Storms coming

Friday 22^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Stop and Stare – One Republic

Weather: The clouds have closed in, even more so than yesterday. The wind has picked up and the weather board, at my hostel, shows that a storm is on it's way.

Recently I seem to be getting up later and later; by 9am I was out, hunter-gathering for breakfast. After another 'McPancake' I went into my local supermarket to purchase snacks for my twenty-one hour train ride; this time I paid more attention to the biscuit prices. Luckily I found a packet of 'butter biscuits' for 70p; I grabbed two of these before picking up chocolate, crisps, coke and a small bottle of water. To get away from my reliance on McDonald's I hunted around every isle for a box of cereal bars; at the same time I searched for a couple of 'ready made' sandwiches but alas, none of the above could be found. Food is still a massive disappointment; I wished I had my local Chinese takeaway around the corner.

Once back at the hostel I checked-out. Afterwards I went onto the internet - to allow my PC to download the many updates I'd been ignoring – before eating a lunch consisting of noodles. By now it was time to leave; I said goodbye to the staff and finally, after nine nights, I headed off to the train station. As I walked I reminisced; a week ago I would have been at the F1 practice session with my Colombian friends; I would have been watching the Mclaren cars fly around the track, eager to see what times they had posted. I would also be looking forward to the race in two days time. I shook my head; I needed to look forward and not backwards, tomorrow I shall be Xi'an and the day after I'll be viewing a very historic site.

The train station operated like an airport; first of all I had to have my bags scanned, before finding the waiting room which tallied up with my train service. K560 was my train number which, looking at the departure boards, meant that I had to wait within waiting room ten. I entered this vast room with four 'gates' located at the rear. Within this room were four waiting rooms; each 'waiting room' consisted of a long row of seats aligned to a specific gate. I took a seat realising that I had a good ninety minutes to wait. People from all angles were staring at me; conscious of this I stared back before opening my novel and transporting myself to ancient Rome. A Chinese guy, sitting opposite me, kept spitting on the floor, smoking and chatting on his mobile; each time he spat, on the 'fake marble' looking floor, I shot a look of disgust over to him before returning to my book. I hoped that he wasn't within my train compartment.

Waiting room eight departed (to somewhere written in Chinese) thirty minutes before my train left. I observed to see what the procedure was; it would appear that, when the lights above the gate turn from red to green, all passengers have to form a 'mob' around the two ticket inspectors. Once your ticket was stamped you would then proceed through the gate to your allotted platform. All seemed simple and, when my gates lights changed from red to green, I picked my stuff up and headed across. I waited for most of the rabble to push through the gate before, calmly, handing over my ticket to receive it back stamped. As I followed the signs to 'platform ten' I couldn't understand why the Chinese were rushing, we didn't leave for another thirty minutes. To complete my journey of 'tens' I found the tenth carriage and showed my ticket to a lady waiting at the door. She smiled and waved me in.

My compartment was the first one within the carriage; this was slightly annoying as it meant that I was next to the toilet and these walls weren't that thick. As I was the first in I quickly but my stuff away, assigned myself a window seat and wondered what my fellow passengers would be like. I fully expected this train to fill, considering how in demand trains are.

No one came; as we pulled out of the station I was the only person within the carriage. As we made further stops still no one came to join me. I was hoping that my carriage would be full of backpackers where we could swap great locations, play cards and generally have a good time. These dreams evaporated at the waiting room, within Shanghai's train station, as it appeared that I was the only western face there. Having my own compartment was the next best thing. I spent the time lazing on my bunk reading my guidebook. I also looked around at my surroundings; the compartment was very similar to the one on the Hanoi to Nanning train. The beds looked the same length, the table was fixed to the wall and I had another flask of hot water, a metal tray and a fake flower. The difference was that there was no chilling music, the carpet was green and the bedding was a slightly different colour. I spent the rest of the evening reading my book; I wished that I was in Rome and not on a Chinese train, on my own, with the sound of Chinese people spitting in the toilet next to me. Thank God for MP3 players.

Toodle Pip!

Finishing off Shanghai

Thursday 21^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: All shook up – Elvis Presley

Weather: The clouds have closed in, bleaching the sky white and creating a cool temperature. Spots of rain could be felt as I walked throughout the city.

Today I slept in and I wasn't out until 8:00am. Having had enough of 'the morning squeeze' I opted to limit my underground use by walking as much as possible. After two stops I alighted and, instead of transferring trains, I stood on the exit escalator waiting for it to take me up into the outskirts of Shanghai. The temperature was cool and there was a biting breeze blowing westwards; the walk was pleasant enough, if a little long. Luckily Chinese road signs always indicate which way is north, south, east or west; as I wanted to head east I followed a road in that direction. I went through the outskirts of the city, bypassing an infant school that was in the middle of preparing for an outing; four huge coaches were lined outside with 'mums' making it almost impossible for pedestrians to get past.

At around 9am I arrived at my first attraction of the day. 'Jing'an Si' temple is located on the outskirts of the city and looks more like a shopping centre than a place of worship. The ancient Chinese looking building, with it's golden towers and paint work, was impressive to view however it did seem to look too new. Conscious that this might be another 'fake China' attraction I decided not to enter and, after a couple of photos, I moved on. At this point I was hungry; I was still a little out of town and so I went into the first coffee shop that I could find. I ordered a hot chocolate and a slice of cake (original). It didn't take me long to consume my order and, after getting lost, I was soon walking north. After a good twenty minute walk I found myself in front of 'Yufo temple', which was a little more authentic that 'Jing'an Si'; I went to the cashiers office and handed over a crisp twenty Yuan (£2) note before making my way through the crowds of beggars, showing every birth defect under the sun, and into the temple. The smell of incense burning filled ones nostrils; I briefly looked within the many small temple rooms, conscious of people praying. Even thought the temple was small it was still interesting due to its dragon walkways, it's very impressive golden Buddhist statues and it's pleasant paths lined with red ribbon. I didn't spend too long looking around; I took a few photos before leaving from a side exit, to miss the crowds of beggars.

My next destination was an old industrial area which had been turned into an art village; within the old, renovated, factory buildings now stood many art galleries. I peered through the windows at some wonderful, and bizarre, works. With it's narrow cobbled walkways, old industrial buildings and partly knocked down walks the whole village felt like an area of creation; I would have spent longer looking however I seemed to be the only one there. Most of the gallery doors were open, but no one seemed to be inside; I limited myself to peering through the windows before departing, heading for the underground and back to my hostel. The time was midday and it was starting to spit with rain.

The nearest underground station was at Shanghai's main train station. As I would be leaving from here tomorrow I had a quick look around, to familiarise myself, before making the long underground walk to lines three and four. Even though it was midday it was still busy; as I had to be at the station for 5:30pm tomorrow (which is a Friday) I reckon it's going to be packed. I may leave the hostel early and wait at the train station for a while. Once back at the hostel I had lunch before surfing the internet to keep up with world events. I performed research into the 'Chinese May week holiday' before watching a film, waiting for the nights sky to fall upon Shanghai.

The film 'Firewall' (staring Harrison Ford) went on a little longer than I expected; once finished I peered out of the window noticing that dusk had fallen. Before collecting my camera, and tri-pod, I walked outside and held my hand, palm up, to the sky. Not a drop of rain could be felt. I rushed back inside, picked up my photography equipment, before heading to the underground; night had already fallen.

It took me an hour to reach 'The Bund'. The time was 7:30pm and the place was packed with Chinese tourists. I found myself a gap, set up my trip-pod, and started to capture the scene. I took a few photos of Shanghai's financial district which lay across the dark, and still, waters in front of me. Annoyingly ferries, with more lights than Blackpool illuminations, kept crossing my path. I tried to time my photos when there wouldn't be any ferries within the frame, however their speed surprised me. Thankfully I hadn't come all this way to photograph the financial district, I was more interested in the old British buildings on my side of the river. I quickly took as many night photos as possible, conscious that I could feel spots of rain fall onto my hands. I took photos until the rain fell hard enough for me to abandon my photo shoot. I packed up and left 'The Bund' for the final time.

