Journey to Melbourne: Phase II - Arrival in Shanghai, China
Shanghai, China. We weren't there yet but we're on our way. Christine and I weren't looking forward to the long flight there from LAX but were pleasantly surprised to find that we had emergency exit seats. Not only did we have a ton of legroom but we also had quick access to the bathrooms and an electrical outlet!! That was nice because it allowed me to break out the computer and do some writing without having to worry about the battery. Needless to say, that 14-hour plane ride to Shanghai went very quickly.
We arrived in Shanghai on April 18th and braced ourselves for the culture shock. There is no better way to experience culture shock than with an airport taxi ride in a country where you don't speak the language. We got into a reputable looking taxi (had a taxi sign on the top, license on the windshield and a meter in plain view, all of which are key to not getting ripped off) and proceeded to try to communicate which hotel we want to go to. We were planning on flying to Beijing ASAP so we wanted the closest place to the airport that is still cheap. We very quickly realized that we could not even convey hello to this guy. We then first found that the Lonely Planet China is great because everything important in the book is also written in Chinese. This proved to be indispensable throughout the trip because none (and I mean none) of the cab drivers anywhere spoke English. Not a word! It became second hand to have a finger in the book as a mark and then immediately upon entering a taxi, pressing it up to the plexi-glass divider while simultaneously saying the Chinese name for the street (different than English translation) over and over.
So we pointed to the hotel and got an obvious sign of recognition. Excellent! The driver took off down the highway and we were on our way! We sat back and began to take in the nighttime scenery. We were just getting settled into what is to be a 30-minute cab ride when the drivers cell phone rang. I wasn't surprised about it at all until he turned around and reached out to hand the phone to ME!! Huh?! Apparently the call was for me. I took the phone, put it to my ear and on the other end of the line was a woman talking in very broken English. I had no idea what she was saying and all I understood was, ok, ok? As if she asked me a question. After a few minutes of confusion and the driver slowing down to a crawl on the highway while looking back in earnest, I said ok. I handed the phone back to the driver and he looked at me with the same question in his eyes so I nodded and said ok again having no idea what I had agreed to. He then proceeded to make a u-turn and take us back to the airport!! Christine and I just looked at each other and tried to wish ourselves into a hotel bedroom because we were both exhausted. We had no idea what was about to happen or how long it will be until we see a bed. What a start to a trip! We get back to the airport and come to find out there was another person going to the same location. They figured they could get him since we hadn't gone too far. They were asking me if it was ok to turn around and get them since technically it was our cab at the moment. Mystery solved. That experience was great because (though we didn’t know it at the time) it echoed a theme that reoccurred throughout the trip. Every time (but one) we were in a situation where we were either at the mercy of someone or in a position to be ripped off or screwed with, it never happened. People were always completely honest, trustworthy and polite (not to be mistaken with friendly). We constantly expected to be ripped off or screwed with and were constantly pleasantly surprised. We never let our guard down though. Twice we had all but accused people of short changing us but come to find out it was a miscalculation on our part. That’s embarrassing because they take it very personally. We found out that the Chinese government punishes people harshly for any crimes against foreigners. This was good to know and helped us feel a bit safer throughout the trip.
So we then proceeded directly to our hotel in Pudong (near Shanghai). We were only there two days and didn't see much in that time but we did manage to get ourselves into a terrible predicament on our first day. That will be in my next post.
We arrived in Shanghai on April 18th and braced ourselves for the culture shock. There is no better way to experience culture shock than with an airport taxi ride in a country where you don't speak the language. We got into a reputable looking taxi (had a taxi sign on the top, license on the windshield and a meter in plain view, all of which are key to not getting ripped off) and proceeded to try to communicate which hotel we want to go to. We were planning on flying to Beijing ASAP so we wanted the closest place to the airport that is still cheap. We very quickly realized that we could not even convey hello to this guy. We then first found that the Lonely Planet China is great because everything important in the book is also written in Chinese. This proved to be indispensable throughout the trip because none (and I mean none) of the cab drivers anywhere spoke English. Not a word! It became second hand to have a finger in the book as a mark and then immediately upon entering a taxi, pressing it up to the plexi-glass divider while simultaneously saying the Chinese name for the street (different than English translation) over and over.
So we pointed to the hotel and got an obvious sign of recognition. Excellent! The driver took off down the highway and we were on our way! We sat back and began to take in the nighttime scenery. We were just getting settled into what is to be a 30-minute cab ride when the drivers cell phone rang. I wasn't surprised about it at all until he turned around and reached out to hand the phone to ME!! Huh?! Apparently the call was for me. I took the phone, put it to my ear and on the other end of the line was a woman talking in very broken English. I had no idea what she was saying and all I understood was, ok, ok? As if she asked me a question. After a few minutes of confusion and the driver slowing down to a crawl on the highway while looking back in earnest, I said ok. I handed the phone back to the driver and he looked at me with the same question in his eyes so I nodded and said ok again having no idea what I had agreed to. He then proceeded to make a u-turn and take us back to the airport!! Christine and I just looked at each other and tried to wish ourselves into a hotel bedroom because we were both exhausted. We had no idea what was about to happen or how long it will be until we see a bed. What a start to a trip! We get back to the airport and come to find out there was another person going to the same location. They figured they could get him since we hadn't gone too far. They were asking me if it was ok to turn around and get them since technically it was our cab at the moment. Mystery solved. That experience was great because (though we didn’t know it at the time) it echoed a theme that reoccurred throughout the trip. Every time (but one) we were in a situation where we were either at the mercy of someone or in a position to be ripped off or screwed with, it never happened. People were always completely honest, trustworthy and polite (not to be mistaken with friendly). We constantly expected to be ripped off or screwed with and were constantly pleasantly surprised. We never let our guard down though. Twice we had all but accused people of short changing us but come to find out it was a miscalculation on our part. That’s embarrassing because they take it very personally. We found out that the Chinese government punishes people harshly for any crimes against foreigners. This was good to know and helped us feel a bit safer throughout the trip.
So we then proceeded directly to our hotel in Pudong (near Shanghai). We were only there two days and didn't see much in that time but we did manage to get ourselves into a terrible predicament on our first day. That will be in my next post.
posted by Eric O. @ 9:05 PM
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