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Asia times ... again
Entry 105 of 118 | show all | print this entry |
Back to Asia :) with a group of Bondies :) let's see what happens
I'm backtracking now :) Went to China on a Study Tour with 20 other students ... and I must say that now, that I think back - was probably one of the best things I have ever done :)
Well ... It all started on a 20th of april when we gathered next to a bus stop @ Bond. Justin, our entrepreneurship professor was supposed to "take care" of us so we all would land safely in China :) well ... he did a great job! A group of perfect strangers going on a Study Tour - great! :) I was skeptical - since I was definitely one of the "most traveled people" on the tour ... Anyway, ... we all got on the plane, got off in Shanghai and were picked up by Titan (our prof) and Jeremy (the logistics master) in Pudong Airport.
The First "experience" was Maglev Train which takes you from the airport to the city center in less than 10 minutes. Maglev is the fastest commercial train in the world and it reaches top speed (on a normal run) of 431 km/h. UAU! I took shinkansen (fast trains) in Japan, so it was nothing "superspecial" but it's true that it definitely IS cool! :) There is not much space - but hey, 7 minutes on a train in comparison with an hour long journey through traffic. There were practically NO Chinese on the train :) 50 RMB for 7 minutes ... hmmmm :)
Arrived to our hotel in the center of the city, next to the People's Square with museums, Urban Development Exhibition Hall, shops, bustling city life, people selling stuff "Prada, Gucci" ... It's hard to say ... I was back in China but in a completely different way - back in the world of China where people speak english, fancy hotels with rich people, elevators, room service, pools (that don't work) and yea ... a world which seems more familiar to me than a place I call "home".
On the first afternoon, Titan decided to impress us BIG time, so he took us to Bund - to one of the restaurants where they served buffet dinner. Not JUST a buffet dinner. It was IMPRESSIVE. Apart from Chinese and Asian food there was also western, middle - eastern, french cuisine and well it's hard to describe but let's just say that we were all AMAZED! I had like the BEST sashimi ever and the deserts were incredible. It was all very "japanese" minimalist and perfectionist looking, but apart from great esthetic appearance also tasted GREAT! After dinner we went to Cloud 9, above the Grand Hyatt in Jin Mao tower and began the Long Island Ice Tea tradition :) ...
So ... the China Tour has successfully started :) We broke the ICE :) (well,... some of us continued drinking in our hotel, listening to live Filipinas (man, I can speak Tagalog:) concierto in the round bar in Radission and seeing a terrible dancing abilities of other (AUSTRIAN) hotel guests. )
China ...? Let's see what happens :) I can't describe the feelings ... Oh, and the timing is perfect - as we watched BBC and I was reading "The Straits Times" (Singaporean newspaper) on the plane - every news is about Carrefour and the demonstrations in front of them :) hilarious. I'm always amazed how ignorant the western world is towards non - western cultures. Seems like one day someone is going to wake up and say: yea, well, see there is this country... China 1.3 billion and oh India 1.12 billion and oh, Congo and Niger are all projected to grow for almost 1/2 of their population in the next 20 yrs. Ignorance is a bliss. In the world of a lone traveler, experience is the biggest reward.
Latest Comments (1)
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Very nice (reply)
May 12, 2008 11:57 EST by starlagurl
Sounds like you had a great time with all your new friends. I've always wanted to ride in a bullet train, it must've been amazing! Good blog, thanks for writing it.
Louise Brown
TravelPod Community Manager
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