Having spent the night at the airport pacing through various unaffordable stores and finally succumbing to exhaustion in the plane, the words - "We will land in Shanghai in 30 minutes" - were music to my ears - even in the heavy mandarin-affected accent of the China Eastern Airlines hostess. After 2 years and 3 days, I was finally getting to see another country (having totally bungled the Ukraine trip earlier this year). So as we landed through the haze of pollution that lovingly hovers miles above ground level, I couldn't help but feel excited!
Traveling gives me a high. I just love the way I feel in a new country - the totally different faces, architecture, streets, languages - you can suddenly take nothing for granted anymore. Everything needs to be worked out - thought through. Regular vegetarian food becomes a luxury and a simple margherita pizza, burnt at the edges, feels like heaven.
Shanghai wasn't like the China of my dreams. It was way too cosmopolitan to fit into the images that had been playing around in my head. The Shaolin temple that I'd sworn to visit if I ever stepped into this country was an hour & a half away by flight and 8 hours by train, located in Central China. 2 day business trips just don't give you the luxury to see everything that you want. But moi being moi - I made the most of it.
Sunday dawned extremely hazy - as is each day in Shanghai at this time of the year. I checked out and checked in again - this time at the Grand Central. It was grand, and very very central in its location which suited me just fine. My agenda for the day had just 3 key items - see the Yuyuan gardens, the Jade Buddha temple and roam the streets of Shanghai.
After roaming around for a considerable time in the Yuyuan street, a helpful foreigner finally pointed me to the Yuyuan gardens that were nestled in the middle of nowhere. I doubt I'd have found my way in there a second time even! The gardens were gorgeous, constructed during the Ming Dynasty. That was the only place where the China of my imagination came alive. Curly roofed ethnic architecture, tea halls, chinese paintings, fountains, sculptures and an artificial water body that was home to thousands of fish and some turtles! It was a dream come true!
Next stop was the Jade Buddha temple. I took two wrong metros courtesy an overlap of stations in the map, got off at the wrong stop that was pronounced the same way as the one I needed to go to, but had a syllable missing, and finally walked for 3 kilometres west instead of east. By the time I realised my folly, I'd been on my feet for 4 hours and hardly had any stamina left (curse of the corporate world!).
Anyhow, through a lot of mime, I asked my way around, and God bless those folks, they guided me well. Half an hour later, at 4:30 pm I found myself at the door of the Jade Buddha temple, just to be told that the temple closes at 4:30! The man just wouldn't let me in, though he looked almost as sad I was ! As I was walking away all heartbroken, I was stopped by an old man a few feet away who pointed to my head and made a thumbs up sign. He kept doing that - as if urgently trying to tell me something - I just smiled apologetically - there were no translators - but I think he liked my head! :P
I was terribly lost by then having taken a brand new street. I had no idea where the subway was and most people couldn't figure out my mime for train or underground - till one kindly old fruitseller hit the nail on the head and mime-beckoned me to follow her. She took me straight to the station in exchange of buying a bag of tiny little oranges from her. Like I said before - super sweet people :)
Of course, my sense of direction, rather the lack of it, kicked in again, and I ended up taking the wrong exit. Having no google maps to guide me, I stopped a man hurrying to the metro with a crazy amount of luggage, who took out his google maps and spent 15 minutes explaining the directions to me! I just love the people I meet on these trips!
After 6 and a half hours of walking non stop, I finally got into bed, watched "My Best Friend's Wedding" on HBO and went off to sleep.
The next 2 days were pretty much spent in office meeting really nice folks again :)
All in all, my first ever trip to China was a short but memorable one. I really wouldn't mind planning a personal trip to some of the other cities. If the world does end later this year, I'd die a happy girl - the universe has been super nice to me across the globe - I have no regrets :)
Traveling gives me a high. I just love the way I feel in a new country - the totally different faces, architecture, streets, languages - you can suddenly take nothing for granted anymore. Everything needs to be worked out - thought through. Regular vegetarian food becomes a luxury and a simple margherita pizza, burnt at the edges, feels like heaven.
Shanghai wasn't like the China of my dreams. It was way too cosmopolitan to fit into the images that had been playing around in my head. The Shaolin temple that I'd sworn to visit if I ever stepped into this country was an hour & a half away by flight and 8 hours by train, located in Central China. 2 day business trips just don't give you the luxury to see everything that you want. But moi being moi - I made the most of it.
Day 1 saw me check in at the Marriott in Pudong. Since the company could not afford to bear the cost of my one extra Saturday ("We only start paying a day before you have your meetings"), I used my Marriott points - also earned on business trips in the good old days - to get one more day in this brand new city. So I got bumped up to the "Executive" suite for being a "valuable customer" and spent the remaining part of the day roaming the streets of Shanghai and getting a local China Mobile connection (the lady was aghast at the fact that I spent 200 Yuans for 2 days! She had no idea of my love for my family :P)
Sunday dawned extremely hazy - as is each day in Shanghai at this time of the year. I checked out and checked in again - this time at the Grand Central. It was grand, and very very central in its location which suited me just fine. My agenda for the day had just 3 key items - see the Yuyuan gardens, the Jade Buddha temple and roam the streets of Shanghai.
It took me a while to figure out how to work the local metros. There was just too much pressure as I pawed the screen trying locate my station & get my ticket - while 15 other Mainland Chinese stood behind me jiggling their coins. Finally, I managed it and a stop later I found myself at the Yuyuan station where I had yet another Chinese myth busted. People there are supremely friendly. Met a girl there from Guangzhou who wanted me to take a photo of her and her boyfriend. I obliged, and she in return offered to take mine (at various angles I may add - totally her idea). She went on to ask me where I was from - and was utterly aghast when I said India. "Too white for India!" - was the reaction. I'm sorry - my skin doesn't know I'm an Indian :D
Next stop was the Jade Buddha temple. I took two wrong metros courtesy an overlap of stations in the map, got off at the wrong stop that was pronounced the same way as the one I needed to go to, but had a syllable missing, and finally walked for 3 kilometres west instead of east. By the time I realised my folly, I'd been on my feet for 4 hours and hardly had any stamina left (curse of the corporate world!).
Anyhow, through a lot of mime, I asked my way around, and God bless those folks, they guided me well. Half an hour later, at 4:30 pm I found myself at the door of the Jade Buddha temple, just to be told that the temple closes at 4:30! The man just wouldn't let me in, though he looked almost as sad I was ! As I was walking away all heartbroken, I was stopped by an old man a few feet away who pointed to my head and made a thumbs up sign. He kept doing that - as if urgently trying to tell me something - I just smiled apologetically - there were no translators - but I think he liked my head! :P
I was terribly lost by then having taken a brand new street. I had no idea where the subway was and most people couldn't figure out my mime for train or underground - till one kindly old fruitseller hit the nail on the head and mime-beckoned me to follow her. She took me straight to the station in exchange of buying a bag of tiny little oranges from her. Like I said before - super sweet people :)
Of course, my sense of direction, rather the lack of it, kicked in again, and I ended up taking the wrong exit. Having no google maps to guide me, I stopped a man hurrying to the metro with a crazy amount of luggage, who took out his google maps and spent 15 minutes explaining the directions to me! I just love the people I meet on these trips!
After 6 and a half hours of walking non stop, I finally got into bed, watched "My Best Friend's Wedding" on HBO and went off to sleep.
The next 2 days were pretty much spent in office meeting really nice folks again :)
All in all, my first ever trip to China was a short but memorable one. I really wouldn't mind planning a personal trip to some of the other cities. If the world does end later this year, I'd die a happy girl - the universe has been super nice to me across the globe - I have no regrets :)
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