Shanghai to Beijing

Tuesday March 10
At sea: We are in the Yellow Sea named that for good reason-- it does have an odd yellowish-greenish tinge. Spend the day packing for our China adventure and listening to a lecture on China.
Wednesday March 11
Shanghai China: Putz around the ship till our bus for the airport comes at noon. Our guide for the next 4days meets us, Mr Big Chi and he is pretty good-sized. We get a little background on Shanghai on the way to the airport. History of being wild and wooly over the years. Big English influence here in architecture and business. Big Chi will be in charge of 100 of us [three bus loads ] for four days. Someone said like having a job herding cats. Everywhere there are highrise living quarters. Fifty stories high and thick as hair on a dog’s back. I call it vertical urban sprawl. The river is like a freeway of barges and boats where we are docked. They haul everything from sand to cars to people. The airport we leave from is for domestic flights and is efficient and friendly. We arrive in Beijing without incident. Our hotel is the Great Wall Sheraton. Kind of on the too plushy for us cheeseheads type. Kind of like Davey Crocket goes to Washington DC. Lots of local cuisine though. Taste is OK but I don’t have a clue what it is and I don’t ask. Stay up late listening to some nice American music sung by the locals and soaking up the moments.