fillingthegaps

It’s a funny thing, but I had a mental picture of Shanghai – probably formed by adventure books read well over half a century ago. “Shanghai” conjured up for me the very essence of the Mysterious Orient:of shadowy Chinese pagodas, Opium dens, sinister slit-eyed villains with large curved knives, and dark alleys with scurrying rats.

But looking at our fellow passengers on the train, my dreams were already crumbling. Here was the usual ordinary mix of mums,dads, business men, grandpas and nannas. Not a rogue in sight. and all bound for Shanghai for as the notice said, ‘no stops between Hong Kong and Shanghai’ Not a curved blade to be spotted. Not even a tattoo, opium pipe or a sinister rogue to be seen. In fact the most sinister looking character I saw on the train was Rob, who had not shaved for some considerable time and had that grimy look of the long-distance traveler.

Yes, non-stop to Shanghai, a distance, by the GPS of just a whisker under 2,000 kms and on an electrified line the whole way. Average speed for the journey was something around 100 kmph, and that included two long unexplained stops

The beds on the train turned out to be comfortable, if a mite narrow. We all managed a sleep of some sort.. but we were all a bit bleary  eyed in the the morning.

The scenery that  we saw during the daylight hours was strange to the Kiwi eye. Where we are used to seeing endless acres of green  paddocks and rolling hills dotted with sheep or cattle, and just  the occasional remote farmhouse, here, for mile upon mile upon mile we saw endless acres of  small paddy  fields or vegetable gardens.

And everywhere were dwellings. From crumbling single level hovels to 6-8 story apartments to palatial houses, often over a hundred all identical.

There seems to be no transition between farming, residential and commercial areas – all  are jumbled together in what can only be described as a huge shambles. Imagine a brickworks surrounded by market gardens broken up  by residential areas, and you will have some idea. Oh, and the ponds and rivers that permeate all areas. I guess the ponds are used to irrigate both paddy and veggie plots, but the ponds back right up to the backs of houses, giving the whole area a dank and mosquito-ridden appearance. And these scenes are repeated seemingly endlessly. There seemed to be little evidence of mechanization on the agricultural side. Many people digging away with the trusty chungkles but not too many tractors.  And this is strange because this country is just booming with development.  New roading, massive fly-overs, new rail tracks, new buildings both commercial and domestic. Everywhere huge projects under way, and yet the rural scene seemed strangely primitive. A country of contrasts alright.

Shanghai railway station is huge, and set up rather like an airport terminal. The trains that arrive from Hong Kong are handled like an incoming flight and all passengers are  subject to customs and passport checks.

 a fairly lengthy business, but handled with speedy efficiency. Chinese Officialdom loves to throw its weight around, but as long as you do as you are told, they are very polite.

We decided to get tickets for the next two  stages of our journey, while we were at the station, and this opened my eyes to some more of the China Way. Rob and I found our way to the ticketing hall. A hall with at least 50 ticket booths, each with a never-ending queue of noisy bustling impatient customers. Bedlam reigned supreme, but one booth had the magic words “English speaking counter” to which we headed.

I understand that before the Beijing Olympics they  ran special training courses for the Chinese hosts, to teach them how to smile and  be warmly welcoming. These ticket booth operators definitely could use that course. Not a flicker of a smile. Not a hint of welcoming you as a paying customer. Not a suggestion of a ‘gooday mate, how’s your day goin?’ No it was a grim humour-less lot behind those glass walls. Sad to see.

Even more interesting was the sight when we returned to Rach and the kids who had been waiting patiently while we went in search of tickets and money with which to purchase same. There they were, surrounded by a group of about 15 men. I assumed these were touts looking for business, so when I reached Rach I asked her if she had struck up a deal with any of them. ‘No I’ve just been as sociable as I can she replied. Then I learned, these were not touts but just people that wanted a close look at this European family. We have caused a bit of a stir quite often in the past, but this open silent inspection, shoulder to shoulder was bizarre. I was so taken by it, I decided to take a photo of them all. You should have seen them melt away when I pointed a camera at them!

Well we have arrived safely. We are in a delightful hostel with all mod con, at a fraction of Hong Kong prices and eating all sorts of delicacies at the very best of prices! All is well with the world!

Well I don’t suppose you can have every  day filled with excitement. The last couple of days I have spent quite a bit of time chugging up and down the commuter train line. Actually chugging is the wrong phrase – these trains glide along with slick speed and efficiency. Inside are quiet, orderly passengers who sit there doing their own thing or occasionally as happened today, start the inevitable conversation ( by sign language) are they all yours? 8 of them? 4 boys, 4 girls? Very good! Smiles and congratulations all round. Not a pierced eyebrow, nose or lip in sight. Not a tattoo in sight. Not even any ‘scruffs’ in sight. One gets the uneasy feeling that such personal decorations might just be agin the law in these parts.

The reason or the train travel, was to go in search of baking soda which is apparently what all thoroughbred greenies use for everything from washing your hair, cleaning your teeth and preventing ingrowing toenails to polishing the family silver.  It seemed that Rach’s supplies were getting low, and so we had to find more. Our couch surf host gave us the tip-off, where to buy this stuff in mega-sized packs. The spot was three stops down the line and so off went Rob and I in search of the dreaded white powder. We had been advised to go certain super market. This we eventually found, discreetly nestling in one corner of the biggest mega-mall I am likely to see for a long time.

Of course there was no mega pack to be found, but even if we had found it, we would not have bought it. With a mini-jar of vegemite costing HK$38, I shudder to think what the giant economy size pack of soda  would have cost.  So we returned, more  or less empty handed, apart from half the bread sections supply, for our breakfast.

But we have had some more interesting encounters: on the train a well-groomed lady (in her 50’s I imagine) insisted on giving up her seat for me (by crikey, I must be looking even more decrepit than I feared) She then proceeded to do the usual thing of counting the kids etc.   Later this evening we walked into noodle shop we had visited once before, a few days ago, The proprietor was delighted to see his little blond girls again and was all over them like a rather noxious rash. The girls endured stoically and without offending the owner. It paid off handsomely! At the end of our meal, the kids then all got served hot chocolates, and then we were all plied with pomelos and oranges! Sometimes it is quite helpful to have these little angles in tow!

Finally, if you are still with me, I saw a sight the other day that immediately had me thinking of a couple of good families I know, who have an addiction to a card game named “Shanghai”  Whenever they guy together with 10 mins on their hands, out come the cards. This group made me think of them, maybe in a few years time!

Oh, the title just refers to the fact that most days we seem to be waking up in a different bed, and most of them are fairly memorable – I’ll and a pic or two now and again,

     Couch surfing                                               Bangkok airport