Early rise this morning. We awoke at 6am and headed down for a large breakfast alongside the lake. After packing all three bags, we met Jan in the lobby of the our hotel. Since we couldn’t bring them with us, we gave Jan the lovely bouquet of roses the hotel had given us. We also tipped her ¥100 (£6.91/$11) for her services. Much to our delight, StinkyVan was replaced by GorgeousBlackBuickWithCreamColoredLeatherUpholstery and a whole new driver.
We left the hotel and headed out to Shanghai at 7:30am. There we would catch our flight to Xi'an. We passed by hundreds of adults on bicycles with children on the back, all being taken to school. About an hour later we started to enter the outskirts of Shanghai. Cities in China cannot be compared with western cities; they are so totally different. Beijing was far too big to appear like the cities we're used to, it's such a sprawling metropolis. Suzhou was more familiar, with the small shopfronts, sidewalks and decorative bus stops. Shanghai is in a category of its own. After Tokyo, it is the largest city in the world, built on various levels. We were trapped in horrible traffic as the many highways converged. The ironic thing was that both of us were thinking in our heads that it is so amazing there aren’t more accidents, since the Chinese drive so recklessly. Of course, at that moment our car was rear-ended by a blue truck. Luckily, the driver advised us that the truck sustained greater damage than our car.
In the 3 hours it took us to get to the airport, we spoke to Jan about Chinese life, marriage, work, and children. We discussed the one child rule that was imposed by the government in 1978. They are finding that now as the children reach their late 20's there is a tremendous burden on them to support their parents and grandparents, with little aid from outside. We asked what the penalty was for having more than one child, and realized that it was so steep that only an abortion is possible should a second pregnancy occur. More than one child results in a fine of 3 times the families annual salary.
At 10:30 we finally reached Shanghai's Pudong airport, and Jan helped us check in. Our bags were over the permitted size, but the attendent allowed us through without paying a surcharge. At the security checkpoint, we said our goodbyes to Jan and headed towards gate 4. The departures lounge at Pudong is absolutely enormous. We wandered around the several shops while waiting for boarding at 11:50. Much to our delight, they had fresh crab (and by fresh we mean alive) in refrigerators, ready to buy for between ¥33 & ¥88, depending on size. They had furry legs and were foaming at the mouth area, and they were all tied up in multi-colored string. We saw no means of actually cooking them so decided this would be a crab free ride. Once we'd got past the expected boarding confusion (there was an open gate so we went down to the jetway - eventually realising we needed to show our boarding cards - so we went and lined up at the gate - only for everyone to then start boarding at the next gate!) Eventually we found ourselves onboard - just in time to see our suitcase marked 'fragile' being thrown onto to the conveyor. Oh well - with a 30 minute delay we were on our way. With one of the tightest climbouts we'd experienced we were at altitude within 5 minutes - and thus settled into our seats and within 30 minutes from takeoff we had our inflight meal in front of us - a compact but filling chilli chicken on rice with vegetables and a curious cold tofu salad - and Sprite so sweet it made our teeth sing. You'd think that selecting an airline would be your last commercial choice whilst flying. Think again! The new market economy of China means that everything is plastered with advertising - from the headrest of the seat in front of you to your tray table - touting wares from cars to travel agents. We dozed lightly during the remaining 2 hours of the flight - cloud cover below prevented us from enjoying the hoped-for views of rural China - waking as we were on final approach to Xi'an. More airport confusion on arrival - luggage conveyor signage whilst being terribly accurate is inevitably on the wrong conveyor - leading to the comic sight of 2 plane loads of travelers trying to cross the busy baggage hall to find their suitcases. We found our guide easily - Kevin is an easygoing 28 year old fellow with great English and a second - so far unspecified - job. The hour long ride from the new Xi'an airport saw us traveling through the rural outskirts of the city. Along the way we told the story of how we met and came to be married - and discussed what lay ahead for our visit to Xi'an. Christian had contemplated surprising Kelly with a meal and a show - but to arrange it he needed to discuss this with Kevin - so the cat was out the bag. Our journey took us through massive fields of maize - and past enormous piles of cobs being packed for distribution (almost everything in China seems to be able to be accomplished at the side of the road). As we had so much booked for the next day - we decided to visit the historic city wall's north gate. This dates back 600 years and most of the original wall still stands in perfect condition - near enough 14 km encircling the city that can still be traversed. The view from the top of the gatehouse would have been more astonishing if the mist and haze hadn't cut visibility to less than a mile - nevertheless the effect was quite eerie and photo-worthy. Christian was stopped by one of the store-girls on the way out - 'how old your wife?' she asked. I answered her. 'Nooooooo!!!!' she replied in wonder. 'She at least (6 years younger than what he'd specified)!!!' To say this made Kelly's day is an understatement - she was in the state referred to in China as 'double happiness'. From the gate we could see the city's famous bell tower - and it was there that we headed next - as our hotel faces this landmark. After check-in we were shown to our 'superior suite' - which is indeed superior - with a view out across the bell tower in the very centre square of the old city - and a splendidly modern bathroom. We ventured out to find some food - a bizarre chotzke market in a seemingly abandoned department store yielded a Korean / Chinese café where we eat for 43 yuan (£2.97/$5.50). A visit to McDonalds (it's the cheapest place for ice cream) concluded out tourism day - and we retreated to the peace and tranquility of our 6th floor eyrie for a well deserved night's rest (if only somebody would stop ringing that bell!!!)
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