Shanghai, China (GMT +8)

(Originally written by Fuji on November 3, 2010)

A snapshot of Shanghai from my taxicab

Wow... It's 2145 and I just got out of 1 of the scariest taxi rides in my life returning from dinner! The driver was literally falling asleep and waking up just in the nick of time to stop or dodge other cars/pedestrians/moped drivers! Because he was falling asleep and waking up, he was driving in surges. I kept banging on the plastic cubical that surrounds the driver in all the taxis' here and yelling loudly in English - he only spoke Chinese - to jar him back to life. But, he just kept falling asleep. I was a mixture of very anxious, irritated and amazed that he even got me back to the hotel - just took longer and cost more because of the route he chose and the way he was driving. I'm quite relieved to be out of that ride!

Just bundled up my used clothing and had the laundry service folks pick up my bag. Should have the clothes back tomorrow afternoon.

I hope to be able to wander around some tomorrow. Gene leaves for Singapore mid-day tomorrow and I'll be working from my hotel room.

Some observations of Shanghai - mostly from the rear seat of the many taxi rides I've taken:

  - Today was probably the nicest day so far here in Shanghai... a bit on the cool side but pleasant. I've yet to see/experience a day without smog.  There's a perpetual haze over the city which tends to mask the sun. You do see some blue sky though. 
  - I'm amazed there aren't more accidents or fatalities the way folks drive here and the sheer volume of traffic from big buses, large and small cars, cabs of all types, 2 wheeled bikes/cycles of all types, and even hand drawn carts, all co-mingled in the streets of Shanghai. Throw in a gazillion pedestrians and it's a veritable cornucopia of movement with only a loose adherence to anything that resembles traffic laws. :-) Also, and most likely what contributes to the smog here, is the lack of emission laws. Ahhh, the cost of modernization....

The ubiquitous Starbucks, right outside my hotel

  - Everywhere you look one sees the influence of Western society pervading this city from advertising, clothing, food. Wherever you see a large hotel, there appears to be an associated Starbucks coffee - surprises me since, just like in the US, Starbucks is hugely dependent on discretionary spend. I guess that in a city of 25million+, there's enough folks doing well enough to frequent Starbucks - I know I've been frequenting the one outside the Ritz everyday. :-) yum! Plenty of familiar food establishments all over the city - McDonalds, KFC, and Papa John's Pizza to name a few. Even a Best Buy near the Dell office.
  - For lunch today I went out for a stroll. There are a ton of very inexpensive places to eat everywhere and everyone appears to partake. Stopped at a restaurant that specializes in Chinese dumplings. Quite tasty and very cheap to feed 2. Wanted to diet Coke but, diet anything is a rarity here in Shanghai. Because of my ongoing challenge with acclimating to this time zone, I went looking for a 'pick-me-up'. Couldn't find a 5 hr energy here and Red Bull only came in regular, heavily sugared form so, I passed on all of them and decided to take a nap before going out to dinner. Enjoyed that!
  - Smoking is a huge pasttime for many here in Shanghai, and I'd gather throughout China. Takes a bit of getting used to. I find that I stay kind of clogged up around smokers - and many are heavy smokers. Unlike in NJ/NY, smoking is quite allowed in restaurants - I'd forgotten how pervasive smoke can be to one's enjoyment of food and the impact to clothes.