touchdown in shanghai

we're here in shanghai!

we're in this cavernous terminal building and it's 10:35am. and although the weather bureau says it ought to be cold and gloomy outside, the whole place actually looks like it's awash in sunlight. my seatmate, a garrulous tsinay who has been here a few times last year says it's usually like this early during the day, and that it gets really cold and dark during the afternoon. 

pudong airport complex is soooo huge (*jaw drops*) – it literally dwarfs mia (even including the Centennial airport complex). everything looks squeaky clean, metallic, and efficient. shanghai, being a major hub in asia, is filled with tourists and expats of all conceivable color. medyo madami na din ang mga caucasians dito; i'd seen a few black guys, many indians (at least that's what they looked like to me), a big number of koreans and of course there's always the ubiquitous pinoys — andami  nila dito, doing all sorts of jobs…

new asia hotel (somewhere near sichuan st), where we stayed for the weekend

we're now on our way to our respective hotels (i'm famished!). there are 6 of us who are bound for new asia hotel. it's near the Bund and Nanjing Rd, so the guide told us it'll be pretty exciting there. i don't know; for now i just want to find a nice, warm bed to crash into.

*yawn* we're going out for a quick bite, then i'm catching a few ZZZZs. will keep you posted later.

Note: i'm having a difficult time posting today because of the unfamilair (chinese) keyboard i'm using. i can't find any web/wi-fi cafe near our hotel so i'm using somebody's PC to post this thing. i'll just insert the pictures later. 

high road to… Shanghai!

i am sure this will come as a huge surprise to my friends and officemates. barring any mishap or any freakish turn of events (*knock on wood*), we'll be arriving in the huge, sprawling city of Shanghai (est. pop.: 15M) later today. my ticket says 9:50 am, but i'm basically pragmatic, so for the moment let's skip the bull and agree that we'll get there in more or less 3 1/2 hours. well, whatever.
 
i purposely kept this trip under wraps because frankly, i feel ambivalent about the whole thing. plus, i've been so busy these past 2 weeks — everything had a surreal feel to it. maybe the next few days will help me keep up with events as they happen.
 
up until noon yesterday, i wasn't sure if we would actually push through due to some visa hassles; fortunately, around 4pm everything cleared up and by 5:15pm we were given the green light. and so, to shanghai we go.
 
*yawn* sorry. i was up until 3am throwing things haphazardly into my battered suitcase, and generally wondering what i'm letting myself in for. i had to check my hastily drawn-up list, which looks as though a major battle has been fought over it, every now and then to make sure i'm on track. finally, i decided to trust things to luck (aka The Art of Winging It), and made sure i had packed the following items:
 
@ camera — of course! what self-respecting tourist would be caught dead without one? (*checks the bag just the same; sighs in relief upon finding said camera tucked in a corner*)
@ celphone *looks at the unit dubiously* — cripes! i just realized that i totally forgot to have my international roaming service activated on time. oh well, at least i can play some games in it when i get bored.
@ tickets and hotel voucher (*dives back to check if they're in the bag*) (*breathing resumes upon finding these docs folded neatly in my neck pouch*)
@ travel money and credit cards — this early i'm already mourning the total amount i'll end up spending for this trip. whatever it is, i'm pretty sure it'll be considerably more than i'd bargained for. *shrugs*
@ my other list… (*gasps, goes frantically through the bag's contents for the third time*) ye gods, i left it on my study table!
@ cold weather gear (coat [check], scarf [check], mittens [completely slipped my mind], socks [check])

all  in all, i guess i'm ready (i hope). be back in good ol' manila in 4 days (mar. 12).