So tomorrow I'm off to Xi'an. I don't leave until 6pm however I plan to watch films until 3pm where I'll leave for the train station. As I'll be on the train tomorrow night you won't get an update until I arrive in Xi'an. Terracotta army here I come!

Toodle Pip!

Queuing with a nation unable to queue

Wednesday 20^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Not while I'm around – Jamie Cullum

Weather: Similar to yesterday just a little cooler.

I was up and out of the hostel around 8am; not feeling too hungry I decided to wait until I'd reached my destination before hunter-gathering for breakfast. Once again I'd have to head into the underground and catch 'line two'; once again I'd be doing this during rush hour. I waited on the platform where the arrows told me to wait and watched as a train, with Chinese people plastered against the inside of the windows, come to a gradual halt. Unable to understand the concept of queuing Chinese people, mainly women and the old, pushed in front of me and stood where the arrows indicated passengers to exit. As you can imagine, as the doors of the train opened, the people wishing to alight were met by a wall of Chinese people all pushing to get on. I held back my queue, shifting slightly to the right to allow passengers to exit the vehicle; however as soon as I did other passengers behind me moved into this gap rendering my attempts, to ease the flow, useless. I shoved myself onto the train and counted the stops. Only five to go.

The train started to slow once more; Outside a huge sea of Chinese people could be seen, each one eying up any kind of space on a already full train. Once again the passengers trying to alight had troubles getting through the crowd of people pushing their way on. The Chinese people were indeed pushing their way on; so much so in fact that one guy almost fell over as he entered the train. I let out a curse making sure the whole carriage could hear, and see, my disgust in the way people were behaving. Even cattle move from one field to another in a more orderly fashion. Eventually the train stopped where I wanted to get off. Again I took the stairs as these were vacant. Once outside I spotted a french bakery; I stepped inside and into a world of croissants, cakes and other delightful pastries. I picked up a tray and placed one butted croissant, and one chocolate mousse, on it; once at the cashier I asked for a hot chocolate. Once sat down I started to devour the meal in front of me. Now I'm not French but if I was (perish the thought) I would have been very disappointed with the food in front of me; the croissant was hard and the hot chocolate was very bitter. I couldn't understand how someone could make something - which should be sweet - so bitter. At least the mousse was tasty however I knew that I would have this bitter, hot mud, taste within my mouth for the whole morning.

I left the bakery and headed away from the crowds towards the riverfront. For a while I was walking along the side of a road, peering over some large bushes to my left, knowing that the riverfront must be on the other side. Once I'd found an opening I left the chaotic traffic for the relatively quiet riverfront. As I walked north I saw 'The Bund' across the water; even though there was a chilling breeze the sun was out providing a beautiful 'baby blue' coloured sky. I took many photos as I continued walking along the riverfront until the path ended.

I was now heading east along this never ending riverfront walkway. I was out of the heart of the financial district and on my own. In one way it was lovely; to be rid of the crowds and finally be on my own was magical. There were only a handful of Chinese about, the ones that were seemed to either be working or doing their daily exercise routines. I don't like to leave something unfinished, now that I'd started walking along this walkway I wanted to finish it however I was far out of the main financial area and, as I looked into the distance, I could see that the path showed no sign of stopping. I eventually decided to turn around, adding another bitter taste to my mouth. I was back in the heart of the action by 10:45am. I went into a shopping center (called 'Superbrand Mall') to purchase some aftershave before getting another hot chocolate, and a slice of cake, to rid me of these bitter tastes. As I went up the main escalators I noticed that they had a whole floor dedicated to sports wear. Eventually I found a 'Formula One Shanghai ticket desk' which I thought was rather odd considering that the race had finished last Sunday. It wasn't until I got closer that I noticed, behind the counter, there was a stock of F1 goods. I inquired into Mclaren clothing but the salesman shook his head. I then asked whether this huge sports shop would stock any and he shook his head again. I gave up and headed to Starbucks for 'elevenses'. As I ate my cake and drank my hot chocolate (which, again, wasn't great) I decided what my next stops should be. Next up I would hunt out the sex museum before finding my way to the 'Jinmao Tower' for a panoramic view of the city.

I searched high and low for this sex museum; surprisingly the Shanghai authorities hadn't sign posted it (which made me even more determined to find it) and, as I read my guidebook's description of the location, I knew I was in the correct spot. Alas it seems as though the sex museum had been replaced by a fake Chinese 'arctic adventure' theme ride. I left most disappointed.

It wasn't hard to locate the Jinmao Tower; with it's unique architecture it was only a question of finding the entrance to the observation deck. After a minor search mission, conducted by myself, I gave up and asked the information desk. But of course, to go up, first of all I had to head down into the basement. As I traveled down the escalator I read my guidebook to find out that the Jinmao Tower's observation deck is at the top of the building and should cost 50 Yuan (£5). This was a lot cheaper than the Oriental Pearl Tower (and without the queue) however, once at the cashier desk, I noticed that the price had jumped to 100 Yuan (£10). I left, not willing to pay £10 for a view of the city I got for £3 yesterday (Okay it was a scale model but it's the same thing).

Once out of the tower I looked at my watch noticing that the time was midday. I therefore decided that I would head back to the Expo area and purchase a ticket for the Chinese Pavilion. I looked at my underground map to work out the best way to get there; luckily for me the best line went past the 'Shanghai Science and Technological Museum'. I had no inclination in going into said museum (and, once there, after seeing the amount of school groups my decision not to partake was officially confirmed) it was the building that I wanted to see. Well that's not strictly true, I had been told that this was a good area to look for cheap F1 merchandise. Once out of the underground station I ended up in the middle of a market; it was indeed a good place to find F1 stuff however, it was mostly Ferrari and Mercedes. I gave up and after taking a couple of photos of the round building, with a huge ball in the middle, I went back into the underground and continued to the Expo area.

Even though it was late in the afternoon the queues hadn't died down. I purchase my ticket and followed the signs. It was at this point that my hatred, for the race of people all around me, came to light. Get a Chinese person on their own and they are lovely, in a crowd they are stupid, thick and selfish. As we moved, from one queue to another, people would start to push as they saw others starting to move. The old would start to jog and people would think of nothing other than trying to get to the front, or as close as possible. The idea of 'first come first served' seems alien to these people; even when the queue was stationary people (mainly the old) would shove people out of their way to get further to the front. I found it ironic that in a communist society – where you are supposed to look after thy neighbour and all that – I found the people here more selfish than in any other country that I've visited. I tried to make myself as large as possible, but it was no good; it seemed as though the Chinese people have had years of being rude, barbaric and totally uncivilised as they managed to push past me into the smallest space possible. We kept moving from once queue to another for almost two hours; each time I had to defend my position and put up with arms being pushed into my back. I tried to keep the moral high ground, really I did. I told myself that I came from a more civilised country and that I should demonstrate how things, within a civilised society, operate; in truth I did throw a few elbows. The military, on the other hand, were trying their best. They lead hordes of people as they moved queues; three soldiers abreast would march slowly, and professionally, with a rabble of people pushing and running behind them. As I watched this unfold I couldn't believe my eyes; the final straw came when a woman, with a small child, almost got pushed, and knocked over, into a barrier. It was at this point that I totally lost my temper and said something like “...The Japanese wouldn't behave like this...”. I wasn't even in the Chinese Pavilion and yet I wanted to leave.

