China Trip: Epilogue

Day 13

Epilogue

Time: 12.30pm
Place: Somewhere above mainland China.

And so this account ends on the same note as it had begun; both in the sense that we're in the same place, and the degree of unexpected excitement involved in what should have been a straightforward day.

Actually - I only just looked at the map - by now we're already flying above the South China sea. Apparently I was sleeping longer than I had expected.

Waking up early this morning wasn't that hard, for some reason. After a bit of final packing of our bags, we set off. After checking out, we walked out to the Yan'an Road, dodged one 'black' cab (i.e. one that goes without a meter) and got into a legit cab.

Which is why we were surprised - no, shocked - when the cab fare came up to 70¥. And we hadn't even left Shanghai as we only were taking the cab to the metro station from where the Maglev train departs. Eugene was pissed for awhile; he took the receipt and took down the cabbie's particulars. He will be checking with his friends back in Suzhou about the reasonableness of that price. The cabbie was actually trying to persuade us to take his cab all the way to the airport; the counter was that the whole objective was to take the 50¥ Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) Bullet train.

The Maglev train here goes up to 430km/h, but during our trip, it only went up to 300km/h, which is about the same speed as the other high-speed trains we have been taking. I think it has something to do with peak period travel. Anyway one clear difference between the Maglev and the normal high speed train was the effortlessness involved in the acceleration to 300km/h. I think the train reached full speed in about a minute. Had we been on a normal bullet train, by the time it reached peak speed, it would have been time to slow down as we would have been approaching the Airport Station. Also, the Maglev train actually banks on its axis when it turns. Eugene had exaggerated here, because I don't think one would feel the banking unless one looks out for it. At least in my perspective.

And so we were at the airport in about 10 to 15 min. Eugene still needed to do buy souvenirs for his sister, so, after checking in the baggage, we went souvenir shopping.

The prices here were insanely marked up from city prices. No surprise to me, but apparently Eugene was surprised by the degree of price inflation. So in the end he didn't buy anything; instead he decided to give her the souvenirs he had originally intended for Wee Long. I can understand his predicament.

Souvenir shopping took longer than expected; and so our experience in Shanghai ended in what was a marathon sprint to the gate. I think the PA system had announced for us to come, so we came running. We were the last people to board the plane, and, amazingly, the plane started its taxi to the runway 2min earlier than the expected departure time.

And so ends the account of my China Trip. Its been an enlightening trip, and I'm thankful that the primary objectives of the trip (seeing Eugene and the Great Wall) as well as many secondary objectives (sightseeing in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing and Nanjing) have been achieved. Even more thankful that there were a few unexpected sights - Wee Long used the word Juan Dao.

Its probably not the last I've seen of CHINA but its probably the last I've seen of Shanghai and Beijing. Hangzhou is a beautiful city that we didn't get to experience fully due to weather constrictions; and I've heard lots of good things about Huangshan which we didn't visit. Most importantly, it turns out that its possible to fly budget to Hangzhou. So probably that warrants a second visit somewhere in the distant future.

Till my next trip, then... Probably the US of A. USA! USA! USA!