Shanghai - Part 1

This week, I'm in Shanghai, China. First, I want to express how grateful I am, for the opportunities I've had to travel across the globe. Witnessing the diversity of cultures, people, geography, (basically, all of our Heavenly Father's creation) and spirituality, has been a true blessing in my life. That doesn't mean that I'm going to stop complaining about how difficult it is to reach some of these places ; )

My journey here took a total of 27 hours - from the time I left home, to the time I arrived at the hotel in Shanghai. You never truly appreciate a hot shower, until you've either camped...or traveled for more than 24 hours straight ; ) Even though I spent a lot of time on planes, I did have one major treat. I was lucky enough to upgrade to business class from San Francisco to Shanghai (13 hours). It was the last business-class seat available. But the real treat, was the brand-new international business class seats on United Airlines.

Picture of my seat - from my mobile phone.

A much better photograph, from United

This is not meant to brag - I just wanted to convey my excitement at finally being able to try this sort of thing out, without being in First Class. The seats go completely flat (but don't handle someone who is 6'3" without curling up in a fetal position ; ). They even have power outlets, so you can work on your laptop. It sure made the trip a lot easier.

I arrived in Shanghai late in the day. I took the MagLev train (high-speed train) into an area of Shaghai called Pudong. I wrote about this train in a previous blog entry (here). You travel at over 200 miles/hour. I wouldn't mind taking a train like that from Boston to New York! I'm staying at a Radisson hotel, which is nice. It's a short distance from downtown Shanghai, which helps with the cost. Nearby, is a grocery store, where you can find all kinds of wonderful things. This time, I found a new flavor of potato chips:

Hmmm....Hot & Sour Fish Soup Flavor...

I've written about the unique produce options before (here). While there, I took a quick trip to the "department store" portion of the establishment, and found that they sold bikes and scooters. A mountain bike cost about $30 - no way to tell about the quality. They had electric bikes:

...that only cost about $150. I was really tempted to just buy one for cruising around Shanghai. However - knowing my luck - I'd get into an accident, as there aren't too many traffic rules followed here. My wife wouldn't be really happy with that. They also had full-blown motorcycle scooters for only $300. Man, that would be fun:

Tomorrow, I'll be heading out to some meetings. In the afternoon, I'm hoping to grab some time and head over to the giant Expo 2010. This is like a World's Fair - with giant pavillions from various countries. I'm hoping the crowds won't be horrible, so I have time to see some things. Check back tomorrow!