May Day in Shanghai Here's an old joke, favourable to Mao: It's October 1 and Chairman Mao, leader of the Chinese Communist Party, is making a speech in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the occasion of the anniversary of the Revolution. Mao talks for one hour, two hours, two and half hours. Suddenly, the lights in Great Hall go off. Mao exhorts the crowd, "Everyone in Great Hall raise left hands!" Everybody obediently raises thei...

Safe! After a bumpy ride we landed in hong kong at 4:33am local time. Frankly, I'm a turbulence fan, it's like a roller-coaster with a higher probability of death ahah what a thrill! The heat was palpable from the moment we landed. It's 25 Celsius in HK today and humid as hades! The airport is quieter than I expected, but it's probably due to the hour of day as the vendors haven't even set up shop yet. It's pretty much just like any other airport I've visited, ...

Shanghai day one (Saturday) -By the by, I'm posting blog entries from my IPhone, so please excuse the grammar and possible autocorrect errors that will inevitably be littered throughout them- Found our hostel, le tour, that provides free Internet and a host of other services and even has and exchange or borrow (impromptu) library for travelers. It has both pool and ping pong tables to satisfy both east and western tastes and a bar on the roof that seems to plea...

We are now in shanghai, city of revolution and vice- the phrase "to be shanghaied" refers to the latter and being tricked into unvirtuous behavior. Lets hope we can keep our wits about us even in the dizzying crowds and humidity! Shanghai was the birthplace of the the communist party in 1921 and also boasts British and french neighbourhoods as a result of invasions in the 19th century. Today we get dad a custom made suit and maybe visit the propaganda museum- ...

Quick, pleasant flight thanks to the stewards... Only had problems closing the airplane doors and with the electrical system in general. Meal was dim sum!