Despite the crappy weather at the outset, 2/3rds of the way there we finally got some cloud break, right over the islands of Japan.
Truth be told, of all destinations in Asia that would be my first choice, so much history, technology, mystique... I am fascinated just looking down at the miniature signs of advanced civilization from 38,000 ft. What sort of science-fiction stuff is being toyed with in those millions of offices and factories at this very second?...
Sleep came in bits and pieces. Ray did a little better, but I was too wired to get more than maybe 2 hours in, not near enough since I had managed but 3 the night before. The number one interuption was the evil child three rows up from us. Judging by the looks, most passengers were close to the point of simply lobbing him from the nearest emergency exit. We figured this one might be a problem when the gate agents actually yelled at the father to please get him under control while he ran amuck during boarding. Sadly we were correct.
I try to tune out the howling for the most part by keeping my earphones jammed in tight and catching up on a few films. Let me tell you, in-flight entertainment has come one hell of a long way in the last few years, these long-distance birds now have not just individual seat LCD screens but a whole menu-driven array of movies, TV shows, games and flight data that you can pause, fast forward, you name it.
By about 10 hours in I was getting a little antsy, but once I saw Japan and then the Asian mainland looking but a few hundred kilometers away figityness turned to excitement. The only casualties were my ankles and feet, which had swollen so badly that I could hardly get my shoes back on. My fault for not getting off my ass more often and doing a few laps of the plane.
Shanghai airport was a model of efficiency, we were through customs in no time and our bags were already on the carousel. Score 1 for The People's Repulic; Mao & co. could teach a few things to the noodnicks that run more than a few of the world's democratic airports.
Sleep came in bits and pieces. Ray did a little better, but I was too wired to get more than maybe 2 hours in, not near enough since I had managed but 3 the night before. The number one interuption was the evil child three rows up from us. Judging by the looks, most passengers were close to the point of simply lobbing him from the nearest emergency exit. We figured this one might be a problem when the gate agents actually yelled at the father to please get him under control while he ran amuck during boarding. Sadly we were correct.
I try to tune out the howling for the most part by keeping my earphones jammed in tight and catching up on a few films. Let me tell you, in-flight entertainment has come one hell of a long way in the last few years, these long-distance birds now have not just individual seat LCD screens but a whole menu-driven array of movies, TV shows, games and flight data that you can pause, fast forward, you name it.
By about 10 hours in I was getting a little antsy, but once I saw Japan and then the Asian mainland looking but a few hundred kilometers away figityness turned to excitement. The only casualties were my ankles and feet, which had swollen so badly that I could hardly get my shoes back on. My fault for not getting off my ass more often and doing a few laps of the plane.
Shanghai airport was a model of efficiency, we were through customs in no time and our bags were already on the carousel. Score 1 for The People's Repulic; Mao & co. could teach a few things to the noodnicks that run more than a few of the world's democratic airports.
Our friend and business partner Mike picked us up and quickly got us moving into the ebb and flow of Chinese traffic. This I must tell you is not for the faint of heart, these people are some of the most aggressive drivers I've seen anywhere in the world. They don't drive particularly fast or make any really sudden moves, but they just constantly signal and go any damn direction they please. If you happen to be in the way, then you best move or crash into them. It's really quite amazing. I've witnessed more unbelivably close calls in just a few days than I would see at home in a year. This applies to cars, trucks, bicycles, scooters, you name it. I mean, these folks are nuts. I still can't believe I've yet to see an accident.
Although our hotel looked impressive on the website, nothing was really sufficient to prepare us for the reality. I mean, this place is da bomb. I'm sure we have stuff in the western world to top it, but I'll never likely experience it myself. I'll let the photos do most of the talking, but just to rattle off a few points of interest:
You have your choice from a menu of seven different pillow types for your bed.
All the area lights the room's hallway, closet and bathroom are motion controlled, no switches. You show up, they turn on, you leave, they go out. The room has 4, yes, 4 remote controls. The area lights and air conditioning are remote controlled, as well as the electrically powered inner and outer curtains. Nothing like rolling over in the morning and pressing a button to let the sun in..jpg)
That never gets old.
Although our hotel looked impressive on the website, nothing was really sufficient to prepare us for the reality. I mean, this place is da bomb. I'm sure we have stuff in the western world to top it, but I'll never likely experience it myself. I'll let the photos do most of the talking, but just to rattle off a few points of interest:
You have your choice from a menu of seven different pillow types for your bed.
All the area lights the room's hallway, closet and bathroom are motion controlled, no switches. You show up, they turn on, you leave, they go out. The room has 4, yes, 4 remote controls. The area lights and air conditioning are remote controlled, as well as the electrically powered inner and outer curtains. Nothing like rolling over in the morning and pressing a button to let the sun in..jpg)
That never gets old.The shower stall is quite unlike anything I've ever seen, it's a complete glass enclosure at least 5/8ths thick and the hinges that hold the door on look about right for the main turret hatch of an M1 Abrams. The shower head is nearly a foot in diameter and does an impressive job of duplicating Niagara falls after a spring storm. Madness.
