(hee hee always wanted to say that.)
Greetings from Shanghai!!! What an interesting big huge city. Have so much to say but i will concentrate on one thing for today and that is driving in Shanghai is OMG!!! I am absolutely in awe of the drivers here. They are soooo different than what we do here and are so experienced. A two lane road has three lanes of cars (one lane that goes over the dotted whites). Our driver (actually all drivers here) can cut across four lanes to catch an exit within a metre of space in a jammed pack highway. At one point we even squeezed (and i mean squeezed) between two vans and i can literally reach out and touch somebody. The drivers here ALL know their cars so well i am so impressed.
Crossing the street though is a real challenge. Its just like the episode on Seinfield about the video game(froggers?)where he moves back and forth across the lanes to get to the other side of the road. two steps forward, one step back. We crossed at a marked pedestrian crosswalk at one point and all the cars honked at us because they wanted us to move away asap and i am not talking Toronto here. Being in a car and weaving across traffic is also like playing grand theft auto. You are dodging other cars and objects in the road and honking at all the bicycles and ppl to tell them you are coming through. Despite all these things, i felt completely safe in their car. its the funniest feeling. the ride was smooth and i even wanted to nap in the middle of going to Suzhou.
The pedestrian also have amazing guts. they are obviously in our way (smack middle of the highway) and to a north american, doing s/t totally dangerous. however, when we honk like a mad man, they don't even flitch. i guess they are so conditioned so it doesn't matter but still. wow. others would cross and stop in between rows of cars to wait for a good opportunity to cross. they are so close to the car!!
Its just amazing. did i say that already? i am in total awe and thinks that these commuters are super heros. So impressed.
tomorrow: how shanghai is such a beautiful and cultured city and the hottest plane i have ever been on.
Greetings from Shanghai!!! What an interesting big huge city. Have so much to say but i will concentrate on one thing for today and that is driving in Shanghai is OMG!!! I am absolutely in awe of the drivers here. They are soooo different than what we do here and are so experienced. A two lane road has three lanes of cars (one lane that goes over the dotted whites). Our driver (actually all drivers here) can cut across four lanes to catch an exit within a metre of space in a jammed pack highway. At one point we even squeezed (and i mean squeezed) between two vans and i can literally reach out and touch somebody. The drivers here ALL know their cars so well i am so impressed.
Crossing the street though is a real challenge. Its just like the episode on Seinfield about the video game(froggers?)where he moves back and forth across the lanes to get to the other side of the road. two steps forward, one step back. We crossed at a marked pedestrian crosswalk at one point and all the cars honked at us because they wanted us to move away asap and i am not talking Toronto here. Being in a car and weaving across traffic is also like playing grand theft auto. You are dodging other cars and objects in the road and honking at all the bicycles and ppl to tell them you are coming through. Despite all these things, i felt completely safe in their car. its the funniest feeling. the ride was smooth and i even wanted to nap in the middle of going to Suzhou.
The pedestrian also have amazing guts. they are obviously in our way (smack middle of the highway) and to a north american, doing s/t totally dangerous. however, when we honk like a mad man, they don't even flitch. i guess they are so conditioned so it doesn't matter but still. wow. others would cross and stop in between rows of cars to wait for a good opportunity to cross. they are so close to the car!!
Its just amazing. did i say that already? i am in total awe and thinks that these commuters are super heros. So impressed.
tomorrow: how shanghai is such a beautiful and cultured city and the hottest plane i have ever been on.
4 Comments:
I am glad you are having fun. I also found Shanghai to be very beautiful.
Speaking of driving. I won my first court case. I do believe I presented my case much better than the other lawyer. =)
COol...I am so happy for you! sweet. glad you went through with it now...it WAS worth it. ;)
Here's a tip for you, Sue. What you can't see can't hit you. There's an unspoken understanding between drivers and pedestrians. Simply put, if you start crossing, don't make eye contact with the driver. They will assume you will cross the road at the pace you're going and cut as close as possible behind you. If you hestitate, it ends in a bad way. So when you walk, do it with confidence and they will respect you and slow down as need be.
Great tip. I think you are right. funny how that works huh?
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