We left promptly from Amberfield and had an easy trip to Heathrow with Gilpatrick’s. As we left the comfort of the minibus we complained about the cold. We would be unprepared for the heat and humidity of Shanghai. Our flight to Paris was uneventful, albeit delayed. This put pressure on our transfer to the Shanghai flight, however Air France personnel whisked us from our plane to the Shanghai flight by car: very efficient and helpful. Unfortunately although we made the flight very comfortably not all of entire luggage did. On arrival at Pudong we were told that 2 suitcases had not made the trip with us. Unfortunately this included Genna’s clothes and critical parts of the robots! We were nevertheless still impressed with the speed at which the error had been identified and as I type (now midday) the suitcases are being delivered to the hotel.
Our passage through customs, passport control, etc. were a formality and everyone was very helpful and friendly. Our journey to the hotel was uneventful, but everyone was glad to arrive and settled in. We visited the Robocup venue which is a splendid building less than 10 minutes by bus and 25 minutes to walk, although the humidity and heat are an obstacle. The number 28 bus goes from almost outside our hotel directly to the venue; It is air-conditioned and costs a massive 7p a ride.
I cannot end without mentioning the meal we had last night. We wanted something quite simple to introduce our palates to China. We had ordered a mixture of Chinese and Western food. We got back from the venue and we ushered into a private room. I was a little in awe of the formality, but quickly settled to the meal. The waitress was meticulous in the way she started to lay the dishes on the lazy susan on the table. We were each given a bowl of yellow liquid at the begging which we assumed was for washing our fingers in. We were later asked why we didn’t like our tea! We all helped ourselves to plates of food that just kept on coming. Not only were there too many dishes for the table, but every so often everyone was served with soup, or a meat dish or something else. There was a massive selection of food to suit everyone’s tastes. After everyone was full and satisfied they then brought a whole fish to the table followed by a mountain of broccoli, peppers and other vegetables. Then we were served with pork fritters (which were delicious). It was a superb meal and quite unlike anything I have experienced before.
To continue . .
It is now midmorning on Monday (I think). We have been for a short walk around the hotel; founds a supermarket (bought a simple lunch) and walked back through a small park. In the process we have found a Starbucks and an ice cream parlour: good work everyone. Breakfast consisted of the familiar and the unfamiliar. We had cereals, tea, coffee, toast, sausages, bacon, baked beans, fruit, etc. as well as noodles, deep fried doughnuts, mysterious vegetables and things that were only labelled in Chinese: fantastic!
Day Two: morning
Well, what can I say? A thousand thoughts swim through my mind as I try to organise how to begin. I look around my hotel room which is typical of many of the business hotels I have used in Britain. It has a comfortable, if firm (good for my back), double bed. It has an ensuite bathroom I would like to take home and a huge television with 57 channels, 50 of which are in Chinese, with no Sky Sports I note so I cannot find out the Test cricket score against South Africa. The room also has plenty of storage, although curiously few drawers; most of it is is wardrobe hanging space.
I am sitting at my desk as I type, noting the blue cable for my Internet connection in my room and drinking the bitter green leaved Chinese tea. All of my carefully held preconceptions about China are fast eroding. I should say that as a Geography teacher in my past I know a little bit about China; or at least I thought I knew . . .
As a “Less Economically Developed Country” (more PC than “Third World”) China faces huge problems of poverty, disease, population growth, etc. I saw none of these on my first day in this country. I tell a lie as I saw 2 men hawking melons outside our hotel. Apart from this all I saw was a modern industrial nation showing signs of great economic power and growth. Pudong (Shanghai) airport is huge, modern, shows strong elements of modern architectural design and is very clean. To be honest it put Heathrow to shame, although it is not half as busy as Heathrow.
On the 2 hour journey (air-conditioned thankfully) from the airport to the hotel almost all I saw were modern transport routes (including the high speed maglev railway) modern high-rise flats, and modern industrial developments. One building stretched to almost 1 kilometre in length! To continue . . It is now midmorning on Monday (I think). We have been for a short walk around the hotel; founds a supermarket (bought a simple lunch) and walked back through a small park. In the process we have found a Starbucks and an ice cream parlour: good work everyone. Breakfast consisted of the familiar and the unfamiliar. We had cereals, tea, coffee, toast, sausages, bacon, baked beans, fruit, etc. as well as noodles, deep fried doughnuts, mysterious vegetables and things that were only labelled in Chinese: fantastic!
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