The Suzhouhao Odyssey
On the night before I left Shanghai I went to the Bund, towards the east of Shanghai on the riverfront. On the other side is Pudong where Shanghai used to grow all its veg. Now though, the greens are grown elsewhere and room has been made for a special zone… The bright lights came to Shanghai!!…
Got the bus to the ferry port the next day with my copious luggage that I have sworn I will shed as soon as I get to Tokyo. Naturally got off the bus too early and walked for ages to get there by which time I was a rather Sweaty Betty indeed!… wet through.
Shanghai’s estuary was like an artery. It was loaded with freight ships. Lines and lines of them for 40 minutes never-ending supplies to feed and build the city. Really incredible.
While I was waiting, a foreign couple walked in who turned out to be Australian… Craig and Victoria. Craig is a Librarian and Victoria is a physio-therapist, so Victoria and I had lots of bodynotes to compare, much to Craig’s boredom. They had lived in the UK for 3 years and travelling a bit during (including a big European adventure where they bought a camper van and drove all the way to Turkey!). After they left London they went to India for a few weeks, then 3 and a half months in Bangladesh helping out in a hospital there. They then came to China and Hong Kong so we had some stories to share there. And now they take 5days in Japan on a whistle-stop tour before they fly home the Oz. It sounded like a wonderful journey home, especially as it sounds like they want to settle and even a family could be on the way.
We spent most of the time on the boat, lazing and chatting. Really soaking up the leisure time where there was nothing to do except sit back, relax and watch the onboard characters go about their business… and there were plenty of them to observe!
The ferry company is a Japan-China hybrid, an odd cocktail that as recogniseable as both. It was quite a big ferry but not very busy. Most of the passengers were a matchng Puma-tracksuit clad boys team plus a giggling girl following. We tried to guess what team they were. We thought table-tennis until the crew wheeled out a table and we soon saw that they were definately not!
There were also some older characters including a seed-munching-wondering Chinese lady and a sociable, Japanese old chap who seemed to have a portable drinks cabinet which he seemed to dip in at every opportune moment.
I booked the cheapest accommodation which was a Japanese-style futon room dorm, which was very nice. Craig was in with me and the old chap as well as a few others, while Victoria was in the Ladies on with another seed muncher, younger Japanese woman this time.
As well as all the normal showers etc, they had a Japanese style communial bath. Brilliant. It was completely empty both the 2 nights we were on board so I had the place to myself. They have a row of low mirrors with a shower/tap on the wall next to each mirror. Both are positiion low to the ground so that….. well maybe you should just take a look at a photo….
The idea is that you sit on these fantatstic little stalls and shower whill you are seates. Wet down, soap up and rinse off. It doesn’t sound too different but I think it is: you sit and wash yourself like in a bath but you are not. Once you have had a good wash and a thorough rinse (there’s nothing worse than getting in the tub dressed in suds aparentl) you get into the hot constantly flowing water of the tub. The bath is not for bathing: it’s for soaking… splendid. The first night, it was like coming home. Japan came rushing back to me all at once and I realised how much I love it here. The experience was quite powerful. It wasn’t exactly like as the water was rocking with the boat and something else was a miss too… the smell perhaps – the smell of Japanese bath houses wasn’t the same, but enough to bring it all back. I though to myself,. that if I feel the same way at the end of the trip I should perhaps do something about this feeling. A longer stay perhaps, some time in the near future. I have my English teaching certificate, or yoga certification… who knows – will keep you posted.
The ferry was called the Suzhouhao in case you were wondering where onearth my title came from. It was a fair sized vessel with cargo holders below and then passenger amenities above. It was very spacious especially since we were nowhere near its capacity. There have been a massive reduction in ferried of this type in this area of the world due to the competitive plumetting of air and land travel. I think its a tiny tragedy. It is so much fun to go like this… a 46 hour voyage I know but with a complementary breakfast and everflowing Chinese tea. What more can you ask for. I, for one, can’t see myself going on a cruise anytime soon and this is the next best thing. It was a lounging luxury and a great rest between one leg and the next. A time for recuperation and reflection so that when the Japans arrive, one can start afresh.
In case this has inspired any of you I have added the Shanghai Ferry Company website to my Links.
Here are some ferry photos:
We did wonder if there would be any blue water when we first left Shanghai, it was brown and murky for hours after we left, but there was a line when it turned from brown to blue – hoorah!
We docked at a bout 9.30 am and disembarked. I had been a little concerned since we were given the disembarkation tickets for us to fill in. One of the boxes you had to tick was the ‘not carrying any drugs, explosives or swords’ box. I mean how can you possibly put swords in the same category as drugs and explosives?… I had 2 of them. The passport and ticket check, luggage search to go… I didn’t even try to hide them. I whipped both swords out straight away making sure not to point them at anyone in case I was wrestled to the ground by the copious staff or mauled by the sniffer dogs! I of course drew attention to myself after this. I eagerly demonstrated that they were practice sword and so were very blunt and bendy and couldn’t hurt a Japanese fly. My lady inspector was very nice and the head checker, seemed to read my letter from the school with intrigue… I had whipped that one out double quick to to try and prove I was legit. They were of course highly polite and respectful in the upmost sense. They thought nothing of my shaolin whips and smelly old socks and with an exchange of bows and thank yous I was allowed to pass, all goods in tact. Victoria and Craig had of course passed through ages ago and were halfexpecting me to limp out after a thorough cavity search!
We were on our way and got the metro into town. Victoria and Craig were as enthusiastic about Japan and it’s efficiency, respect, honour, manners, service and organisation as me and were immediately converted to lovers of this nation. It’s a far cry from the China, India and Bangladesh that we had known in our past months.
It turned out that they were in a hotel just round the corner so we dumped our things at our respective rooms and went off for a walk round the city. It was great to have suh nice company after travelling alone for the past few weeks.
We marvelled at the 100 Yen (50p) shop, passed by the tourist office and left very imopressed with the their helpfulness and then continued on to Osaka-ji (Osaka castle). By this time it was about 5pm so it was closed but the surrounding park was still open and lovely to wander through.
Osaka has the charm and the traditional parts that are typically Japan, but it’s also a shopping city. It has restaurants coming out of its ears and Love Hotels too… I’ll leave that yo your imagination, but Osaka’s are the most extravagant of all Japan… aparently. “Rose Lips”… classic!
Pretty much warned out after all that and made our way back. We found a restaurant not to far away from our hotels and had something to eat. Was a bit tricky as my Japanese is not the best althoughI have made progress. My order seemed to get cancelled along the way and we were waiting for ages. I then re-ordered explaining that I was vegetarian and asked for a recommendation, only to receive a delicious-looking prawn salad… doh! Nevermind, beginners can’t be choosers! Made our way back to bed after an evening stroll.
Thanks to Craig and Victoria for their great company. Good luck for the rest of Japan and a new life when you get back home. All the best and I hope to see you both again one day.
Tags: Japan man!, Osaka, Suzhouhao
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