Maglev Shanghai Goes 431kmph

This is a video of when I went on the Maglev in Shanghai. It has a top speed of 431kmph. Make sure that you check out the timetable in advance as services only go 300kmph. I found this out the hard way the first time I went on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WPbeGdW7WM

Yangs Dumplings

Around the corner from where we stay in Shanghai is Yangs Dumplings. They are Yum and Cheap!

Visiting China Again

Well, I’ve been quite on here, but I’ve really been out and about. More on that later. What I’m really excited about is that I’m going to China again.  Yes, again it is with ‘Team China Bendigo’. But one of the differences from when I went a few years ago is that we are going to Beijing.

It will be my third time to China and Dad’s (Shane’s) 4th and neither of us have been to Beijing. Without a doubt the day trip to the Great Wall of China is what I am looking forward to the most, although I think that Dad just wants to do the toboggan ride down the from the top of the wall. 

The whole trip is going to go for 11 days and will be pretty busy flying from Melbourne to Beijing. After that we fly to Shanghai before going by bus to Suzhou. We return to Shanghai before flying to Beijing and then flying back to Melbourne. 

Overall this will be Team China’s 6th trip over with students. There is 51 students and 14 staff attending the trip. Bring on May.

Pearl Tower - Shanghai

Pearl Tower

Height 468Metres

Built - Finished in 1994

Whilst the Shanghai Tower is taller and has a higher observation deck, people flock to the Pearl Tower for its glass floor. It was great, although you could feel the movement of the tower when the wind blew up. The kids loved lying on the floor and getting photos. I even braved it. With such clear skies it provided great views, much better than last time I was there. You could see the sea from the observation deck.

The highest observation deck is at 350 metres. The middle observation level, which is the level that has the glass floor is at 263meters.  On the way down the students tried the Virtual Reality Roller Coaster. It was a roller coaster inside the Pearl Tower and you wore VR googles. The students loved it, as did the big kids that went on it (teachers). At 70RMB it was a bit on the expensive side but from all reports it was worth it.

 

Air China Hmmm

We arrived at the airport on the morning after a passenger attempted to storm the cock pit of a Malaysian Air flight expected there still to be security and delays everywhere, but no. We checked in pretty quick, got our boarding passes and headed for customs. In customs Shane and one of the girls got bomb tested, but all good. Although the lady gave me a funny look – I was shoved in the bottom of Shane’s bag. She then tried to help and escorted around the line waiting to go through the security scan. Just as we were, Shane’s phone rang and one of the girls passports hadn’t scanned properly so we had to get escorted back to Check In – Grrr. Soon were we through customs and those pesky departure cards weren’t collected we had to place them in a container – Double Grrr. 

Air China staff were good and let us on first. This though was about the only good thing about the staff on this day. After that you were lucky to get a smile out of them.The plane looked quite tired considering it was under 5 years old. We were soon in the air and on our way to Shanghai. As soon as the seatbelt signs went out the teachers re-arranged themselves. Shane got a bulk head seat – as if he needs the extra legroom. Milana thought this was good though as she could then sit with a friend.

The first meal was pretty ordinary and then to make it worse the second meal didn’t come out for about another 9 hours, just before landing. The kids were starving at this point. The second meal was a little better. The movies, average. There were a few older English movies but nothing that really jumped out at me. Of course IFE isn’t as big of a deal nowadays with personal devices that you can use. Shane used his time to right reports!

One thing that annoyed me about the flight was how cold it was. Yes I know the temperature has to be low but it was really really cold. Some of the teachers had gloves on!

All in all if I had to choose between China Eastern and Air China I would choose China Eastern! Just.

Shanghai Here I Come

Not long now until I head off to China. I am pretty excited; it has been pretty boring here at the moment. My last trip was camping at Easter. Big changes since I last mentioned China, the education department have knocked back schools taking two teachers so Leigh got the flick. 

Whilst I went 2 years ago, I’m sure lots has changed. In fact, I am hoping that we go up the new Shanghai tower. It’s the second biggest building in the world and has the highest observation deck. Shane’s looking forward to going on the Maglev train and actually going 431kmph. Last time we missed the last one and had to settle for 300kmph, Shane wasn’t happy. There are a few teachers in the same boat so they will be making sure they make that 431 train. 

I think there will be a lot of meals at Yangs Dumpling house which is just near our accommodation in Peoples Square. The kids seem to like breakfasts the most as they have a few more familiar things for them to have. 

Another difference this time is that airline. We are flying Air China, which has caused a bit of unrest amongst the travellers because you can only take 1 suitcase. Thank god Milana is there otherwise I might get tossed in the bin as Shane purchased a lot of junk last time. 

Well I can’t wait.

I'm Off To China Again

Well I can finally announce my exciting news.  I’m off to China again next year. Milana has got confirmation that she has been selected to go to China as a representative of her school as part of Bendigo’s Overseas Learning Experience (OSLE). She is super excited about the trip, although thinks it is too long until departure time. So we are heading off in June next year and not only is Milana going, but Shane is going as a teacher from his school, although Milana is worried he might cramp her style! What’s even scarier is that Shane’s friend Leigh is also going. Who is the brainiac that let those two go to China together. Lets hope that Leigh isn’t in charge of directions. 

This is the same trip that I went on with Shane last year. We spent a few days in Shanghai, which was an amazing place and a few days visiting sister schools in Suzhou. Suzhou is around 100kms North-West of Shanghai.  More than 60% of its area is actually water and it is nicknamed Venice of the East. 

Only 181 days until we go!