5am came surprisingly easy for me, as we woke up in order to make our 8:30am flight at the airport an hour away. I ended up staying in last night, which was ultimately a good decision. Today’s definitely a full day, getting to Shanghai, sightseeing, and getting checked in to the hotel. Now that we’re Chinese-domestic-flight pros, checking in to the flight was much easier. Most people didn’t buy a bunch of junk in Xi’an, so the same people had the same overages, and all was taken care of with ease. I was excited that my new ATM card was waiting for me in Shanghai, so I splurged on breakfast. Turns out my fresh orange juice—and after thought—was more expensive than my beef noodle soup. Go figure, airport food is a ripoff globally.
The Shanghai airport is about an hour away from the main city, so we didn’t get to see much right off the bat. That was drawn out by our detour through Shanghai Maple Automobile factory, our substitute for the GM factory we were supposed to see (thanks bankruptsy!). We were taken to the show room (we had lots of fun with the half-cars), and then taken to their cleanest of assembly lines. That one workshop supposedly puts out around 160 cars per day, and they let us watch as they installed engines, door handles, linings, etc—the entire car was made in front of our eyes. SMA is a new car company, but they’ve already got some international deals and are hoping to make a major dent in the Chinese car market—one right now that seems about as diverse as American cars. There are lots of Japanese, Chinese, and (surprisingly) German cars here, and it’s not uncommon to see Buicks, BMWs, and Mercedes driving around. In Beijing, I’m proud to say that I saw my first ever Lamborghini “in the wild”.
We were told that Police cars and cars with white license plates (government officials and friends) have no traffic laws whatsoever, though it’s hard to believe that anyone follows any traffic laws here. I think I mentioned it earlier, but I’ll say it again—I’m so incredibly impressed by the driving here. It’s orchestrated chaos, and it seems like everyone’s running at breakneck speed, together. I still have yet to see an accident here.
Our hotel—the Carolina Hotel—is absolutely ridiculous. Actually, there’s nothing too special about it, except that it’s a complete 180 from what our accommodations were in Xi’an, and it’s very welcome. Working AC, a mini-fridge, an incredible rain-style shower, and complementary breakfast every morning, along with a hotel staff that speaks English? It’s a beautiful thing.
I think I’m going to meet up with my friend XiaoXia tonight to celebrate making it this far—there seems to be a lot going on tonight, and we’re all ready to party.
