Where is Roberg?

Well, I’ve been in China for almost a week, but I haven’t been able to personally update WhereIsRoberg because of the Great Firewall of China (the nickname for the government blockage of potentially nefarious websites).  Thankfully, e-mail has been easy to access, so if you  have a question or comment that you would like me to see personally, it would be better to send it to my e-mail at robergl@coxsackie-athens.org (or my personal e-mail if you have it).
Traveling to China
If you haven’t read Flat Kat’s description of our trip to China and arrival in Shanghai yet, check it out.  He’s got a unique perspective on our travels.

As for my perspective, it was an easy trip.  Although it was 27 hours from door to door, and it was comfortable and efficient.  In particular, I have to say that the airlines I’ve flown on (British Air to India, Swiss Air and El Al to Israel, and United Air to China) have been terrific so far.  My first flight to Chicago was a breeze, and the second flight, all 14 hours of it, was full of food, movies, and sleep.  I don’t know what more anyone could ask.

Shanghai
When we arrived in Shanghai, we took the MagLev train, which was a great experience (again, see Flat Kat’s entry if you want to know more).  After the MagLev, we hopped on the metro, and, a short walk after disembarking, found our first hostel.  We had booked our first two nights for a “luxury room” for less than $40 online at http://www.hostelbookers.com. Not sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised!  I walked in to find a recently renovated room with a very comfortable queen size bed, two night stands, a desk and chair, a sofa and TV, and a clean, modern bathroom with all the hot water I could ask for.  It wasn’t a shed overlooking the holiest city in the world, but it would do for the first two nights!

After a shower, I decided to begin my tour of Shanghai while there was still light out.  I headed straight for the Bund, which is the area along the banks of the Yangtze River and the main attraction for tourists.  It was a lively place full of people selling trinkets, great views of the business district across the river (called Pudong), and a lot of Chinese tourists.  It was my first experience with the Chinese tourists I have continually met on my trip through China.  As China’s economy has grown, and more people have more disposable income (money to spend on “extra” things), more people have become tourists in their own country.  I found out later why so many of them happened to be in town on this particular night.

I decided to have a cheap first night because I was spending more on the room and bought some noodles and a bottle of water in a grocery store to bring back to my room for dinner.  The noodles were the kind where you pour in boiling water and wait 4-5 minutes and then eat.  They had a pot in my room for boiling water, so I figured I’d use it.  The whole dinner cost me about $2.  As I ate, I wanted some TV.  The choices were quite limited, and not only because I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  As with the internet, the Chinese government censors (limits) what people have access to on TV.  I had the option of watching track and field coverage (as the Chinese gear up to host the Olympic Games, everything Olympics is in vogue), news coverage of the latest earthquake rescue efforts, and a couple TV dramas where the acting was as bad as an American soap opera.  It was fun!

A Mysterious Blockade
The next morning, used the free internet access in the hostel and then headed toward the Shanghai Museum.  Only two blocks down the road, I ran into a crowd of Chinese people who were blocked by a row of Chinese soldiers.  I had no idea why they were blocking off the road, but figured there must have been an accident, so I headed down to the next street.  That street was blocked too, so I asked a Western couple who I recognized from the hostel what was going on.  Michelle and Jonny explained that the Olympic torch was being run through Shanghai today.

So THAT’s why there were so many Chinese tourists in Shanghai!  They were there to see the torch!  The problem was that we were a full block away from the action, and the soldiers didn’t look like they were going to let us closer any time soon.  I decided to try to get a closer look.  I figured I wouldn’t be able to see anything from here anyway.  Off I went, and after an hour of trying to get around the blockade, I gave up, came back to the original intersection I’d been stopped at, and waited along with a couple of hundred Chinese who seemed stuck on their way to work as we waited for the torch to pass.

Suddenly, the soldiers stood aside, and the mad dash began.  It seems that I’d missed the torch.  Don’t fret though;  I soon met a couple of Chinese girls who had come to Shanghai just to see the torch, and they had missed it too!  When I met up with Michelle and Jonny, they had a picture of a disembodied arm holding the torch and the Chinese flag following close behind.  It was an impressive picture considering they couldn’t really see what they were taking pictures of.  Apparently I didn’t miss much.

Eventually, I made it to the museum and was quite impressed with the collection.  They had bronze artwork, porcelain and jade pieces, and other artifacts from 5000 years of Chinese history!