(This happened on 11^th November 2010)

G&T Are Off to Shanghai

9am  and straight to Breakfast and then it’s time to Pack, we are getting ready to head  off to Shanghai…

Opps, there appear to be some problems with our itinerary. We had been unable to book our train ticket from Shanghai to Hong Kong and now I can see why, the trains only run on alternate days, and 16^th November is not one of them, so when we arrive in Shanghai, we are going to have to book our tickets directly at the station, and either choose the  15^{th Nov} cutting our Shanghai stay short or the 17^th extending it.

We had lunch in the Hotel Coffee shop. Tes said her Hinan Chicken rice was nearly as good as the Marina Mandarin Singapore, high praise indeed. I had a fantastic Laksa, very spicy, which was a surprise. All in all our opinion of the Shangri-la Hotel is very high… if you find yourself in Xian, and you can afford the price tag, there is no better place to stay.

Our Taxi to the Railways station dodged through the streets, chopping around the many road works and building sites in Xian. It seems the city is under massive reconstruction, which of course includes the station, and accounts for us being dropped half a mile away with our heavy bags, sigh!

The usual confusion ensued at the station, there is virtually nothing in English, and there is the usual fight through security. I have taken to pushing and shoving back, which I am not proud of, but seems to work at any rate.

We finally showed our train tickets to an official looking lady in uniform behind a desk; without saying a word she gesticulated sharply with her white gloved hand, ahead of her, and then to the left… “Oh over there” we said and look for confirmation. She simply repeated the same gesticulation, without a word or a single change in facial expression.

We found our “soft” waiting room with some relief as it cosseted us from the hawking, spitting, pushing crowds. Alas there ware no toilets, so I had to venture out of our tiny paradise in search of relief. Pushing through the crowds, sliding on spit under my feet and hearing that disgusting hawking and spitting all the time started to turn my stomach, seeing the queue for the toilet I gave in and turned back. On my way out I found another wing, which was less crowded and made with haste to that latrine. The smell nearly knocked me off my feet, I held my breath, did my business and got out, only to watch a man take a deep raucous grunt and spit onto the wall behind him….

I thought of the time I was walking down Marylebone Road, with heavy shopping bags in each hand and I had cause to sneeze. A man nearby told me I was disgusting and should put my hand over my face… I won’t tell you my reply, but now I’m wishing he could spend just two hours in the “hard” waiting room at Xian Station.

We struggled onto the train, finally figured out which cabin was ours and settled down for the night… we are getting better at this, but it’s still a challenge each time.