After packing our luggage and leaving the bags outside the hotel door, we went down to breakfast. I neglected to mention the way the hotel was laid out. In order to go from our hotel tower to the restaurant, we took the elevator to the 2nd floor, where we walked down a corridor to a different wing, and then took another elevator down a couple of floors. This is not obvious in the signage and we had gotten lost the first day. Fortunately the hotel has someone stationed at the bottom of the elevator just to guide lost patrons. That job must be so boring, just standing there waiting for elevator doors to open. There were also two hotel lobbies which made it even more complicated. It might be similar to the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, where they also have the Palazzo, or the Wynn and the Encore, where the two hotels connect.
We passed by the hotel spa every morning while we were heading to breakfast. It looked very beautiful from the outside. My dad called earlier this morning to find out the rates and he could hardly hang up on the spa receptionist; I'm sure they had few callers and she was trying her best to sell services. I think it cost 1000 yuan for a massage, which was a LOT of money, considering I enjoyed a 2 hour massage in Shenzhen for ~200 yuan. The cost was on par with the massages I had in Maui, but since I had 3 spa treatments in the last week and a half, I passed. I also didn't want another meat tenderizing session; if I got worked so much for $30, think how much torture I'd have to endure for $150, if I wanted to "get my money's worth"...
After breakfast, we had a few hours of free time before heading to the airport. We walk a few minutes to the Shanghai Metro stop nearby, buy tickets, get our bags checked by security and take the metro a few stops down, to Longyang Road station. Ironically, this was where our shuttle bus would drop us off later in the afternoon, to take the Maglev train to Pudong airport. There were restaurants selling all sorts of buns and dim sum, for 1 yuan each. That is super cheap. I'd rather have eaten at these places than inside the Expo. We step into a McDonalds and had refreshments. Lots of patrons here with luggage, taking in a quick meal before heading to the airport. There was free wi-fi in the building, but my iPhone didn't want to connect. I also had the same problem when I was at the hotel...I was able to receive a faint unsecured wi-fi hotspot, but could not connect. I wonder if there was a Chinese firewall of some sort. I had wanted so bad to check to see if I got upgraded on my flight back to the US. Babe was supposed to help me check in at the 24 hour mark to be first in line for upgrades if it came down to check-in time.
We browse a couple of clothing stores, but nothing to buy, so we decide to have lunch in a cafeteria-style restaurant. Another bowl of noodles. But it was cheap. We found a booth with a view to the street, and during our meal, saw a child around 6-7 years old come out of a store, urinate on the single patch of dirt nearby, and go back into the store. That was appetizing. At least people aren't spitting on the streets as much. There is still some room for improvement.
We took the metro back to the hotel. As we waited in the lobby for the rest of the tour mates to meet, my dad takes out his video camera and films the lobby. A minute later, one of the hotel employees approaches him and asks him to stop filming. Not sure what was so special that you don't let your guests take memories of it to show other people to entice them to come to the hotel? This isn't the Sistine Chapel. That means the lobby picture I put into my blog entry a few days ago is contraband. :)
The shuttle bus dropped us off exactly where we just were an hour ago. We boarded the Maglev train, which reaches a max speed of 431 kilometers per hour, making it the world's fastest commercial train. That's about 268 miles per hour! The "tracks" looked like a concrete pathway. It was an 8 minute train ride to Pudong airport, about 50 kilometers away. My dad remarked that there weren't any seat belts. If a train moved at 268 mph and it got into an accident, I don't think a seat belt would help at all. I could tell the whole world was definitely zooming by when we were at max velocity. Your eyes hardly had time to focus on anything close by. The current speed was shown in the train car.
We arrived at the airport and checked in without hassle. Once I made it through security, my wi-fi suddenly worked. I wonder if all countries' wi-fi devices are allowed to operate once the passenger gets past security? I checked my United reservation for tomorrow and I was upgraded, yay! Didn't have to sweat it at the gate or play Frogger with my bag. I wasn't sure if the upgrade cleared before the check-in window opened, but checking in at the 24 hour mark seemed to help.
There was some time before departure, so many of our tour mates went shopping at the duty-free stores. Mr. Rich Man was showing off everything he bought, pointing out ones that cost a lot, even opening up boxes when possible. Everyone was complimenting each item, probably just to be nice. (I hope!) The flight on Dragonair was just as good as last time. Moderate turbulence didn't stop flight attendants from serving food and hot tea. Dinner was not as delicious as the dim sum from the first flight (though still better than US airlines) but having Haagen-Dazs mini ice cream cups for dessert hit the spot.
We arrived back in Hong Kong. This time, I went through the "Hong Kong Residents" line, yay! (the manned booth) I showed the agent my passport page with the HK ID sticker on it, and I was sent on my merry way. No more filling out arrival forms! When I get my smart card, I can go through the automated line, scan my card, scan my thumbprint, and I'd be all set. We say a quick goodbye to our tour mates and took the Airbus back "home". Funny how I'd be returning to the airport in less than 12 hours. When I got back to my uncle's flat, I discussed my Expo trip with him and his wife as they were planning to go in the middle of July. After hearing my stories, they were wondering if they should change their plans, haha.
Uncle took a few days off from work to de-stress, so he offered to drive me to the airport the following morning (as well as my parents, who were leaving later in the evening). It was very kind of him, and was timely as I was also taking my parents' heavy luggage with me (1K's can take up to 3 free bags, up to 70 lbs) and didn't have to worry about lugging everything off the Airbus. We picked up Mom and Dad (and the luggage) from their apartment building and then went to breakfast at a nearby cafe before heading to the airport. I had no problems checking in or going through security. I entered the Red Carpet Club for a few snacks before boarding. The standard items were there like free booze and snacks. No ice cream. There was a small buffet of curried items. Since I knew for sure I was going to be in business class, I didn't have to stuff myself with food.
