Welcome to Shanghai!
Today went by really fast. We departed from Shenyang this morning and our flight was pretty comfortable- until the ending…I think the pilot was trying to scare us, haha. At first it seemed like only the left side tires were on the ground and then we bounced quite vigorously on the right side tires to the point that I thought our plane was going to do a flip… gotta hate when the driver has to showoff! When our plane was steering into our terminal the tires sounded not too happy…the only way I can explain the sound would be an elephant trying to toot its trunk but someone is squeezing the trunk together – that noise…yah I know crappy description, but now you are visualizing it (lucky you)!
I was a little nervous when we arrived in Shanghai, when I looked out the plane’s window the water was not pleasant. The water looked yellowish-brown and I could not see anymore clouds in the sky (made me even more grateful to the Shenyang weather and environment). But when we started to drive away from the airport, the atmosphere changed and the weather brightened a bit.
I thought it was interesting to see all of the renovations being done here. So many new buildings and TONES of trees…thank you Shanghai Expo 2010. I also thought it was interesting that Warren (our tour guide) said that most of the trees were planted by the factories…less pollution maybe? Upon arriving in Shanghai we immediately went to the Shanghai (Art) Museum, which had lots of splendid art pieces showing the progression of art throughout all of the Chinese Dynasties. All of the art pieces were in separate sections depending on what the art was: Jade, sculpture, bronze, furniture, calligraphy, cultural clothing, and Olympic history. The museum building in itself was a sight to see; it was very unique
The buildings in Shanghai are of an eclectic nature and all of them are obviously designed from different architects with different artistic perspectives. It was a refreshing change to see so many unique building structures, especially since our next destination was a walkway that allowed for a great view of the city. Everything is so divided: the old, historic buildings were all lumped together, there was a remake of the London Parliament building, and across the murky river were some interesting and colorful TV (entertainment) buildings (we get to go in them tomorrow). After taking in all of the structural beauty it was time to dust off all the vendors and head to the shopping area (sort of similar to Nicollet Mall shopping area…closed off to cars, but twice as many people). It was nice, but we didn’t have too much time to waste so I didn’t get a chance to fully-shop (I’m sure my parents are happy to hear this)!
Our hotel is pretty nice, and we had a nice Chinese dinner at a different hotel…it took us about 20+ minutes to order our food and yeah about 15 minutes to eat it all…damn Americans and our ‘scarfing of food’ tendencies. I have to say for Shanghai being the economic capital it was surely disappointing on the food front...about four of the dishes that we tried to order they didn’t have because they were out of the food – I mean when McDonalds runs out of coca-cola (and has four coke dispensers) then you know you’re in trouble!!!
Well, I guess that is all…I shall leave with some wise words from Jon (our Shenyang tour guide): BMW stands for “be my wife” -- haha, still makes me smile!