Well, that's it! My first week in China is nearly over. As the wheels of the Virgin Atlantic plane finally touched down on the tarmac at Pudong Airport, my childhood ambition of setting off around the world had finally come true.
A little apprehensive of the Chinese Customs at first but these were negotiated with ease. 'What more could go wrong I thought to myself?'
I breezed in to the Arrivals Hall and, after a short search, there was the driver who would take me to the hotel. Well, that's what I thought! I gestured to the name Jackson (in amongst four other names) and pointed to myself. I then went on to explain that I needed to print my voucher but he just smiled and handed me his mobile. I spoke to the person on the other end of the line but still no real mutual understanding. I made my way to the business desk and asked to print my voucher - no problems there. I emerged from a little office to find my driver had gone so I paced up and down the welcoming party of taxi drivers once again in the hope of finding my smiling friend. No such luck. I was then approached by an Airport Guide who kindly rang the taxi firm I was using and within minutes there stood my taxi driver. All's well I hear you say but this was a different guy. Two people by the name of Jackson arriving at Pudong Airport at the same time on the same day? Never!
Anyway, after a split second of decision making (yes, I'm getting quicker at making these life-changing decisions), I opted for taxi driver number two. He spoke good English and welcomed me to Shanghai as he led me to an old, clapped out Ford. The man who had greeted me was simply the guide as there was a younger gentleman who carried out the driving. As we pulled on to the motorway, he simply said, 'We don't obey any rules of the road in Shanghai.' 'OK,' I thought, I've faced worse but then he turned to face me once again and began to explain the meaning of the word Shanghai.
'Shanghai, in Chinese means city above the ocean.'
'Lovely,' I thought to myself.
He then went on to add, 'In English, we have a different name. It means KIDNAP.'
'Oh shit, I should have taken the other Taxi,' went through my mind at a million miles an hour.
We negotiated the Sunday Shanghai traffic and finally arrived at the hotel with the driver giving me two final pieces of advice.
1. Don't drink the tap water
2. When crossing the road, just shut your eyes and go!
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