China — Day 1 ...

Taoyuan International Airport (iPhone 7+ image)

I was on a 2:20pm flight out of Taiwan. The flying time was two hours. We arrived into Shanghai about 15 minutes early, which was perfect! I needed all the time I could get. I was scheduled on an 8:07pm train out of Shanghai. I knew time was going to be tight and anticipated some obstacles along the way.

So much for an early arrival! Our plane didn’t pull into a gate at the terminal. They were taxiing passengers by shuttle bus to the terminal one bus at a time. I was seated in row 62 and it took almost one full hour before I exited the plane and stepped onto a shuttle bus.

Once inside the terminal, I made a mad dash to an area where foreigners need to submit their fingerprints electronically. It was a quick and easy process. I then proceeded to the foreign immigration section where I was asked to fill out an entry card. There were zero pens at the station so I asked an officer for guidance. She sent me over to a different station where I was able to find one pen. It had no ink. I went back to the same officer to let her know I was still in need of a pen. She took me over to another station where there was one pen with very little ink. I scratched my information out as best I could with the last two fields hardly being readable. I made my way over to the immigration officer hoping the card would be acceptable. Not a word was said. I resubmitted my fingerprints, got a stamp in my passport and was on my way.

While heading over to pick up my suitcase, a small area offering Pocket Wi-Fi caught my eye. I was afraid of the time but stopped quickly to pick up a SIM card with 6GB of data for RMB$380. (CAN$75) They required a copy of my passport only. It was fast and easy but not cheap.

My bag was waiting for me and I grabbed it quickly before making my way over to the ‘Nothing to Declare’ exit. The entire airport was being herded out like cows. It took forever to get out of there. When I finally exited the passenger area, it was close to 6pm. 

I made my way over to the Maglev station, which is located between the two terminals. It took me about five minutes at a very brisk pace to get to the ticket booth and buy a ticket. (RMB$50/CAN$9.87) A train was leaving in four minutes, so I jetted down the stairs to catch that train.

As it was just after 6pm, the train was traveling at 301 KM/hour. During the afternoon, the train travels up to 480 KM/hour. We reached Longyang Road Station in ten minutes. From there, I hopped in a taxi to the Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai. It was about a thirty-minute drive and cost about RMB$150. (CAN$29.61)

I ran into the hotel, showed them my reservation and asked them to store my suitcase for a few days. I took my already packed 36L backpack out of my suitcase and put my carry-on backpack in my suitcase, locked it up, collected a tag and left it with the concierge. 

I dashed out of the hotel and around the corner to the Shanghai Railway Station. I had already reserved train tickets and needed to find the pick-up place. The Internet had suggested I get to the train station about one hour early to pick up my tickets. The time was 7:10pm.

I ended up asking a police officer where to pick up already reserved seats and he pointed me in the direction of a building with a huge red sign that said ‘TICKETS’. Easy. Upon entering, there was a big information desk with one lady working. She was helping someone. I stood next in line and was then joined by two elderly ladies who decided to go on the other side of the current customer so they could jump in line. I recall this happening from my last trip to China. Very few people understand the concept of waiting in a line. Sure enough, when the customer left, these two ladies jumped right in and starting talking to the lady behind the desk. 

 Soft sleeper to Huangshan

Slightly annoyed as I was pressed for time, I said quite loudly to the lady beside me that I was there first but that was OK, she could go first. She had wide eyes and looked a tad horrified before turning her back to me. What I did love was that the lady behind the desk asked them to wait a moment and then turned to me and asked in perfect English how she could help me. I thanked her for her acknowledgement and then showed her my reservations and asked where I could pick up my tickets. She directed me over to window number 4. I smirked at the two ladies before making my way over to the ticketing window. Speaking the language certainly has its advantages!

There were five people waiting in line and just when it came time to be my turn, the lady rolled down the blinds right in front of my face. Are you kidding? I had to go to the next window and line up behind another five people. Oh, China.

Thankfully it wasn’t a long wait. I got my tickets and made my way back over to the station. I went through security and found the waiting area before heading off to find some things to eat and drink. I had made it with 15 minutes to spare! I was soaked with sweat from the humidity and from the hurrying. It was going to be a long ride but I was thankful that I made the train and would finally be able to relax! I hoped I would be able to get some rest!

Next stop: Huangshan!