Day 29 - West Lake, Honeymoon Bakery and Sleeping at Shanghai Airport

Thankfully today I had a hot shower unlike the cold one I had yesterday. This hostel isn't bad except for the extremely crap beds. After packing and checking out, I updated my blog and decided to start the day out right and went to the Muslim Chinese place for food. It was just as good as it was the first time. I was totally satisfied after have a "bad food day" yesterday. Today was already looking up.

After lunch I headed to the lake. I sat at the edge of the lake for about an hour just taking it all in. I had a good cry to relieve stress and being homesick and then walked over to the Honeymoon Bakery for dessert.

The dessert was amazing. I had half a mango in tapioca mango juice and those sweet glutinous balls in a sweet sauce with peanuts and sesame seeds. I could eat here all day long.

As I was crossing the street I came to the realization that crossing the street in China is like playing the game Frogger. Except you are the frog trying not to be run over by every vehicle imaginable. Everyday is like this in China. I realized that I've almost been hit by every vehicle known to man: bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, rickshaw, car, bus and other people. It's nuts!

I get on the Maglev to get to the Pudong Airport and it takes 8 mins for 50 Y. The train reaches a max speed of 301km/hr.

I ended up eating at an Italian restaurant at the Airport because it seems to be the only thing open when I arrive. It was really nice and expensive. But it was nice getting away from the chaos of Chinese people screaming, spitting and pushing.

I settle down around 10pm to try and sleep on a bench seat at the airport and am approached by a guy in a suit who tells me that the Airport closes at 1 am and will need to leave. He tells me he can help me get to the bus that will take me to a hotel for 260Y for the night. I started getting a sketchy vibe from him when I tell him I have no money and he says that they take HK and US dollars too. I waited for him to leave and then asked a Luftansa attendant about the airport hours. She assured me I could stay and the waiting area was 24 hrs. I later saw a bunch of people dressed exactly like the guy who approached me around the airport. I'm sure they were trying to recruit people to go to the hotels. Seems like I'm the only one staying here as all the staff are leaving.