Two hours of queuing and I finally went through security and into the building. Annoyingly I had to join another queue which went into an elevator and up to the top level. There I had to watch a ten minute film, on how great this uncivilised nation was, before being allowed to make my way down the many levels to the exit. It's a shame really but after queuing for almost two hours I flew through the building not wishing to read any of the information present. I would say though that the attractions, within the pavilion, were good; I saw a Terracotta chariot, I went on a small cart ride (which the attendant nearly crushed my hand as she put the safety rail down) and all of the exhibits were very spacious and futuristic. To leave I had to travel down a large escalator within a round room; flowers were positioned around the perimeter with a constant flow of water being pumped around the glass walls. Once down I saw a long line of cheap souvenir sellers blocking the exit. I performed a little pushing of my own as I opened up a gap which I stormed through. I headed straight towards the underground not looking back.

Once back at the hostel I sat down and surfed the internet whilst thinking about my day. The financial district had been lovely to walk around and the China Pavilion had been an interesting, and futuristic, exhibition. It's just a shame that both were spoilt by the huge amounts of people. As I looked though my guidebook I noticed that I was very short on things to do; with a whole day tomorrow I think I'll head to a temple, and an area of Shanghai famous for it's art galleries, before coming back to the hostel for lunch. I'll stay in the hostel until nightfall where I'll head to 'The Bund' for some night photography. The day after I'll relax within the hostel awaiting my train to Xi'an. Even though I like Shanghai I am ready to leave.

Toodle Pip!

Shanghai day two

Tuesday 19^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Kings and Queens – Thirty Seconds to Mars

Weather: Much like yesterday; not too hot and not too cold. A deep blue sky appeared with fluffy white clouds … great for photos.

I just can't seem to sleep-in any more. Much to the annoyance of my room mates, I found myself wide awake at 7am; I tried to get ready as quietly as possible but I still managed to wake the other two. I found myself heading into town at 7:30am; on the one hand this was good as it would allow a full day of sightseeing, on the other I would have to battle with the morning rush. Once at the underground station I let the first train go as it was rammed with people. The next train was only moments away however, as it whizzed past me eventually coming to a stop, it looked like a carbon-copy of the previous train with Chinese faces pressed against the glass. I squeezed on, thankful that I was only going two stops. Once at the terminus everyone piled off in a chaotic fashion. Chinese people were pushing, shoving and running ... all of them trying to squeeze onto one narrow escalator. I, on the other hand, used the stairs as they were practically empty; as I walked past people, travelling on the escalator to my right, I realised that the Chinese were pretty lazy. I interchanged onto another packed train and headed towards 'The Peoples Square'.

I could feel the biting wind as I approached the exit of the underground. Once I'd zipped up my coat, and put my woolly hat on, I went for a wander to see what I could find. First thing I noticed was a modern-art memorial, with a soldier holding a dying comrade within his arms. With Shanghai's skyscrapers filling the background the whole piece made a rather good photo; I took several shots, from different angles, before heading to the 'People's Park'. The park was surprisingly large with several different areas. It took longer than I expected to walk through the park, trying not to bump into any old Chinese person performing their fitness routines (It's nice to see the retired have chosen to hold their fitness classes right in the middle of rush hour … typical). After side-stepping some old Chinese woman, wearing a red outfit who was 'in the zone', I made it to the water gardens. They were beautiful and once again, with Shanghai's skyscrapers as a background, many photos were taken.

I left the park and headed to 'The People's Square' (notice a theme in the names?) or more commonly known as 'Renmin Square'. More, well kept, gardens surrounded the main stone-slabbed square with the 'Urban Planning Exhibition Hall' on one side, and the 'Shanghai Museum' on the other. After looking around the grounds I entered the 'Shanghai Museum' where security was tight. I had to empty my pockets, have my bag scanned and identify my bottle of sun cream. The tourist behind me had to drink some water, from his bottle, to show that it wasn't any other liquid. After all this hassle it was nice to find that the museum was free to enter; I therefore headed to the first floor leaving the ground floors exhibits for when I leave.

The first floor mainly dealt with Chinese porcelain. Even though it was hard to see where you were walking, the exhibits were well lit; there was little written information but many artefacts. Unlike the Vietnamese, and Laos, museums each artefact was unique and interesting; even though the porcelain exhibits mainly focused on cups, food bowls and wine containers it also had many porcelain figurines, some of which were coloured. I moved quickly through the exhibit stopping only when a piece interested me. Once I'd finished I headed up the escalator to floor two. This floor mainly focused on Chinese writing. Many scrolls were laid out within large glass cabinets either in portrait, or landscape, positions depending on which way the writing flowed. Just like the porcelain exhibit these scrolls came from all around China and you could tell the differences between each province. Once out I headed into a small exhibition room with many paintings from the Ming dynasty; putting my face against the glass you could see the level of work required for such pieces. Given how old these exhibits were it was very impressive. Afterwards I continued forever upwards.

The third floor consisted of small exhibition rooms, one of which focused on China's ethnic minorities. One large glass cabinet was dedicated to each minority group; this exhibition gave a good perspective of how diverse, and large, China is with its northern minority groups dressed in firs and it's southern groups dressed in thinner clothing. There was also a large display consisting of ancient masks from Tibet and Guizhou. Moving on I went into a small room dedicated to 'seals throughout the ages' which was as dull as it sounded. Some of the seals were works of art, however these were few and far between; the majority of seals on display were tiny … so small it was hard to see what imprint they left. I moved quickly and into the currency museum. This room wasn't as boring as it sounded; it went through all the different types of currency used, from beads to printed notes. There were short TV documentaries showing how coins were made and what they were worth.

I had reached the top of the museum; it was around 11am and so it was time for 'elevenses'. I went into the museums cafeteria relieved to be sitting down for a short while. I looked at their cake selection and wasn't impressed. I decided to abandon 'elevenses' and started to head down to the first floor, much to the disappointment of my feet ... and my tummy. The ground floor had two exhibits; the first one had stone sculptures in focusing on Buddhism and ancient Chinese people. The second, rather larger exhibition room, was dedicated to bronze possessions from house-hold objects to large bells. My feet hurt and I was hungry; I whizzed around these exhibits before leaving the museum heading for lunch. My guidebook stated that the 'Shanghai museum' is 'one of the cities highlights' and I would have to agree; the museum was well laid out, the building was beautiful (with it's marble floors, glass roof and a beautiful 'criss crossing' marble staircase) and the exhibits were well lit. Once lunch had been eaten I crossed the road to the 'Urban Planning Exhibition Hall', which cost thirty Yuan (£3) to enter. Again security was tight. I looked at the small model of Shanghai's financial district before taking the escalator up to the first floor. This floor held photos of Shanghai's past; I glanced at them momentarily before moving up to level two.

If you love models of cities then you'll love this museum. Located on the second floor was a tennis court sized model of how Shanghai will hopefully look in 2020. Skyscrapers dominate the skyline with small back streets, and alleyways, demolished. I particularly liked the fact that they had used transparent plastic to show buildings that hadn't yet been built. I moved up to the other levels of the museum seeing more models of transport hubs, airports and smaller segments of the city. This is how I see museums looking like in the future; each floor separated into small, memory manageable, chunks with models and TV screens playing the dominant role. The fifth floor was dedicated as a lookout with a small restaurant attached. As the viewing platform looked away from the river front I didn't stay long; I viewed the photos of the expo buildings (the British one looked fab) before heading down the many escalators and out of the building. Even though I had only spent thirty minutes within this exhibition it had been worth it.

The time was 2pm and I had only completed 'The Peoples Square' area. I was running behind schedule. I walked south and into the old city. Whereas most of Shanghai seems to be spacious this area reminded me of Hanoi's old quarter; the roads were congested, the streets were narrow therefore walking on the road became necessary. My target was the 'Yu Yan' gardens, one of Shanghai's most visited attractions. Due to this being a confined area I got lost a few times before I stumbled upon a small 'China Town'. I realised what people meant when they say 'fake China'; standing in front of me were beautiful Chinese buildings that you could obviously tell were new and built for tourists. As I looked at the road signs in front of me, and then back at my guidebook's map, I noticed that I would have to go through this 'Chinese theme park' to reach the gardens; I read the passage, within my guidebook, about the area and I agreed when it said that it 'looked like a western China town'.

I walked down the fake cobbled streets, with the fake Chinese buildings surrounding me, looking into the shop windows selling fake Chinese souvenirs. The hordes of Chinese tourists were horrendous; I almost gave up trying to find an entrance to the gardens when, in the far right hand corner, I found a sign stating 'Yu Yan gardens straight ahead'. I paid the forty Yuan (£4) entrance fee and entered; the place was packed and you could see why. In between the huge rock walls lay small openings in which sat many Chinese gardens, or buildings. A large river acted as the heart of the gardens; on this river stood a tea house with a wooden bridge leading to it. I spent a little time walking this way and that, trying to escape the crowds and find my own part of the gardens to view, admire and above all, sit in peace. Alas it wasn't going to happen so I left the gardens and head north; my new target was the underground station that would take me to Shanghai's financial district.

Once at said underground station I looked at my map. If I took the line heading east I would get to the Oriental Pearl Tower within fifteen minutes, if I took the line heading west I would get back to my hostel within thirty minutes. Looking at my watch I noticed that the time was 3:30pm and, honestly, it was too late to start exploring another area of the city. Also I had started to become tired; I know when I'm getting tired as I start to get annoyed. As I walked to the station I cursed within my head asking “... why can't these people understand what a red light means...”. Also, whilst annoyed, I came to the conclusion that the best thing for China would be to colonise it to a European nation for a while; hopefully then the people would learn a few manners, drive properly and stop spitting. As you can tell I was very tired and this was my ultimate reason why I decided to head west and back to the hostel.

Once on the train I was a little gutted that I hadn't completed my list of sights for the day. I decided, once back, that I would sort out my onward travel arrangements, freeing up tomorrow for more sightseeing. Handily my hostel performs a train ticket booking service for the reasonable fee of £3.50. Within China you cannot book train tickets anywhere else other than at the train station; therefore this fee would cover a member of the hostel going to the train station (which is two underground stops away) translating my request and purchasing my train ticket without me having to move. I told the receptionist when I wanted to go, where I wanted to go and what type of seat I wanted. She passed this information onto another employee who went out. Afterwards I sat down, flicked through my photos of today and read my emails. I hadn't even uploaded my first photo when the receptionist came to me to say that the trains to X'ian, for Thursday, were fully booked. Fully booked! I enquired about Friday; she rang the hostel employee, still at the train station, and she confirmed that Friday was okay. Reluctantly I extended my stay here for another day before sitting back at my computer to reserve some accommodation within X'ian.

Half an hour had passed when the girl came back into the hostel with my ticket in her hand. I would be departing at 6pm, on Friday, and arriving at 3pm the following day. There were faster trains but they were all booked. The receptionist explained that trains should be booked three days in advance … but how do I know how long I want to spend within a place? To add further complications the first week in May is classed as a 'Holiday week' when every Chinese person is on the move. Considering China has the worlds largest population this means that the trains sell out very quickly. Just when it couldn't get any worse my Chinese visa needs extending within that week and I've been told that offices close for part of the holiday. Great; it looks as though I will need to do a bit of forward planning.

I sat back in my chair. First things first, tomorrow I'll head to the financial district and have a look around before visiting the sex museum; I may also head back to the Expo area. This will leave Friday to either visit a place out of Shanghai, recommended by the hostel receptionist, or plan the May holiday week. I can feel my 'worry-o-meter' making a return.

Well another week within China has been and gone. I may not have travelled too much but what a week; Hong Kong, Shanghai and the Formula One. As predicted my average has risen to £40.39 per day. Considering that this includes an F1 ticket (£109) and a flight (£90) I think that's pretty good. Now that I've found out about instant noodles I hope to knock that average down over the next week or so.

Apart from the spitting, the pushing, the inability to wait at a red light and the fact that the Chinese eat with their mouth open the people are great. Once you get a Chinese person on their own they are polite and will try to help you as best they can; once in a busy city it seems to be every man, woman and child for themselves (I've seen young men knock old women out of the way to claim a seat on a underground). Just a few basic manners and things would be a lot more tolerable.

Toodle Pip!

Anti-Climax

Monday 18^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Indie Rock and Roll – The Killers

Weather: Perfect; not too hot and not too cold. A deep blue sky appeared with fluffy white clouds … great for photos.

I sat up within my bed ... just for a moment. Out of the six beds, within my dorm, only another one was occupied. Even though it was 7:30am the hostel was quieter than normal. As I looked around reception I cast my mind back twenty-four hours; the anticipation, the thrill, the excitement which was shared with my new mates. The Colombians may been late but it had been an excellent weekend. Today felt like a massive anti-climax; I wondered how anything could beat the excitement of watching Lewis Hamilton drive around the final corner. How could anything beat the waving of the British flags, the cheers from the British supporters and the exit of the Chinese Ferrari fans? I sighted, realising that the best way to deal with an anti-climax is to keep busy, and that's exactly what I did.

First things first I had jobs to do. I headed to the post office to, probably, post my final parcel home. It consisted of a book about the Vietnam War, my Hong Kong photo book, my Shanghai F1 programme and my South East Asian guidebook (How many hours had I spent flicking through that book?). It cost nine pounds, to sent my parcel home, which I thought was very good value even if it would take two months to arrive. I then had breakfast before heading to the local supermarket. As I went up the escalator, to the food department, I realised that I didn't need much; I had plenty of water, the hostel sold instant noodle meals and so all I needed was a large bottle of coke, some chocolate and some biscuits as a dessert. It wasn't until I had paid for said items that I realised the packed of chocolate biscuits had cost me £3.60. Call it early morning syndrome, call it having trouble working out the currency exchange … call it what you will but I knew that I wouldn't be purchasing biscuits any more.

I put my food within the hostel kitchen and headed to the metro station. Part of me wanted to head back along line eleven to the circuit; knowing the F1 had finished I wanted to re-live the only part of the weekend I could. Instead I went one stop on line three before changing to line seven; my target was Shanghai's Expo area. As I sat down on the train I reminisced back to November 2010; I was in my 'HI hostel', within Christchurch, waiting for my flight to Auckland. On TV was a documentary about Shanghai's Expo and it went into great detail about each and every building. I remembered if vividly, every detail. I was reminiscing so much that I almost missed my stop; I exited the metro to be presented with a lovely sunny day and huge amounts of people. In the distance I could see the 'Chinese Pavilion' and, to my left, another building I reckonised from the documentary. I noticed that there didn't seem to be many other buildings, within the complex, and the entry ticket on sale was for the Chinese Pavilion and not the Expo site. I knew the Expo conference had finished last year however I still expected most buildings to be standing. I decided not to join the queues and instead I walked around the perimeter.

Once away from the pavilion the crowds disappeared and I soon found myself on my own. It was eerily; all around me were high wire fences with lots of rubble inside. Ticket booths and entry paths could be made out however most of the Expo buildings couldn't be seen. I continued my walk around the area noticing closed 'KFC's' and disused signs pointing to different areas of the Expo park; it felt like man had been wiped off the face of the earth and I was the only one alive (oh I hope Angela Jolie made it too). I completed my walk, taking photos where I could, until I made it back to the pavilion and civilisation. There was an information desk where I enquired into what was going on. It turned out that the park was gradually being dismantled, with the Chinese Pavilion remaining open until the end of May; it cost £2 to enter however the queue timings read 'estimated three hours until entry into pavilion'. As I usually like the outside of buildings more than the inside I headed back to the underground making myself a promise. If I had any spare time I would return to the 'Chinese Pavilion' … it would have to be early in the morning though.

Within the underground I looked at my map; I was only six stops away from the 'Maglev' train station. Suspended above the track, and propelled by the forces of magnetism, this baby could travel up to 430km per hour, so my guidebook stated. At £5 a trip it was a little pricey (and the fact that the line headed out of town to the international airport didn't help) but, as my guidebook stated “...you may never get another chance to go this fast on land ...”. I headed further out of town and, once at the 'Maglev' train station, I purchased a ticket. Just like at all Chinese train stations, including underground stations, I had to get my bag scanned. Once on the train I had plenty of room to stretch out; just above my head was a speed o'meter which, as we were stationary, read '0kph'. We were soon off, I watched the speed o'meter more than the view out of the window; 80kKph … 120kph …. 180kph ….. 270kph …. 350kph …. 430kph. It hovered between 430/431kph for the remainder of the journey; I looked out of the window surprised to make out more detail than I imagined. We flew past cars and soon we were slowing in preparation for arriving at the airport. Once at the airport I purchased a normal metro ticket – for 70p – and prepared to make the return journey. As the train pulled up I looked at my watch; the 'Meglav' train had taken ten minutes to get to the airport, how long would this train take to get back to where the 'Meglav' started?

I choose a seat where I had a good view of the 'Meglav' track, hoping to see a train wizz past in either direction. Whereas the 'Meglav' was a 'non-stop' service this normal metro line had ten scheduled stops, including a train switch. Once we arrived back at the 'Meglav's' starting point I looked, once more, at my watch. It had taken fifty minutes to reach the station; the underground train was five times slower than the magnesium guided train. I stayed on the underground train and went into town. The time was now 1pm; I ate lunch before heading to Shanghai's centre.

An area called 'The Bund' is Shanghai's heart and it once used to be owned by the British. I didn't need a history book to tell me this; looking at the wonderful architecture, and cobble stone streets, immediately brought images of colonial Britain to my mind. I walked along the front twice; once to take photos, across the water, at the Oriental Pearl Tower and then again to photograph the old colonial buildings, on this side of the river. Even though the Pearl Tower is Shanghai's most famous landmark, the colonial buildings were my favourite and made me proud to be British. I spent ages walking around these magnificent buildings photographing them from many different angles. Once this was done I could tell that the sun was going down and so it was time to head back to the hostel.

I caught line eleven back to the hostel, wanting to stay on the train all the way to the Shanghai F1 circuit. Back at the hostel I chatted to the staff (which, if I haven't mentioned before, are brilliant. Anything you need they will try to get). I blogged and surfed the internet (which included bring up current information about the Shanghai Expo area) before having tea. All-in-all it had been a good day, but not as good as the race yesterday. I hope to finish my sightseeing tomorrow as I don't want to extend my stay again; there are too many memories of good times here. This will be no mean feat; I have 'Remin Square' (with two excellent museums to see), the old quarter and the new financial district. This district includes a viewing platform, of the entire city, plus a sex museum (got to see that). This would then leave me Wednesday to sort out how I'm going to get to X'ian, and possibly head back to the Chinese Pavilion. Busy days!

Toodle Pip!

HAMILTON WINS IN SHANGHAI!

Sunday 17^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: The winner takes it all– ABBA

Weather: Mixed. The weather has changed dramatically over the race weekend. Friday was sticky, Saturday was cold and now Sunday was hot, right up until the start of the race; as the cars left the grid clouds came over the stands and the temperature became cooler. No rain today and only a little breeze.

Last night the Colombians had to move dorms and they ended up moving into my dorm. This was good as the whole room was now occupied by F1 fans; we chatted for a while, casting our predictions for tomorrows race, before I went to sleep and they went out. I had been warned that one of the Colombians snored 'a little' which, having slept in many dorms, wouldn't be an issue.

A little! I awoke up at 3am to, what I thought was, the sound of an F1 car starting up. I got out of bed, went into my locker and pulled out a pair of ear plugs. All was fine after that and I soon drifted back to sleep.

**************

The day started as normal; I waited for the Colombians within the reception area before we headed to McDonald's for breakfast. Again we were later than planned however it didn't matter; as far as the race was concerned we were scheduled to arrive with loads of time in hand. I double checked that I had my race ticket before I started to board the train; one of the Colombians stopped me saying that this wasn't the right train. Five minutes later another train stopped and we got on; surprisingly it was less crowded than the previous two days. Once at the stadium I went through the usual checks (which were a farce; I opened my bag and the security guard never even looked inside … I could have had half a pound of cocaine, a penguin and a space shuttle in there and I still would have got through). Sadly we had just missed the coca-cola girls jumping around; the keen eyed Colombians saw the lead girl head around the back of the stand. They were off like a short and, once I'd caught up with them, they were having their photos taken with her. Not content with just one girl they spotted the whole dance group and got a photo with all of them. We then headed to a motorbike stand where the girls there looked as though they had been hit in the face, by a bus … twice.

After this we sat around for a little while before I departed and headed to my stand. Once at my seat I met an oldish couple who hadn't been here yesterday. They were both from York - they both had a strong Yorkshire accent – and they both were lovely. As we waited for the Porsche race to begin we chatted about my travels, their Chinese holiday and many F1 topics. At this point the sun was beating down and the Brazilians, in the stand next to us, were starting Mexican waves with great success. After throwing my hands up, many times, I tried to cover up as much as possible (however I think I've got a little burnt). The Porsche race wasn't that interesting and so I continued chatting throughout, occasionally refocusing on what was happening on the track.

After the race there was a ninety minute break until the F1 started; the grandstands continued to fill and so I decided not to bother leaving my seat. Instead I applied more sun cream, ate some of my supplies and chatted. The race started with the drivers parade; I looked out for Hamilton however, I was so far away, I couldn't make out any of the drivers. Once over there were performing art dances all along the pit straight. As I couldn't see the acts I didn't pay much attention; they were televised but I felt, unless you saw them live or at home, they lost their impact. I didn't concentrate on the TV until I saw Mclaren mechanics work on Hamilton's car. At first I thought nothing of it however, as time went by, I started to worry. Most of Hamilton's competitors were already on the starting grid and he was still in the garage. What made it worse was that the Mclaren mechanics, usually so calm, were running around under the watchful eye of Martin Whitmarsh. When I saw one mechanic grab some tissue, to mop up a leak, my heart sank … I had come all this way and it looked as though Hamilton wouldn't even start the race. With ten minutes to go I heard an engine start up; I looked at the pit lane exit to see a silver and red Mclaren, with a yellow drivers helmet, race around the first corner. He was out. Once on the grid the mechanics were still playing around with Lewis' car; my expectations for his race started to drop … well at least he would start. All seemed well as the parade lap started and, once the lights went out, I was happy to see Mclaren one and two.

The race was brilliant. First position changed hands so many times that I couldn't count the amount of leaders. At one point during the race it looked as though either Button, Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg or Massa could have taken the chequered flag. I flicked between the TV and the track, trying to work out who was in what position. Unable to see the information on the TV, I gave up-to-date commentary to the couple from York; we all cheered when Hamilton finally passed Vettel and into the lead. It was great; the stand was littered with Ferrari hats and here we were seeing Hamilton winning with Ferrari doing nothing.

Wanting to avoid the crowds, the couple from York left two laps before the end. I wished them a pleasant trip and they did the same. I couldn't keep my eyes off the track and, as Hamilton came around the last corner, I stood up and cheered. British flags were flying, cheers could be herd from all around the stadium and Ferrari fans made their way out of the stands. Today was Hamilton's day and all the British fans stayed to cheer Hamilton lift the winning trophy.

I left with a huge smile on my face; as I walked towards the Mclaren merchandise stall I was surrounded by British flags. Unfortunately the Mclaren merchandise wasn't reduced, probably partly due to the fact that many Chinese had thrown away their Ferrari hats and were queuing for new clothes. I decided to purchase my stuff once home.

Leaving the stadium was, surprisingly, very well organised. The ground had many exits with metro signs pointing to two locations. Each location consisted of two sets of ten rows. Fans would fill each row before the police closed it off. The rows had two open ends and so, once the metro station had emptied of people, the police would open one end of these 'temporary queues' to allow people through. As the Colombians recommended purchasing return metro tickets this morning (clever that) I walked past huge queues at the ticket machines and went straight onto the train. On the train I met two Americans and we talked about the race; I was hardly able to remove the smile off my face.

The Colombians had beaten me back to the hostel. Once through the door I shouted 'Lews' and they congratulated me. Even though they were gutted (as Ferrari did NOTHING) they still said that it was an excellent race. I chatted with them before they had to leave to catch their train to Beijing. We exchanged email addresses so hopefully we'll meet up again. I spent the rest of the evening reading about Hamilton's great victory wondering if, for the next three days, seeing Shanghai's sights were going to be able to rival the race. I doubt it. However I need to do another food shop (as I have nothing left) before posting home another parcel; after that I hope to visit Shanghai's Expo site.

HAMILTON WINS IN SHANGHAI … COME ON!

Toodle Pip!

P.S. Both F1 races, that I've attended, Hamilton has won … maybe he should pay for me to attend all races from now on!

Hamilton 3rd

Saturday 16^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Driving in my car– Madness

Weather: Freezing. As my seat was almost at the top of an open grandstand, I got the full brunt of the wind in my face. Even with my coat done up, my gloves on, my woolly hat in place - with my coats hood over the top - I was still cold.

I was awake at 3am due to a familiar noise. It wasn't the rustling of plastic bags, it wasn't the sound of trains passing by the dorms open window, it was the sound of a mosquito buzzing near my ear. I haven't been bitten by a mosquito for about a month and I wasn't going to start now. I waved my hand across my ear (hitting nothing) before applying mosquito repellant. I then headed back to the land of nod.

**********

I awoke to find that I had been bitten quite a few times, mainly on my arms and hands. Annoying I had one bite on my left-hand's index finger – which itched like hell - that had swollen preventing me from closing my hand into a fist. Other than that I was fit, healthy and ready for the F1 qualifying today. Once again I found myself downstairs before the Colombians; I went on the internet and awaited our meeting time of 8:30am. At 8:45am we were all ready to leave.

Instead of heading to McDonald's we went to a Chinese take-away, recommended to the Colombians by another traveler. As I hadn't eaten much Chinese food so far I was looking forward to this meal, until I saw what was on offer. Eggs, eggs and oh, more eggs seem to dominate the menu; I ordered a small bowl of noodles, skipped the eggs (and the moldy pastries) and sat down. Even the noodles weren't that good; the Colombians were equally unimpressed with breakfast as I and so we went to McDonald's for 'second breakfast'. I ordered another 'sausage and cheese McMuffin' but, of course, I got a spicy chicken McMuffin instead. The queues were large and I didn't want to make a fuss; I sat down and ate my breakfast rather surprised to find it quite tasty.

The others ordered their lunch and tea just like yesterday. So far things were very similar to twenty-four hours ago; we had spent a fair amount of time within McDonalds and we were running late. The only difference was that there was no 'bag snatcher' this morning. The lateness really didn't matter as today's events started one hour later than yesterday. As I was about to board the underground train I was glad that I was with Chinese speaking Colombians as the first train wasn't heading to the race track, however there were no English signs to notify you of this.

We waited for the next train with a South African joining our, now very international, group. The train journey took forty-five minutes to reach the track. I had a quick look around for any new Mclaren merchandise stalls but their weren't any. What I did find, on the coca-cola stand, was a dance performance by five very fit Chinese ladies, wearing hardly anything, whilst jumping around a lot. I quite enjoyed the performance but, as it appeared, not as much as the Colombians who went further forward to video the routine.

Today wasn't an 'open ticket' day. Because of this there was another line of security at each stand; once I'd found the entrance to my stand I had to show my ticket again. Looking at my ticket I was allocated seat six on row twenty-seven (the second row from the top) in block 6.1. Once I'd walked up the many steps to my seat I came to the conclusion on three specific topics. Firstly it was a long way up and so I was glad that I had all my food, and drink, with me. Secondly the view, of the track, was superb; I could see the final corner, most of the pit-straight, right around the first corner and off onto the second straight. In the distance I could also see the third hair-pin. Thirdly I noticed that it was cold, bibically cold. Being up this high meant that I caught the full force of the wind (and it was windy); I'd tucked my t-shirt into my trousers, zipped up my coat, put my woolly hat on, put my coats hat on above my woolly hat and even put my gloves on. I was still cold. The temperature wasn't great for me however it should liven up the racing today as all of practice, from yesterday, was in relatively warm weather. I sat and I waited for 'practice three' to start.

Due to the change in weather temperature I was expecting to see all teams out racing, trying to get as much practice in as possible. However this wasn't the case; everything seemed calm and normal. The view was exceptional however, from this far back, I couldn't make out the drivers very well. I also couldn't see the TV that well; I had to take photos of the TV screen, zoom into the photo, to see who was leading. Practice three ended with Vettel on top, Button second and Hamilton third. I wasn't planning on leaving the stands – as I'd walked around the circuit yesterday – however I was so cold that I needed warming up; I decided to go for a walk before heading to the 'F1 village' to find a hot cup of 'coco'.

I walked in the direction of the first hair-pin, hearing the Porsche cars take part in their third practice session. Today no one could be seen climbing the fences and there seemed to be a lot more police around. The police still weren't doing a lot and I found a group of them, within a public toilet, talking and sheltering from the wind whilst smoking. Just like yesterday a barrier prevented me from completing a lap of the circuit; I headed back the way I had come and went into the 'F1 Village'. Once there I met the Canadian from yesterday; he was wondering around the same as I and we joined forces in the hunt for a hot drink.

Not one hot drink, not even coffee, could be found. Due to the walk I was getting quite warm and so I abandoned the idea and walked, back in the same direction as earlier, chatting to the Canadian. Again we talked all things F1 however we mostly focused on the fact that the Shanghai GP side events were few and far between. At other races you would have an 'F1 Village' four times the size with bands, car shows and dances happening all the time. Events would run into the night however here it seemed you watched the race and then left; again this reinforced my conclusion that the Chinese people don't really follow F1. Don't get me wrong, the Chinese girls wearing very little was great this morning, but more performances were needed.

It was getting close to qualifying; once again I said goodbye to the Canadian as I got my ticket checked before I reentered my stand. I sat down and prepared myself, once more, for the cold. Unusually most people took their seats, which was great as it meant everyone could see; the only annoying thing were the 'lucky, lucky salesmen' walking up and down the stairs trying to sell ear buds and binoculars throughout qualifying. Session one finished with Mark Webber out; I like the Aussie but as long as Hamilton got through I wasn't too upset. Session two didn't really show any surprises and soon we were up to session three. This session was only ten minutes long and it took Hamilton eight minutes to appear. My heart was racing until I saw the silver and red car of Lewis Hamilton on track; it was clear he was only going to do one run. Just as Hamilton was starting his only 'flying lap' the TV's stopped working. I watched Hamilton drive around the first corner faultlessly and into the distance. I had no idea what would happen for the rest of the lap until he crossed the finish line. Once the session was over the TV's came back to life and I took a photo of the top ten placings. As I zoomed in I noticed that Vettel was first, Button second and Hamilton third. Even thought I would have preferred Hamilton on pole I was glad with third.

Most people departed the track however I decided to stay. Reading my 'timetable of events' I noticed that there was a Porsche race on next, that only took thirty minutes. The race was okay; being located at the first corner I did see a few cars go off the track but most behaved themselves. The race soon finished – with some guy winning who I'd never herd off – and so I packed up my stuff and walked down the stand. As I departed I looked to my right seeing the Colombians within the stand next to me. I waited for them and eventually they appeared but they didn't see me. They didn't seem to be in much of a rush and were taking their time; as they hadn't seen me I departed and met a British couple, from Kent, on the train back to Shanghai. It seems these two Brits follow F1 around the globe; they were telling me about all the races that they've been to. They also told me that their daughter wants to travel in which I replied 'do it', it's one of the best experiences you can have. I said goodbye as I departed the train at my stop. Once back at the hostel I logged onto the internet to check the BBC F1 site before having tea and getting ready for another early night.

Tomorrow the race … COME ON HAMILTON!!!

Toodle Pip

Practice makes perfect

Friday 15^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: Shut up and Drive– Rihanna

Weather: Cloudy but humid.

I awoke to the sound of my alarm beeping at me. Due to the excitement, of another F1 race weekend, I bounced out of bed and got ready as quickly as I could. I got ready so quickly that I had to wait around for a while, as I'd promised I would meet my new Colombian friends at 8am. After a quick surf on the internet one of the Colombians came into the common room, on time; the other arrived ten minutes later. Apparently he had to send an important email meaning that we didn't leave the hostel until around 8:20am.

There were three things that I hadn't previously known about my two new buddies. Firstly they had invited a Chinese chap to tag along with us, secondly they had 'pit lane passes' (which I was a little jealous of) and thirdly all three were Ferrari fans … I'm sure they'll grow out of it. We walked the short distance to the underground station and purchased our tickets. It was at this point that one of the Colombians had forgotten his camera battery; he ran off into the distance and we waited for him. At this point I was, yet again, reminded why I traveled alone and I wondered if making my own way to the circuit tomorrow would be the best course of action. I'd only just finished my thoughts when the Colombian came hurling back around the corner, slightly out of breath and with a very red face. Before going through the ticket barriers our bags had to be scanned; this didn't take long and soon we had made our first official pit stop. The queue within McDonald's was horrendous; not really knowing what the plan was I decided not to order my usual 'McPancakes' and opted for something that could either be eaten here, or on the underground, or in a hurry. As it turned out the others had forgotten to purchase food for the race; they were at the counter for ages ordering hamburgers to last them the entire day. This gave me ample time to eat my 'sausage and cheese McMuffin'. Once the three of them had returned from the chaotic sea of hungry people, laden with McDonald's bags, they put most of their food within their rucksacks and finally off we went. Practice started at 10am; it took a good hour to get to the track and the time was 9am … things were tight.

As we left McDonald's we heard some shouting; a young Chinese gentleman ran right out in front of us and up a set of stairs. Within his hands was a coat and a ladies handbag; he was being followed by a rather angry, older gentleman and a lady. It didn't take a brain surgeon to work out what had happened here however, the police at the ticket machines, didn't intervene or peruse the criminal. They did nothing which I found slightly odd.

It was luckily that I was with the Colombians as, with a lack of underground information, I had to choose between two 'line eleven' routes. They seemed to know which line to take - as they had been to the race before - but I wondered how other spectators managed; within the station there were few underground maps, none of which could be taken, and I did think that the information could have been better displayed. On London's underground information is everywhere. The train was packed but efficient; as I exited the station there, in front of me, loomed the main race track stand. I had to admit that, even if the underground information hadn't been that great, the fact that it had dropped me off, almost on the race track (and the fact that it only cost 50p to get here) made it probably one of the best transport systems to a race track on the Formula one calendar.

I pressed my F1 ticket against the ticket machine and it let me through. As Friday practice was classed as an 'open day' it meant that spectators could sit anywhere, no matter what ticket they had purchased. We could hear the sound of the cars engines firing up; the time was 9:58am and so we hurried into the main stand. I did stop to purchase a programme which, after flicking through, was in English and had some great photos; at £10 it was a little expensive, however it made an informative souvenir.

Fans say Formula one cars are loud, but unless you hear them yourself you cannot truly understand just how loud the noise of the engines are. Once at the middle level of the main grandstand I noticed that there were very few people; I listened to the engines for a short while before inserting ear plugs into my ears (the piercing sound could still be herd quite loudly even with the ear plugs inserted). I made sure that I got at least one photo of Lewis before getting a photos of the other teams. The atmosphere wasn't exactly electric; due to it being Friday there were very few people and, unfortunately, most of them were wearing red. I don't know if it's because the Chinese lucky colour is red but most Chinese had Ferrari shirts on. I'd like to think that Ferrari's merchandise was a little common and, even though my silver Mclaren hat was a little dirty, I felt that it was a little more refined. I sat down watching the cars go past as I read through my programme.

All of a sudden first practice had finished. Vettel had topped the time sheets with Hamilton not to far behind; the only incident involved Heidfeld (Renault) who had put his car into a wall. Instead of watching the 'Porsche supporting race' I opted to leave the others and go for a walk. We had arranged to meet up at another grandstand, near the final headpin, for 'practice two'. My first stop was the 'F1 village' where I planned to purchase a Mclaren Shirt and hat. Before doing so I checked out the other stores and exhibits. There were the usual team stores which held little interest; one stand, which that did hold interest, was the 'Mercedes Petronas' stand which housed a couple of Mercedes cars including an old 1950's 'silver arrow'; the display was beautifully done and spectators were allowed to take photos. The other stand, which held some interest, was the coca-cola stand. This housed a small karting track that spectators could have a go at driving a single lap on. The queue was huge and so I surrendered my opportunity and went in search of the Mclaren store.

I peered at the merchandise not believing my eyes. Even though I really liked the new black Mclaren shirt (and the black Lewis Hamilton baseball cap) I wasn't going to spend £105 getting the two. The shirt cost £70 with the cap costing £35; I walked away thinking that I could purchase both of those items, within the UK, for probably half the price. Ironically they would probably get shipped from China. I was a little gutted not being able to justify purchasing a new shirt; I continued my walk around the track hoping to find other vendors. I found one and, even though the price of the shirt was reduced to £55, the cap remained the same. At this point I could hear the Porsche cars reeving their engines, I gave up my search for Mclaren merchandise and continued my walk around the race track. As I walked Porsche super cars went flying by; I walked as far as I could in one direction until a barrier prevented my from going any further. I back-tracked and headed back to the main grand stand and the F1 village. I wondered why the race track had bothered with barriers; quite a few times I saw Chinese people scale the barriers and climb over. Two things struck me as odd; firstly this was Friday practice were a ticket cost £1 to get in. Secondly the Chinese police watched this activity and did nothing. I couldn't believe it, the Chinese officials didn't move and one policeman even walked by as three ladies climbed over a locked gate. With my jaw wide open I stood their stunned.

I walked back through the F1 Village (wondering if the Mclaren merchandise prices had changed … they hadn't) and out the other side. I continued my walk around the track where I met a Canadian. We chatted about all things F1 until we could walk no further. It takes an F1 car just under two minutes to complete a circuit of the Shanghai race track; it had taken me two hours to walk almost all the way around.

The time was getting close to practice two; as I walked back to my scheduled meeting spot, with the Colombians, the Canadian guy came with me. Unfortunately he was a Ferrari, and a Red Bull, fan. He told me that he'd been to the Montreal race and that he had a friend in Singapore, which he might visit for that race. Once at the last headpin I said goodbye to the Canadian as I went up the stairs, and into the grandstand, and he went in search of beer. There were less people within this grandstand than there were within the main one. I found myself a good seat, lined up my camera, and waited. After I'd taken a couple of photos I put my camera away, got out a little food, and watched the action. Overall 'Friday Practice' is a little dull, however it does allow you to walk around the track, find some great photo locations and see what the view is like in each grandstand. It had been a good day and, once the last cars went by, I packed my stuff. The Colombians 'pit lane walk' was scheduled for 5pm. As the time was 3pm I didn't fancy waiting around; I said goodbye to them before departing for the underground station, but not before checking out the few stalls outside the ground to see what Mclaren merchandise they had.

