Having spent 3 days in Shanghai I am starting to realise why so many people wear surgical masks on the streets, my throat is so sore it feels like I have swallowed a spring roll sideways, it certainly isn't the amount of talking I have been doing either as most conversations consist of the following replies: 'I am from England', 'Yes England', '3 Weeks in China', 'No thank you I do not want a cup of tea'.
Safe in the knowledge that the day could not be any worse than yesterday we start with a visit to the Yuyuan Gardens. I don't often get excited by gardens – unless some dolly birds are sunbathing in them – but these ones were brilliant, All bamboo, temples, ponds and sculptured rocks – now if that doesn't sound exciting nothing will. My best story I heard was how during the Taipang Rebellion (Google/Wikpedia it – i can't be bothered to go into it) the rebels attacked French business interests in Shanghai, as a reprisal the French trashed the gardens. Could it get any more French? Get given a good beating, but get their revenge by doing over the local shrubbery. Fantastic.
We then took a trip out to the airport for no reason other than to sit on the train which runs at a healthy 430kph. We then had to sit on the train again to get back into town. I could bore you with lots of details about it being a Maglev train which means it is Magnetic and levitates but I am beginning to bore myself. Let's leave it that the thing is bloody fast and if they ever decide to build one in England it will break down after about 20 minutes.
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