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11th july08
This is the first offical day of travelling, after weeks of preparation, I left my dad at gatwick airport looking rather worried. Then the panic or excitement hit me, i was eventually beginning my whirl wind tour of China, with my boyfriend at the time- Andrew, his brother Simon, and our friends Jon and Damian.
We left London at 2.15 and arrived in Dubai at 12.05, very tired. But Emairettes do do great vegetarian food on the plane :) The security in Dubai was very high and rather intimidating, once through security we waited two hours in a very huge, up- market airport, for our connecting flight.
We arrive at the check in desk.... this is where the fun starts... We all begin to check in with no problems until Jon forgets his connecting ticket, which took a little while but with the help of a very lovely air hostess he was in the departure lounge in no time. We waited for a flight surrounded by families sleeping on the tiled floor, many were covered in shawls or saris. Whilst waiting for the plane i realised the tension and tiredness that had overcome us, so everyone began to keep to themselves.
Looking out of the small areoplane window and i watched dubai disappear, it was late and the sky was filled with darkness and below us a wave of bright lights were what we left behind... i wonder what dubai is like in the daylight?..
We arrived in Shanghai Airport.. another scary security and imagration, where they made comments about whether my photo was really me ...charming i know. We collected our bags and started the trek to the hostel. Which took two trains and a ten minute walk. We first took the worlds fastest train The Maglev, it was a very odd sensation as you travel very fast and don't realise you are actually moving until you see how quick the scenery changes. We then changed to board the undergroud and i hadnt realised any form of transport could be busy than the London undergroud, but this train was packed. Up until now i hadnt noticed the heat... it was soooo warm.
We arrived at our hostel- Mingtown Youth Hostel in People's Square. The hostel is on the backstreets off the busy streets. It is basic and clean with a lovely vibe and helpful staff.
After a short power nap we met a friend of Andrew's, Audery, who took us out to party with some of her friends, Yea and Ian. We went to a free bar, as the club was newly opened, i think it was called the British Bulldog. It was pure fun and madness. We arrived back at the hostel at 3.30am feeling a little worse for wear and climbed into bed.... sweet dreams x
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