Shanghai, China

The train ride last night (Sunday, 17 September) was fantastic. The train was probably the nicest I've been on (including in Europe) and had it not had 4 beds in the compartment it would have been first class. And it was really fast! I don't think we made a single stop. It also didn't move around as much or make as much noise as the other trains I've been on. My only complaint was the lumberjack beneath me snoring loudly. When he was sitting across from me when we first got on the train I could hear him breathly (his normal breathing was audible) and I knew he would be a heavy snorer. I was right. But I still got enough sleep to feel completely rested when my train arrived, which is always my goal when taking overnight trains.

So I arrived in Shanghai, China this morning (Monday, 18 September) at 7 am and took the metro from the train station to near my hostel. I love cities with metros because it is so easy to get around. My hostel is really expensive by Chinese standards at $8 and I think that is going to be the rule in Shanghai. Then I went for a walk to get a feel for the town. Immediately I could tell that Shanghai is a much different city than Beijing. It is very modern with lots of cool architecture and lots of tall buildings. The view from the riverfront, aka The Bund, is amazing. Of course there are lots of people around too. But it just feels so different from Beijing, like being in another country.

There seems to be a shortage of internet cafes in China for some reason, and in Shanghai in particular. My hostel is charging criminal prices for the internet so I won't be using it there.

I also have a problem with breakfast in China as I just can't make myself eat rice or noddles first thing in the morning. In Beijing I just ate a western breakfast every morning but I don't think I'm going to be able to keep that up.