back!

Wow! I am finally back from 8 days of brainless traveling, done in a virtually endless cycle of eating, walking, shopping, sitting on the tour bus and queuing up for the toilet.

The trip started with a bumpy ride on China Eastern Airline accompanied by the moody faces of the stewardesses. But everything went quite well once we reached Shanghai airport. The whole journey was filled with many interesting sights, from centuries old villages to the ultra modern architecture. Food was also extremely cheap. The journey was marred only by the throngs of rude (and loud) tourists flooding the places that we visited, the phlegmy locals and some not so nice toilets.

Other than the sights, the thing that I saw most was people. There are people everywhere, especially in the city areas. Boarding a mode of transport, like ferries and trams, or entering an arena for a show usually involves a great amount jostling and pushing. It was almost impossible to get a nice peopleless shot on the camera and this was coupled with the fact that many people just did not care if they were walking into your frame. Another thing that impressed me was the incredible ability of motor traffic, pedestrians and cyclists (so many bicycles!) to coordinate and weave through each other smoothly and safely. Crossing the road was always a harrowing experience.

I also admire the ability of the China tour guide to incorporate shopping in many of the attractions we went to see. For example, a visit to the Nanjing Museum ended in jade shop, a walk in the Song Qingling Memorial Park was followed by a talk on fengshui and a sales pitch for some auspicious ornaments, a stop at the Nanjing Bridge tower was an excuse to herd us into a glass ornament shop at the foot of the tower. Perhaps it is not the tour operator I should praise but the Chinese government for incorporating these (government owned) tourist traps into these almost unrelated attractions.

Great trip but I wished I had more free time to explore Shanghai on my own.

More pictures to come. I’ll upload the photo album once I get it organized.