Knowing that Ray in particular is, um, a wee bit conservative in matters of a gastronmic nature, Mike breaks us in easy with a first dinner out at a place that more or less duplicates a German style schnitzel haus. Although it's more than a little bizarre to see a fleet of petite Chinese women dressed up as Bavarian beer fraus, the food is great and I heartily tuck into a pile of sausages and saurkraut along with the biggest mug of lager I've ever seen. Not wanting to appear rude I do my best to finish, despite the fact the medical website I've just checked says the worst thing to do about the swollen ankle thing is ingest more alcohol. Of course, the sacrfice must be made in the interest of diplomacy...
Day two is a real treat, we are taken to the Shanghai F1 circuit. I know little about this track owing to my waning interest in the sport the last few years, but I do remember reading up about it a bit from a Moto GP (bike) race article and thought it pretty futuristic looking from the photos. We are not disappointed. Upon rounding the bend into the main parking lot Ray's and my jaws drop in unison. The place looks like it just landed from outer space. Like Shanghai itself, it is big on a scale that's hard to describe and is spectacularly designed. We are treated to a full guided tour, 
in Chinese with Mike doing translation. Mike has been to most of the F1 tracks in the world and he confirms this one takes the cake. The most impressive aspect is how much of the track you can see, depending where you sit anywhere from a third to nearly three quarters of the entire circuit is visible. I would kill to see a race here. The view from one of the two signature giant ovoid bridges that houses the Media center way high up over the start/finish line is positively dizzying.
We discover along the way that the facility also houses a karting circuit; Mike and I light up like a couple of 10 year olds and we make a beeline for it. The track offers a choice of entry level 4 strokes, or the real deal, 125cc 2 strokers. Unfortunately there are only 3 of those operational so we elect to go two at a time. Mike and I go out first but we never really get to race as the drive chain blows on his car on the second lap, and by the time they get it fixed my time is up. Although it's likely nowhere near the performance of the all out liquid-cooled race jobs, the air-cooled two stroke is much quicker than anything I've tried before and is a real scream when you get it up on the powerband. Braking proves to be pretty spongy, but hey, slowing down is overated in my books. The day's best moment is when Mr. O'Regan takes to the track. I am amazed to learn that he's never actually set foot in a kart. I give him a few pointers about the quick steering and rear only braking techniques, but omit to mention the giant water hazard that awaits on the inside of the first chicane. Oops...
SPPPPLOOOOOOOOOSSSHHH!!!
Well that was entertaining. Despite this he soldiers on, slowly, but steadily cracking off better and better laps. Come time to get out, he is truly a sight to behold, clean as a whistle on the left, completely drown in water and muck on the right. Classic. I immediately wonder if they'll let him back into the hotel like this. "Homeless Irishman found on Shanghai sidewalks, film at eleven..."
After a clean-up session we are off to dinner, this time a Japanese style steak house. No big flaming show like Beni Hana's but the food is awesome. I try everything that comes at me, including goose liver and caviar cooked inside a poached egg, normally something based on description alone I'd run screaming from. Who knew?
The strangest activity yet was to come. Mike has been making noises about showing us some real Shanghai style night life but divulges no details. We arrive at a rather imposing and regal looking structured named simply the Shanghai Night Club and upon entering and are accosted by an army of perfectly uniformed male and female staff singing out greetings full blast to us as we walk down the lavishly decorated halls. We eventually wind up in a private room surrounded in deep pillowed couches, big coffee tables and a huge TV screen and sound system at the front. We are told it's Kareoke time. Um, OK...
It gets weirder still. The next thing we know three hostesses show up, one looking like the boss, drinks are served and suddenly a lineup of beautiful, elegantly dressed Chinese girls are paraded in. Huh?!? Really not sure where this is all going, Ray and I exchange furtive glances. Mike says we have to pick. Um... OK. We each in turn pick a girl, they sit down next to us and we all are introduced. Turns out they are our Kareoke partner / personal hostesses for the evening, and they are there to sing, get us to sing, pour drinks and generally see to it that we remain charmed and pleased with the whole experience. Having never heard of this I'm not sure what to make of it all, but one thing is certain, in my experience more drinks generally leads to easier acceptance of such situations, and so once again I did my duty. The drink of choice was whisky and green tea, which again sounds more than a little weird but goes down just great. Better yet, it amazingly leaves zero hangover. This stuff ought to be patented.
Everyone seemed to have a blast, I even belted out a couple of tunes, Hey Jude being my best work, Hotel California less than exemplary (didn't remember Henley being in such a high register, but at least I didn't crack). I gave up communicating with my pleasant but painfully shy hostess pretty early on, as although she was part of a group selected for their ability to speak English, her vocabularly was extremely limited, plus she was coming down with a cold and looked pretty done in after the first couple of hours. I continued to sing, drink and observe. Fascinating.
