, the crisps and the bread. I asked why, and someone told me, that's just the way it is in most of China, apart from the northern provinces.

Still feeling jet lagged I fell asleep early, when I wanted to go out and experience some of the nightlife and get a proper meal. Also, in Shanghai, there aren't pubs / clubs spaced all over the place, they seemed to all be located in a particular district. I could hardly find an internet cafe anywhere as well, then again, everyone here seems to carry computers.

To give you an idea of how cheap it is out here, you can get an iPod for about 99 quid. Bargain.

Today though has been quiet. I checked out of the hotel at 9am, went to the Shanghai train station and got a ticket for Nanjing. My train didn't leave until 12:30 so I sat in the waiting area reading a book I brought with me. I paid a little extra for this 3 hour train trip, because I wanted a "soft seat". It only cost about 2 quid more than a standard, which get overcrowded with the possibility of theft. So, why not.

I arrived in Nanjing at 3.30, and the place is like a bomb site. There is development going on everywhere, including a brand new train station. The gentleman who I sat next to on the train sorted out a taxi driver for me to get to my first choice (and lonely planets) budget accommodation in the Nanjing university. I got my room, on the 20th floor, for 2 night, all for about 30 quid. Twin bed, air con, fridge, safe, TV (pointless) and not much of a view. I have a building site in front of me!! Nevermind, well I'm off to get some grub, a pint, then an early night ready for a trek around tomorrow.

Also, it's bloody freezing here, and it gets worse as I get further towards Beijing.