喂中國 (Hello China!)

I'm here!! I'm here!! Although I haven't done much yet. But I'm here!! It's 4:55 am on Sunday. I arrived in China roughly 12 hours ago. And let me tell you...that plane was NOT nice to my butt. Towards the end of my 13 hour flight, all I wanted was someone to make me pass out because I couldn't stand the butt sore I was getting from sitting for so long.

Funny thing about the plane...being based out of Montreal, I use AirCanada quite a bit now for travel. And it would seem that I have become spoiled with my Canadian airline. Each seat has it's own tv for you to watch movies, tv shows, sports, etc. And there is plenty of leg room (although I don't personally need it considering how short my legs are). However, the leg room just makes it feel more spacious and less claustrophobic. I can almost say that I enjoy traveling when flying with AirCanada. And let me be clear...the flying arrangements that I describe are in Coach class (not business or first class).

So I'm flying AirCanada to San Francisco and then am to take a United flight from San Fran to Shanghai. I about lost my shit when I got on board my United flight in San Fran. There is half the leg room and I'm forced to watch whatever they are showing to the entire plane. The seats are plastic and uncomfortable (which I attribute to my butt sore that I previously mentioned). Now don't get me wrong...at least they have a movie. And the flight staff was really nice and tried to make accommodations where possible. Plus, there was an empty seat beside me so at least I wasn't jammed with people right next to me. So there are a few things to be grateful for. But hello air carriers, this is a 13 hour flight!! Can we at least pretend to be interested in the passengers' comfort?!?!?

Next time, I will ensure that I fly business class. My butt and my back are already dreading the flight home. Maybe I will really luck out and no one will be on my flight and I can stretch out across the seats and sleep. Ahhhh...here's to dreaming. ;-)

Needless to say, I was pretty exhausted when arriving. I checked into my posh hotel (hello, this hotel is one of the nicest hotels I've stayed at and the service is incredible!!!) and went to one of the four hotel restaurant in the 60-floor building where I am staying in downtown Shanghai. I decided on a restaurant called "California Grille". I know, not very adventurous but I promise I will start today. I opted for this because I just wanted to sleep well and didn't want any tummy problems my first night.

Funny thing about interpretations of a place where you're not familiar with... I was expecting the California Grille to have some tex-mex, some light, fresh fare - typical things when eating in a proclaimed "California style" restaurant. However, on the menu, they boasted all sorts of imported Australian beef, lobster, cornish hen, and braised pork ribs. It's not really my idea of California but the menu looked great. I tried the cornish hen, which was stuffed with wild rice and onion confit. Let me tell you, that was one of the best meals I have ever had! So scrumptious! Yum!! :-)

The other thing to tell you about is the weather here. OH. MY. GOD!!!! Once again, I've been spoiled by living in Montreal for too long. Apparently it's been raining like every day here. And if you're not aware, Shanghai is a coastal city. So that combination plus heat is detrimental to my hair and general enjoyment of outside activities. It's like being in the Valley again. The air is so thick, it's hard to breathe and you just feel like water is sitting on your skin. I've forgotten what real humidity is like (because people in Montreal like to complain about humidity since we're next to the St. Lawrence river but they have no idea). But my arrival to the bustling metropolis of Shanghai was a lovely reminder as to what I've been missing since moving out of the Valley. Hmmmm...yeah, I don't miss it.

Anyway, plans for today include trying local food, visiting the Expo 2010 (which just happens to be in Shanghai this year) and looking at the shops. Oh my god, can I tell you that I saw the BIGGEST Gucci store ever! It takes up a full square block...and it's walking distance from my hotel. Guess who's visiting...that would be me! ;-)

Okay, stay tuned for some additional updates from my first trip to China (and Asia for that matter)...

再見 (Goodbye!)