Day three had us out to visit our first factory, which I will call Echo in the interests of industrial secrecy. This being a public forum I can divulge no further details other than to say the tour was very detailed and it was incredibly insightful to witness the material literally going from ingot at one end to boxed product at the other, and I can't wait to compare the extensive notes with the other places we'll be visiting on the trip. We have another tomorrow that's 3 hours away, then 2 different other ones on Wednesday so energy will be at a premium from here on in. Thus tonight's an early one, no craziness.
What further ancient Chinese secrets await Team Fast? Stayed tuned...
in Chinese with Mike doing translation. Mike has been to most of the F1 tracks in the world and he confirms this one takes the cake. The most impressive aspect is how much of the track you can see, depending where you sit anywhere from a third to nearly three quarters of the entire circuit is visible. I would kill to see a race here. The view from one of the two signature giant ovoid bridges that houses the Media center way high up over the start/finish line is positively dizzying.We discover along the way that the facility also houses a karting circuit; Mike and I light up like a couple of 10 year olds and we make a beeline for it. The track offers a choice of entry level 4 strokes, or the real deal, 125cc 2 strokers. Unfortunately there are only 3 of those operational so we elect to go two at a time. Mike and I go out first but we never really get to race as the drive chain blows on his car on the second lap, and by the time they get it fixed my time is up. Although it's likely nowhere near the performance of the all out liquid-cooled race jobs, the air-cooled two stroke is much quicker than anything I've tried before and is a real scream when you get it up on the powerband. Braking proves to be pretty spongy, but hey, slowing down is overated in my books. The day's best moment is when Mr. O'Regan takes to the track. I am amazed to learn that he's never actually set foot in a kart. I give him a few pointers about the quick steering and rear only braking techniques, but omit to mention the giant water hazard that awaits on the inside of the first chicane. Oops...
SPPPPLOOOOOOOOOSSSHHH!!!
Well that was entertaining. Despite this he soldiers on, slowly, but steadily cracking off better and better laps. Come time to get out, he is truly a sight to behold, clean as a whistle on the left, completely drown in water and muck on the right. Classic. I immediately wonder if they'll let him back into the hotel like this. "Homeless Irishman found on Shanghai sidewalks, film at eleven..."
After a clean-up session we are off to dinner, this time a Japanese style steak house. No big flaming show like Beni Hana's but the food is awesome. I try everything that comes at me, including goose liver and caviar cooked inside a poached egg, normally something based on description alone I'd run screaming from. Who knew?
The strangest activity yet was to come. Mike has been making noises about showing us some real Shanghai style night life but divulges no details. We arrive at a rather imposing and regal looking structured named simply the Shanghai Night Club and upon entering and are accosted by an army of perfectly uniformed male and female staff singing out greetings full blast to us as we walk down the lavishly decorated halls. We eventually wind up in a private room surrounded in deep pillowed couches, big coffee tables and a huge TV screen and sound system at the front. We are told it's Kareoke time. Um, OK...
It gets weirder still. The next thing we know three hostesses show up, one looking like the boss, drinks are served and suddenly a lineup of beautiful, elegantly dressed Chinese girls are paraded in. Huh?!? Really not sure where this is all going, Ray and I exchange furtive glances. Mike says we have to pick. Um... OK. We each in turn pick a girl, they sit down next to us and we all are introduced. Turns out they are our Kareoke partner / personal hostesses for the evening, and they are there to sing, get us to sing, pour drinks and generally see to it that we remain charmed and pleased with the whole experience. Having never heard of this I'm not sure what to make of it all, but one thing is certain, in my experience more drinks generally leads to easier acceptance of such situations, and so once again I did my duty. The drink of choice was whisky and green tea, which again sounds more than a little weird but goes down just great. Better yet, it amazingly leaves zero hangover. This stuff ought to be patented.
Everyone seemed to have a blast, I even belted out a couple of tunes, Hey Jude being my best work, Hotel California less than exemplary (didn't remember Henley being in such a high register, but at least I didn't crack). I gave up communicating with my pleasant but painfully shy hostess pretty early on, as although she was part of a group selected for their ability to speak English, her vocabularly was extremely limited, plus she was coming down with a cold and looked pretty done in after the first couple of hours. I continued to sing, drink and observe. Fascinating.
Day three had us out to visit our first factory, which I will call Echo in the interests of industrial secrecy. This being a public forum I can divulge no further details other than to say the tour was very detailed and it was incredibly insightful to witness the material literally going from ingot at one end to boxed product at the other, and I can't wait to compare the extensive notes with the other places we'll be visiting on the trip. We have another tomorrow that's 3 hours away, then 2 different other ones on Wednesday so energy will be at a premium from here on in. Thus tonight's an early one, no craziness.
What further ancient Chinese secrets await Team Fast? Stayed tuned...
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