Shanghai
1/3/03 Day 13: At breakfast I asked about SS. He is not doing so well but they say dying isn’t an issue. I am extremely relieved. We are supposed to be able to shop in Shanghai and I went with the group and walked around a trinket bazaar while they looked at another garden. Then after lunch we went to a big shopping district. It is huge. The end has a view of New Shanghai with fancy buildings- one that looks like a syringe and is really just a tower. Seems a bit silly to me. More like a landmark to make the city front look flashy. That night we had the farewell dinner. It is very sad to say goodbye to MM and L our guides. We are also sad for SS who isn’t doing well but they have flown in a team of doctors from the US embassy so at least he’s in good hands.
The fairwell dinner, monkies, our guides, and Sifu and his family
1/4/03 Day 14: To the airport with no problems. We see a brand new maglev train which B tries to re-engineer in her head on the way to the airport. We hear that SS is getting better. Then we board immediately. Good bye China! I am both glad and sad to be going back. It was a difficult trip sometimes, especially dealing with being herded around with no freedom and sometimes dealing with people all the time was frustrated. But all in all it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Shanghai
Back to Suzhou On to final thoughts