Shanghai, China

I arrived in Shanghai late Friday afternoon. The airport was jam packed with I assume people traveling for Chinese New Year. The arrivals hall was also surprisingly full of cigarette smoke! I thought it was smog that got inside at first. Undaunted I quickly went to the thing I have been waiting for: The Maglev train. Shanghai has the only operational Maglev train in the world. Maglev uses magnetic levitation to propel the train and therefore only has air friction. The train itself is not in contact with anything. The top speed for the trip from the airport to the city was 431 km/hr. It was awesome. The cars on the highway seemed to be crawling along. The taxi ride from the Maglev terminal to my hotel was more hair-raising. Drivers here are nuts. I thought Bangkok was crazy but in Bangkok they show a little more care and concern. Way too much horn honking too. My hotel is situated right on the Najing pedestrian shopping street. The street is full of neon and light and shoppers! Here are some pics.

Shanghai Maglev Hosted on Zooomr

Shanghai Maglev Hosted on Zooomr

Shanghai Maglev Hosted on Zooomr

Shanghai Neon Hosted on Zooomr

Shanghai Neon Hosted on Zooomr

Shanghai Neon Hosted on Zooomr