Boarding was a bit of a hassle. There was a secondary screening at the gate where all liquids/gels larger than 100ml were confiscated, even if you bought the items in a store past security. It looked like non-Chinese were getting more scrutiny. They didn't check each and every one of my pockets in my carry-ons. It was sad to see parents getting upset as security took away their supply of Purell and peanut butter. "What am I going to feed my kids?" wailed one of the moms. One parent had to pour 100ml of Purell into a Ziploc bag. Lots of water bottles were confiscated, many unopened. I had gone through this when I flew out of Hong Kong back in November when they took away the bottle of water I grabbed from the Red Carpet Club. I'm not sure how this works if you bought perfume in a duty-free store...I think they give you your items once you board the plane. Once you went through secondary screening, you were corralled into a roped-off section of the main waiting area, with hardly any seating. The employees kept telling everyone, "Please have a seat, we are not boarding yet, you don't have to stand", but there were no seats available! People were grumbling and complaining. Finally we were instructed to board. I'm in the 1K line and it seemed men in their 40's-50's kept cutting in front of me, thinking a woman dressed in Lucky sweats couldn't possibly be in the right line. ;) Whatever. Eventually I get on board and make myself comfortable in row 6. This was not upstairs though, so I was bummed, but I was thankful to get an upgrade. It was the row right behind first class, so I got a peek of what I'll hope to experience sometime in the near future: individual suites with no neighbor next door. If you're going on a trip with your babe, you won't be able to hold hands with each other during turbulence, but I think the benefits of your own suite overcomes the inconvenience. ;)
My window seatmate struck up a conversation. He was originally from China, and asked if I spoke Mandarin. I did not, but he couldn't speak Cantonese either (whew?) so we spoke in English. I told him a bit about my travels and he said that if he could choose anywhere to live in China, it'd be Hangzhou. He worked as an auditor for a pharmaceutical company in Philadelphia and traveled a lot from plant to plant. This was the second person I've met on a plane who works in pharmaceuticals. He was a 1K; his company pays for business class tickets, but if he booked in economy, he'd receive $1000. That's not bad! So he takes that option and uses upgrades when he can. I guess it's a win for the company too, as business class can cost 5 or more thousand more than economy class. Meal service came; we stop talking and put on our headphones. Food was not exciting, in fact I don't even remember what I ordered. I watched a few movies: How to Train Your Dragon (very good), Alice in Wonderland (good), Dear John (Channing Tatum is a hottie). Snoozed for a bit. Got the mid-flight munchies...the snack cart was loaded with things that were not good for you. I "reluctantly" enjoyed a full size Twix bar. There were other snack bags and chips. You could also have some hot ramen or sandwiches. Before long, breakfast service was offered. The flight went by pretty fast. It also helped that it takes less time to go from east to west due to the tailwinds in our favor.The plane landed in San Francisco and I had to retrieve my bags to go through customs before transferring them to my plane bound for Sacramento. San Francisco Airport employs dogs that sniff out contraband like food or drugs. A beagle was walked around our baggage carousel. It sniffed my carry-on but moved on. Whew, it didn't smell out my pastries. :) (though I think baked goods are okay, but not meat or fruit) It then sniffed this lady's bag, jumped on its heels to sniff closer, and sat down. Busted! The security officer confiscated a couple of meat sandwiches from her bag and wrote her up. As I was standing near the carousel waiting for my luggage to pass by, this guy grabs my "smart cart" loaded with my carry-ons and starts to wheel it away. Hey! He apologizes as he thought it was his wife's. Always keep an eye on your stuff.
I had no trouble going through customs, though the immigration officer asked me a ton of questions about where I had been. I drop off my checked bags at the transfer station and head to my gate with 30 minutes to spare, as I had a tight layover (2 hours). I get back home by early afternoon, pretty much slept all day and night, and back to work the next day. I was jet-lagged for the next four days.
Final thoughts: I thought the World Exposition was an invitation to all people on this earth to come visit the host country. However, I hardly saw any non-Chinese in the two days I was there. The ones I did spot, most of them were European. They should have called it "Chinese Exposition". I wonder if foreigners were scared off by the crowds, the lack of manners, the hours-long lines, heat, humidity, and not being able to go inside the China Pavilion. They should have put aside some tickets for foreigners, having traveled so far away to visit Expo. The day tours that include China Pavilion tickets were rip-offs; I believe the article mentioned the price to be 600 yuan, which included Expo admission. Our 1-day Expo tickets cost 100 yuan, and pavilion tickets are free. The Expo committee used to give tickets to tours like ours, but the people complained, so they ended up giving most of them out at the gates. Despite this, I'm glad that the Chinese were able to use this opportunity to "visit" other countries and expose themselves to different cultures, given that most of them currently cannot afford to travel outside of China. (not counting the people who run into the pavilions just to get the passport stamp and leave) It probably cost them an arm and a leg just to go to Expo. The people were definitely happy to be there: I watched as busloads of tourists from other Chinese provinces waited in that boring 45 minute security line with glee, their faces bursting with joy, animatedly talking and they weren't even inside the Expo gates yet. After this experience, I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity and the means to travel across the globe; I'm sure most of you feel the same.
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