After finishing in Qingdao we headed for Chongming County, an Island off of Shanghai. A journey of almost epic proportions as it involved travel by car plane and boat. Getting to Shanghai was the easy part, a taxi and a plane, done thousands of times each day.
On arrival at Pudong we, John and I, foolishly went looking for a hotel shuttle bus as we thought the hotel was in Shanghai. John had been told that when the initial install had been done the guys had to get a ferry every day to the site. How wrong can you get!!!
After finding that the only shuttle busses serviced the two hotels next to the airport we secured a taxi only to find that at an international airport they spoke chineese only. This is where mobile phones really come into their own as we gave the driver the hotel details and he just called.
An hour later we were unceremoniously dumped out of the taxi onto the street somewhere in Shanghai. Baffled and confused we watched helplessly as our luggage was transferred to another car. What can one do when language is a barrier but shrug and go with the flow. The second taxi then roared off onto another elevated highway and headed for the industrial part of town. we were full of trepidation with what sort of hotel we were booked into, concerned that it may be a dockside seamans mission type place handy for the ferry and full of working girls!
Fears relieved somewhat as we sailed on past the docks and headed for the power stations. Finally we parked up in a queue of traffic waiting for a ferry, the taxi was taking us across to the island.
Thankfully not by this boat....
...but by this one instead.Another link to Sierra Leone in that these are the only times I have has to get a boat to a work site yet.
After chugging an hour and a half across one of the busiest waterways in the east, if not the world, dodging an assortment of craft from huge bulk carriers to little coastal tramp steamers we arrived in Chongming which did not look all together too bad as it seemed lively enough and a busy little town.
Didn't really matter what the town was like as the driver drove straight through heading for the countryside as if a brigade of taliban were on our tails. Seems that once you are away from civilisation there are no speed limits except for the vehicle's own limitations. The guy was clearly beyond his and I was just thankful that the taxi wasn't new or we may not have made our destination. Was also pleased that the roads were mainly straight so not too many turns where we were grabbing for the 'fuck' handles, you know the ones above the door you grab and scream 'OH FUCK' when hurtling round corners to stop rear seat passengers from injuring each other.
After what seemed like forever, and at least 5 stops for directions we eventually were dumped out at what must surely be the remotest hotel in China. If you had a map of the middle of nowhere then this place would not even be marked on it, it was beyond there.
If it wasn't for the trees I swear you would be able to see the edge of the world!
To top it off and make it seem even more remote it was a pretty big place,
with its own lake.....
.... empty swimming pool.....
....... gym in a corridor......
After chugging an hour and a half across one of the busiest waterways in the east, if not the world, dodging an assortment of craft from huge bulk carriers to little coastal tramp steamers we arrived in Chongming which did not look all together too bad as it seemed lively enough and a busy little town.
Didn't really matter what the town was like as the driver drove straight through heading for the countryside as if a brigade of taliban were on our tails. Seems that once you are away from civilisation there are no speed limits except for the vehicle's own limitations. The guy was clearly beyond his and I was just thankful that the taxi wasn't new or we may not have made our destination. Was also pleased that the roads were mainly straight so not too many turns where we were grabbing for the 'fuck' handles, you know the ones above the door you grab and scream 'OH FUCK' when hurtling round corners to stop rear seat passengers from injuring each other.
After what seemed like forever, and at least 5 stops for directions we eventually were dumped out at what must surely be the remotest hotel in China. If you had a map of the middle of nowhere then this place would not even be marked on it, it was beyond there.
If it wasn't for the trees I swear you would be able to see the edge of the world!
To top it off and make it seem even more remote it was a pretty big place,
with its own lake.....
.... empty swimming pool.....
....... gym in a corridor......
.....and one other guest......
...who was a noisy little bugger that was up at the crack of dawn shouting and hollering as if there was no-one else around to disturb.
So if you ever find yourself in the Shanghai Dong Tang International Conference Centre remember the following
1. It is not in Shanghai,
2. It is not international as Chineese is about the only thing spoken
3. What little English is used mainly consists of NO.
4. Take a shotgun for the bloody cockerel.
Spent 10 days there installing equipment in a cable station 10 minutes drive away. Would have been 20 but for all taxi drivers on the island thinking they were competing in an F1 race.
Had fun though as even at world's end one has to make the best of things. The guys, John and Sean, were good to work with but eventually became fed up with my relentless quest for knowlege. After a week of 'why do they do it this way?' and 'Wouldn't it be better if we did it that way?' and other annoying questions I was finally told 'Don't ask why, just install the bloody stuff'. Kept forgetting why I was there.
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