Shanghaied in Shanghai

Wow, Shanghai is like totally chilled compared to Beijing. However, as things are panning out, I am unable to get any tickets out of here next week due to the fact that all the tickets out to Guilin/Yangshuo or out to Xinjiang way are pretty much sold out due to the October holidays. The prices for accom are getting upped by about 20 - 30% during that time, and even so I don't think I'm gonna be able to get one when I just turn up. So I'm shanghaied in Shanghai, but it might just be a little more fun than I thought.

Templeton went back to Bangladesh yesterday morning (sniff) and I took the night train in from Beijing. It was a much much more pleasant experience than the Shenyang-Beijing leg because I got a soft seat this time. While its a bit sad not knowing when I will see T again I am actually really quite enjoying travelling on my own again. I guess its because I get a lot more anonymity by myself here, I can just pass as a local and people don't hike prices up just cos I have a Caucasian next to me, and basically able to interact a lot more freely. And surprisingly, less frequently mistaken as Japanese. (another relief...).

Oh man, what a huge difference a 12 hour train makes! There's no soldiers here breathing down your throat, just the very occasional PSB at the busy spots, and NO OLYMPIC PROPAGANDA!! While the Special Olympics is being held here, there is a banner here and there and the occasional mention in the news, at the end of the day no one really gives a shit. And even without the Olympics propaganda telling the citizens to "behave, line up, wait at the lights", people seemed to be a lot more switched on in terms of basic politeness/civility to each other at the shopping/bus ques and cars actually let people pass at the crossing rather than just drive straight through the crowd. Finally!!!

The atmosphere here oozes commercial flare and business savvy. Its pretty obvious that Shanghai is the economic hub of China, and given the colonial past and the exposure to more worldly tastes, it is just so much nicer than stuffy old Beijing. People look smart, the shops are glitzy, and while polluted, the night scene looks beautiful and pumping with life. I can hear people in jeans and t-shirt closing a stock deal on the mobile phone next to a dumpling store, kids in gear straight from the Hong Kong cat walk, but also the excitement coming out of hole in the wall restaurants and the fierce yelling and the occasional slapping from the very very frequent quarrels people would have on the street. People from all over China come here to live and work, so while the local Shanghainese cuisine is pretty world famous, and they have their own dialect here, you can get all sorts of food from every corner in China and hear all sorts of accents. The evident halal restaurants and Muslim presence in the Huangpu area where I am staying, for example, adds to the spark of it all.

Oh how nice! the chick at the internet cafe here is going around making orders for dinners which they bring to you at your computer - great way to ensure you don't loose time on Warcraft. But I think I might just have to head out and explore the Bund now. Woo hoo!