None was the answer. Most were cafeterias, the only F1 stands were Ferrari. Maybe tomorrow more stands will be in operation; or maybe, after the race, the Mclaren store might slash it's prices. If neither of the above happened then I'll just buy a shirt, and a hat, once I'm home. I sighed before heading down into the underground. Apart from standing up all the way back to my hostel, the trip was uneventful. Once I'd walked into my hostel I sat down, read the latest F1 news, uploaded my photos and had something to eat. Once the Colombians were back I asked how the pit lane walk was (the photos looked good); they decided to head out for some drinks but I declined the offer as I was feeling pretty tired.

Tomorrow qualifying!

Toodle Pip!

Jobs

Thursday 14^th April 2011

MP3 track of the day: What a wonderful world – Louis Armstrong

Weather: Cloudy but warm (not as warm as Hong Kong though).

Instead of waking up to the sound of rustling plastic bags I was awoken to the sound of underground trains operating. I had booked this hostel because the owner had told me it was close to the underground station I needed for the race, and he wasn't lying. As I lay in bed I heard six trains go past, hopefully meaning that there's a frequent service, from here, to the race track. As the underground stops running at 11pm it didn't keep me awake last night and I had a lovely nights sleep.

Once up I got ready for the day; I had so many jobs to complete that I couldn't sit around, however I did treat myself to a lovely long shower. Once washed I got dressed and sorted out my laundry; I then headed down to reception where I asked a ton of questions.

· Laundry – The easiest job of all. I was surprised to find that the staff did a huge bag a laundry for as little as £3. I handed over my big, bulging bag of dirty clothes to a lovely Chinese girl who said that they would be ready this evening.

· Exchanging Money – As I hadn't had time, at the airport, to exchange the 530 Hong Kong dollars (£44) I still owned, I asked for a place where I could exchange money. The 'Bank of China' was the receptionists' answer and see gave me directions.

· Post Office – As I had my 'Hong Kong picture book', a book about the Vietnam War and my South East Asian guidebook adding weight to my bag I've decided that I will post these home. I'm not going to post them home just yet as, when I attend the race, I reckon I'll purchase a programme so that might as well join the list. The receptionist told me that there was a post office near the bank; a further ten minutes walk west.

· A Supermarket – The days of visiting cheap restaurants were over; it was about time I got back to being a backpacker. With pot noodles costing 40p each I wanted to get some plus some snacks for the race (as I'm sure the track food will be expensive). Luckily I was told that there was a supermarket across the road from the post office, on the 4^th and 5^th floors of a large shopping center.

· Location of the underground train station to the race track – I could hear the trains running yet I didn't know where they stopped. Once again the receptionist came up trumps and she gave me directions to the closest station for 'line 11'; the line to the race.

· F1 merchandise – It is becoming apparently clear that, even though the Chinese have had a F1 race for many years, it isn't that popular. The staff were puzzled when I mentioned F1 and if they knew where to purchase clothing for it. Even with two Colombians (Who spoke both English and Chinese and had come for the race too) translating for me the message didn't really get through. Bless her the receptionist did her best and provided me with two sports shops located within town. I think the Chinese have a race just because they think that they ought to.

To avoid information over load I said thank you to the receptionist and headed out into one of the many suburbs of Shanghai. After I had back-tracked a little, as I'd taken the wrong road, I soon found the 'Bank of China'. The walk hadn't been pleasant one; unpleasant pools of water, rubbish carts and paper bags lined the streets. Looking upwards didn't improve matters; the huge blocks of flats, plus over-head highways, were looking very 1980's (with inches of grime that looked as though they started within the 1980's). There weren't that many people within the bank and yet it took quite a while to get served. Once my number was called I sat at a desk with a young Chinese gentleman, in a suit, facing me. I explained my business and, after completing a huge form (asking for my address … all I wanted was to change £40 worth of currency, not look into an endowment mortgage), I was finally given just over 400 Yuan. As I left the bank I realised that I had been given a very good exchange rate.

I then walked to the post office; it was quite easy to find due to the fact that it was completely green and that it had the words 'Post Office' written, in white, on one of it's green facades. There was also a Pizza Hut, KFC and a McDonald's within the area … which was a complete surprise. I went into the McDonald's for breakfast. Afterwards I crossed the road (almost getting run over) and into a shopping center. I traveled up four floors where I found a supermarket; the first floor was dedicated to anything but food, I therefore pushed my trolley up the vertically-flat escalator to the next floor. As I traveled forever upwards I got chatting to a lovely Chinese gentleman who, sadly, only had one leg. His degree was in English and he spoke 'British English', which he was quite proud of. I liked him even more when he was glad that I wasn't American and, if he hadn't told me that he was Chinese, I would have thought that he was British; his accent was very familiar.

We parted at the top of the escalator and I got on with my shopping. I had today, plus three days at the race track, to purchase food for. Therefore I bought:

· 5x 1.5ltr bottles of water (3x for the race track, 1x to use for cleaning my teeth and the other to use to make my pot noodles)

· 1x 1.5ltr bottle of Coke (to have with my evening meals)

· 3x packets of chocolates (for the track)

· 3x small packets of crisps (for the track)

· 3x large packets of biscuits (for the track)

· 4x Large pot noodles (not for the track; for evening meals)

· 1x packed of sweets (for the track)

· 1x small bottle of Pepsi (As, after carrying this lot back to the hostel, I was going to need a cool drink)

And that was it. In total it cost me £16 which I thought wasn't bad, considering I had everything I needed for four days … not including breakfast. I picked up the three, huge, carrier bags and quickly headed out in the direction of my hostel. All the way back I walked quickly, gritting my teeth and sweating a little. Once at my hostel I dumped my stuff within the kitchen (hope it won't get stolen) before getting my PC.

Once sitting comfortably, within the common room, I started to surf the internet. I could connect to the network however, the old 'blocking problems' were once again apparent (therefore this blog is coming from Derby within the UK … again). I downloaded, and printed off, a revised schedule of the race weekends activities. Friday practice starts at 10:00am; the two Colombians, I met earlier, were leaving the hostel around 8am and asked if I wanted to join them. This gave us two hours to get to the track and have breakfast; I gratefully accepted.

The time was now 2:30pm and there was little point in venturing out into town, on the hunt for F1 merchandise; I decided that I'll check the track prices. Instead I went in search of the closest station for 'line 11'. This was a lot more complicated than it sounds; firstly, once near to the underground interchange, the signs for 'line 11' disappeared. Secondly the first entrance I tried was closed off and after that the only entrances I found were to lines three or four. Eventually, after some searching and a few directions, I found the entrance. I checked the travel prices glad to see that it would only cost 50p to get to the track. All was now set; I was ready, and quite excited, about the next three days ahead of me.

The time was now 3:30pm. It's one of those annoying times where it's too late to start anything new but too early for tea or, frankly, anything else. I got out my PC and checked the next three days weather reports plus I made sure that Hamilton hadn't gone anything stupid and injured himself (so far he hasn't … touching wood). The weather for practice was forecast rain; qualifying is supposed to be cloudy while the race will happen in full sunshine, according to the BBC. This is good as it'll be difficult for the teams to setup their cars for the race (which should make the race more interesting). After this, as I hadn't seen anything of Shanghai today, I extended my stay until next Thursday; I spent the rest of the evening watching a film (Curse of the Golden Flower: a Chinese film, with English subtitles, that I own at home and which is a great film), having my first pot noodle (which was okay) and getting ready for tomorrow. My alarm was set for 7am.

Toodle Pip!