We had splurged and used to points to upgrade to the
front of the plane and WOW was that an amazing experience. Instead of seats that are $1,500 in coach –
these seats were $5,500 - each! The
first thing that we noticed was the control panel for the seats. Then we had a separate control for the
entertainment system. A full size
pillow and a very large blanket, slippers, an amenities kit and other “stuff”
rounded out the items that came with the seat.
Plus a very attentative set of flight attendants.
After we took off, they immediately started serving us
drinks and snacks as we read from the menu as what choices we would have for
the flight.
We were in huge seats and they were basically pods of two
seats together and the person behind you could not even touch your seat. When you put the seat in sleet mode, we
still had room at the end where we had stuff stored on the floor, in front of
the bed – what fun!!
Our first course started in about an hour from when we took
off and it was seared Tuna – wow was it good.
Ed had never had it before and the taste was amazing. One of the things that we were expecting was
to try a lot of new food items in Asia and this was the start. After that came the main course and Barb had
a pasta dish and Ed had a filet and they were both really good. Then Barb had a cheese and crackers tray and
Ed had a big ice cream Sunday!
When we were about 5 hours away, they served us a snack
and we both had sandwiches.
About an hour away, they served brunch and Ed order a
Din-Sun which was boiled dough with meat inside with noodles – very good.
Arrival was right on time and our guide was waiting
outside customs and he took us to the van with his waiting driver. The ride from the airport took about an hour
and a half and then we arrived at the JW Marriott at Tomorrow Square. We learned along the way that about 80% of Shanghai
is new since the 90’s and it is the most advanced city in mainland China. From what we saw coming in, everything is
big, new and bold!!
With 23 million people, an interesting fact is that they
limit the number of license plates that are available each year by holding a
lottery. If you win a plate, the cost is
$12,000 just for the privilege and then you have to buy the car. It looks right away there is a huge
difference between classes of people here.
We found out that jobs are very hard to come by and the wages are very
low. It is going to be interesting.
The lobby for the Marriott is on the 38th
floor and they upgraded us to a corner room on the 54th floor – wow
what a view!! Our guide then left us and
will return tomorrow.
We unpacked, looked around the hotel and then went out
onto the street. We are right in the
heart of the city and it is huge. We
took a little tram from the start of a major pedestrian friendly street to the
other end, and then took the tram back. Lots
and lots of young people out having fun walking up and down this major shopping
area with parts looking like a big city back home with the same brands, Nike,
Apple, etc. Of course they are selling
local products!!
We went into a multiple story food market and on the top
floor they had a food cooking areas with absolutely no information as to what
we were looking at. We pointed at a bowl
of food that looked good and ordered it.
It was a bowl of cooked some kind of meat with noodles and other things
in it. We sat and shared it and then
walked back to the hotel.
At the hotel, we went up to the Executive Lounge and they
had great snacks so we finished our dinner there. At that point, it was 8:00pm and we simply
crashed into bed and slept until 4:00am.
We are now both up, watching the city wake up. Hopefully after today, we will better adjust
to the time change. Ed forgot to turn
his phone off and a call came in at 4 – it will be off in future evenings!
The time between here and the US is hard to think
about. Right now, it is 6:00am on Friday
and it is 5:00pm yesterday in Bloomington!!!
Our first impression is that while this is a Communist
country, it is certainly different than our trip to Russia. This is big, bold and commercial and looks
like any big city of 23 million in new buildings. Russia was not – It was big but cold.
At 9:30am this morning, our guide will pick us up and we
will start our journey in Shanghai.
What a great start to an adventure we have been looking forward to for a long time.
 |
| A major shopping street |
 |
| Lunch was??? |
 |
| The lunch restraurant |
 |
| Ready for the trip |
 |
| Way too many controls |
 |
| Grilled Tuna for a snack and it was really good!! |
 |
| Trolly down the main walking street |
No comments:
Post a Comment