So, I know I've been slow as hell getting this out, my apologies. :-p things have been pretty hectic since returning home, but I finally have some time to get crackin on this.
Shanghai: Days 2 and 3
Our second day in Shanghai we decided we wanted to take a boat trip that would take us up to the Yangtze. We left in the late morning, as our boat didn't leave until 1. Along the way, we met up with the two swedish guys again and they asked if they could come with. We said sure, and the group of us made our way back to the Bund again so we could catch the boat. We got there with no problems, bethany and I stopping for some delicious candied fruit (of course). The boat ride we took was the three hour one. It was great to see just how active Shanghai is, particularly in terms of industry. Bethany said that 1/3 of the worlds largest cranes are located in Shanghai, and we certainly saw a good many of them. The riverside was just crammed with them, working on boats in drydock or moving cargo. At one point on the ride we even spotted cargo boxes (the large colored ones you see on trains) stacked to such a large degree it dwarfed the huge apartment complex next to it. It was just insane! We talked with the guys about various things, eventually bethany and I deciding that them being 20 and yet to start college (common in Europe to take some time after high school to travel) that the maturity gap was a bit annoying. (and no, it's not like we're haughty or anything. :P)
We finally got out to the Yangtze, so big that at first we thought it had to be the ocean. The trip back was pretty unremarkable, but we were glad we had made the trip. :) We bid farewell to the guys after the boat ride and stopped for some dinner. The food was good although I we didn't get one of our dishes, I finally got up and through hand gestures let them know we hadn't received it, although I'm not sure if they genuinely forgot or just skipped on making it and waited to see if we'd broach the issue. I think it was the latter given that we'd been denied food before. LAME.
Our last day in Shanghai we checked out in the morning, again waking up late, and spent some time going to a bazaar area that was nice and bustling with the New Year's holiday approaching. We were able to pick up some decent souveniers (spelling, i know) as well as stopped at a nice place for lunch. The view was very good; the food was decent, although not particularly awesome. We wanted to be able to find a nice sit down place, but unfortunately the great looking ones were packed/only had gyoza. We were pining for some sweet and sour pork.
After lunch we made our way to the Shanghai museum, a busy but great place. They had a ton of exhibits that did a good job of showcasing multiple eras in Chinese history. The last bits on the development on currency in China supplemented by contributers. We then made our way back to the hostel, picked up our things, and then left for the hotel out at the airport.
Lol's ensued when we got to the high-speed 'Maglev' line and got our tickets. We settled in for the 80 minute ride there (as told by our hostel) and then began to take off. The Maglev is an elevated magnetic high speed train, it was cruising at over 300 kms, or over 200mph. As we were zipping along, I then noticed what I thought said 'Terminal A' and it looked like we were near an airport. Turns out they said 8, not 80 minutes. Which I kinda wondered about as we were going along at 200mph; "So wait, this airport is like, 600 miles from Shanghai? That doesn't seem to make sense...." Hah. Bethany and I got a good laugh out of that.
The hotel was very very nice, and located in the airport complex very close to one of the terminals. The next morning we caught our flight to Inchon with no problems and spent a couple of hours together before my flight. We got to have burger king (AWESOME) and then I took off. It was tough (of course) saying goodbye. I got into Nagoya, took the express train to the bus terminal and caught my bus home with no problems. I ended up sitting next to a man who was also going to Iijima and spoke good english. He was actually returning from Singapore (where his wife and 2 kids are) to take a shot at finding a job back in Japan. Very cool to get to talk with someone on the way home.
All in all, the two weeks in China were magnificent, with some amazing sights (Great Wall being behind only the Haghia Sophia in terms of sheer awe it inspired) and great food. There's always something great about being able to travel to a new place.
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