Shanghello

Here's a tip: don't go walking in barefeet along the railroads in China. Aside from the fact that you'll get run over by a train, turns out that the toilet is not so much a toilet as it is a pipe to underneath the train. So, the railway tracks are covered in human waste. How gross is that? You're welcome.

I arrived in Shanghai today, and Shanghai is very tall. There have been tall buildings, very very tall buildings in every city, but Shanghai really takes the cake. In other places, there is a mix of tall and not tall. In Shanghai, it is a forest of buildings. It really looks like a forest, except instead of trees, there are nicely spaced buildings everywhere.

It's not something I talk about a whole lot, because in PG, it's not an issue, but I really don't like being in tall buildings. The second I'm above about the third floor, I become convinced the building is going to fall over. It's not a reasonable thing, I'm well aware, since buildings really don't fall over very often/at all, but this sort of thing isn't usually very reasonable. So, I'm slightly on edge all the time I'm here. Unless I'm on the ground. Then I am not at all concerned about buildings falling on me.

I had today completely off once I made it to my hotel (where I am on the 12th floor). After the fiasco in Beijing, I decided I didn't really want to try and find things on my own, so I went for a bit of a wander around my hotel, but I didn't find much very exciting. I'm in a very downtown-y kind of downtown, the same sort of downtown you might find in Vancouver, except that the things they sell have Chinese on them. I guess it really is quite like Vancouver.

I found a bookstore, which I was hoping would have some books in English. They did not. They did however have a rather extensive DVD collection, some of which were in English. I saw a movie called DOA (Dead Or Alive) which is based on one of the silliest video games of all time. I had heard about this movie being made, and then nothing more, so I ASSUMED someone came to their senses and canceled it. But no, it was made, and when I found it for about $2 CAD, I could not pass it up.

The point of DOA (the video game) is scantily clad women. Oh yes, and there is fighting as well. But mostly the women. It's the only fighting game to come out with a sequel that was Extreme Beach Volleyball (I am not making this up).

Turns out the movie managed to have all of this (including the beach volleyball). It also managed to have a lame plot, bad acting and cheesy dialog. Even the fight scenes (which you'd think would be the whole point) were obvious rip offs of other movies. My point here is that it was exactly what I thought it was going to be (and if you've played DOA, you should know exactly what it's going to be) and that made it great. If you feel like watching a silly, silly movie, watch this one.

I also watched The Holiday, which came out last year or something like that. It was pretty OK. I've also been watching some of a show called "Life" on my dad's recommendation, and it turns out to be fantastic. If you're the sort of person who gets cable, and likes good TV shows, check it out. It is on NBC. But that's enough about TV & movies.

I've had a very relaxing day, which is good, because I did not sleep so well on the train, and I am rather tired. The only problem is the sink is talking to me. Not with words, but with gurgling. It's a little disconcerting. I'm hoping the water settles or whatever.

Tomorrow I am going on a city tour, so I'll know all about why Shanghai is the most populous city in China (or so people keep claiming). For now, I will leave you with a snippet from my hotel's guest directory:

"Dear guests:

Warmly welcome to Shanghai Bailemen Hotel.

Our hotel is three star hotel. The hotel's motto is 'The Hotel you come in, the happier you feel' . We wish you to make a good impression and have a good time to stay with us in our hotel.

This book will introduce you all the hotel's faculties and services we provided. Please contact with us according to the list if you need any help. You can feel much more comfortable and get better service from our hotel.

All of the staff wish you have pleasant stay in the Shanghai Bailemen hotel. We look forward to entertaining you and your friends again in the near future."

It makes you wonder why they even bother. At least they had a spellchecker.


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