First thing I learned, be careful when crossing the street - it's REALLY DANGEROUS!! People, cars, bikes, buses, taxis, motorcycyles... There's everything, and none of them seem to care about the others. The motorcycles drive wherever they want. They drive the wrong way down a one way, against the lights (all the time!) around corners as pedestrians are crossing a street, and even down the sidewalks! You can be walking along and have one come up behind you and miss you by a hair! Very unnerving. I walked down some streets and saw small markets, people hanging their clothes out, old men sitting on the steps talking, it was great. I also saw a few things that I would have loved to get a picture of, but thought it best that I keep my camera put away - I don't think they would have wanted pictures taken of what they were doing. A little gambling, negotiating, etc. Interesting, but I just kept walking. (Making mental notes: Remember how I got here - what turns I took - how long it took me.) Finally made it to the metro about 20 minutes later. Nice, easy walk though. I did realize that as I walked I was blogging in my head the entire time - like I was taking mental notes to tell you all about it. I've been blogging too much! So, I was able to figure out the subway system and hopped on. Where was I headed first?
The Maglev - the fastest train in the world. They have only one track from the station to the airport (actually 2 on tracks side by side) and I knew I couldn't leave Asia without taking a ride on a bullet train. But you'll have to hold on a minute, we're not quite there yet
On the subway I sat next to an old man, maybe 80 years old. He saw me get out my map after a few stops and check the stations. I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction. He asked me, in Chinese, where I was going. All the Chinese I had learned (the few words) left my brain and my mouth only found English. All day yesterday I practiced how to say "I don't speak Mandarin." - Where was that now?! I told him I was OK. He understood "OK" but did not believe me. He kept at it and motioned a bit. He was asking me which stop I needed. I told him Longyang. He smiled and put his hands up - that was his stop too! He kept chatting in Chinese and I just smiled. He said "Maglev?" and I nodded my head - "Yes!" He laughed and put one hand over the other, showing me how the train hovers above the track. Then he zoomed one hand over his arm, made the whooshing noise, and let out a big laugh. He guided me off the train and pointed me to the Maglev station. We both shook hands, smiled, and said goodbye. What a sweet man! So, now we are at the station.
The Maglev is the fastest train in the world. (There are several in Asia and Europe.) It uses magnetic forces to float above the track. It goes 431 km/hr (hold on, let me convert) - that's 268 miles per hour! It travels 20 miles in about 7 minutes, though most of that is spent speeding up and slowing down. You don't stay at the top speed for much of the trip. That's almost like going from Forest Lake to the Rosedale mall in 7 to8 minutes. It's fast! The ride is smooth but as you are headed out of town there are a lot of buildings close to the track and they go whooshing by so fast it made me a little disoriented. If I looked out at the land beyond I was fine. On the way back I felt and heard this "Fwoomph!" It was the other train coming the opposite direction, on myside of the train. It was so fast you could hardly even see it! Both trains were going top speed. I got a little video but it's pretty shaky. I can't upload it here but I'll show you when I get home. It looks like I pushed the fast forward button on a movie. So, the round trip was over within about 20 minutes. Back to the metro station to go to the Jing'an Buddhist temple. (Yes, I've seen a lot of temples - I love them.) Actually I was going to stop and see a little shopping first, but the ticket machine wouldn't let me buy a ticket to the People's Square, so I thought I'd just pass and go straight to the temple. I got there and found these two huge lions guarding the place.
I went inside to find that it was really quite empty. I'm either early or here on a quiet day of the week. Either way, I was thankful. I walked around a bit and took it all in. 
There is this metal tower thing in the middle of the square. It was pretty cool, but I didn't know what it was. (No English literature around at this one.) Later on I sat down and just watched everyone. I found a lot of people trying to throw coins into one of the openings. It's harder than it looks! People would keep trying and coins would rain down on everyone. Sometimes one would go in and come out the other side! I decided to try my luck at it and my coin went in on the first try. Does it count if it gets stuck on the little balcony outside the center? Let's say it does.
I love all the wonderful detail of everyhing - the silks, the carving, the woodwork. 
There are many wonderful sights. After a while I decided to just sit down next to this tree and just closed my eyes and listened. There was the sound of the city that was really overpowering, but it didn't take long for that to melt into a background hum and you could just FEEL this place. It was really cool.
When I was done I headed outside, not sure where I would end up. I started walking and turned a corner to find an old outdoor market. I headed in too take a look. (Making mental notes again - Remember what turns I took and how to get back! How far did I go? What street am I on?) First thing I smelled was food! I realized I'm hungry. Second thing I immediatley smelled was urine and sewage. Appetite just disappeared. I wandered around the market a bit but there was nothing I was interested in. Everything for the house and home but not much for the tourist.Walked around and saw the popular shopping area. Literally crossing the street you went from downtown China to Fashion Island USA. It was really strange. Grabbed a bite to eat and headed back. Yes, I made it back just fine. Remembered all the turns, streets, and subway stops. Just enough time to blog before going out on a dinner engagement at 6:00. Hope you enjoyed Shanghai.
No comments:
Post a Comment