Monday, February 18, 2013

a postcard from Shanghai...


Greetings from Shanghai...
the largest city in the world!


Do you remember when postcards took a week or two to reach their destination...
and the travelers were safely back home by the time the card arrived?
This postcard is reminiscent of those days!
You are receiving it after I have my feet firmly planted on Canadian soil once again.
Finding wi-fi connections and time to send correspondence of any kind...
was not a simple matter.

We just returned from a seven day whirlwind tour of eastern China.
It was not a trip we been planning on or dreaming of...
but here's how it came about.
In early January we heard of an incredible deal on this particular tour...
and made a 'spur of the moment' decision to go.
The package price included flights, hotels, meals, and all tours...
and was less than the price of the flight alone.
We discovered later that the tour was sponsored by the Chinese government...
in a bid to boost tourism.

We began and ended our stay in  Shanghai...
上 海 
...which means 'upon-the-sea'.
It is situated on the Yangtze River Delta and lies midway between Beijing and Hong Kong.

We traveled with a tour group of 14 people from British Columbia...
and had our own English-speaking Chinese tour guide...
as well as a coach driver for the entire time.
 We flew to Shanghai via Tokyo, Japan...
a trip that took about 15 hours from Vancouver to Shanghai.
Then we pushed our watches ahead another 16 hours to be on Chinese time.

We toured every day from early until late.
We saw a China we never knew existed. 
We met some wonderful people.
We came back with souvenirs...
pictures...
and many good memories.

I'll be sharing some of our experiences with you...
once the photos are all 'unpacked'...
and I'm back on local time.
 
It was a good experience!
Thank-you...
government of China.

 


19 comments:

  1. Judy, what a wonderful opportunity that was. So very different from Canadian snow, too! I do look forward to seeing more photos. Was there cherry blossom, I wonder?

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  2. What a fantastic trip. I'm so glad you were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Can't wait to see your photos and read of your adventures.

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  3. Oh - I am SO looking forward to hearing all about this trip!
    Welcome home!

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  4. What a colorful postcard. Glad that you are safely back and I'm looking forward to hearing more. Just when I thought I'd heard everything, I read right here, "Thank you, government of China." LOL!

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  5. OH I do wish we could have hopped on that plane with you. I remember when we talked about it and we said that was such a busy week for us...and boy was it ever. We are both looking very much forward to hearing more about your whirlwind tour.

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  6. My goodness... that was fast. It seems like I just read your hint of an upcoming trip to China and you've already come and gone. Sounds like an amazing trip. I know you will be providing interesting posts and look forward to reading them.

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  7. Wow, can't wait to see your photo's and hear more about the trip itself.
    Thanks for the quote on Friendship you shared on my blog :-)

    Hugs!

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  8. Oh wow - what an exotic trip that must have been!! Glad you enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!! Hope your jet-lag isn't too severe - I know what it's like after such a long flight home. Take care....

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  9. A wonderful 'must not miss' opportunity! Ex-RAF hubby also tells me Shangai is beautiful!
    Happy heritage Day by the way!

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  10. I'm so looking forward to your stories and photos.

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  11. Wow Judy! This will be so interesting to read about!
    Did the Chinese gov. Allow you to tote Bibles along?
    Hope so!

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  12. Such a colorful city!! Welcome back!

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  13. I can't imagine how much you packed into that week! Sometimes it's nice to do a spur of the moment type trip as oposed to one you plan for a long time.
    You have no time to have all kinds of expectations and the surprises are wonderful.

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  14. Wow! You've been there and back already. What a whirlwind indeed. Can hardly wait to hear all about your trip.

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  15. I am looking forward to learning new things about the part of the world that I never visited. I thought of you often while you were away. I am thankful that you are back home safely.

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  16. Tat is such a colorful photo or postcard. How cool that you found the opportunity for this trip and then were able to decide quickly to do it! It's good that it happened during the 'off' season on the farm. I am looking forward to your next blogs about it.

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  17. It,s good to have you home again....and it,s so great to see you grab this once in a life time chance when the price is right. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures in China.

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  18. Welcome home! Wow This sounds like a trip of a lifetime, Judy! I'm looking forward to seeing all your photos.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson