We got up early to head to the train station with our group on Sunday. I was a ball of anxiety, feeling so much anxiousness about all the unknowns.
Plus us I was hesitant to leave our people and be on our unknown in another new city.
We were the first ones dropped off, with nothing more than our guide giving directions to what they call a red cap (like sky cap), who took us to a place to sit down inside a massive train station and promised to be back in two hours. And very little AC.
Thakfully, there was a Starbucks inside the train station. As well as a pizza hit, kfc, and many other restaurants and stores. Despite the modernness of the facilities, the bathroom adventures in China can be challenging with a five year old to say the least.
We boarded the bullet train with a few hundred of our Chinese friends, and the redcap helped us get our bags on. It was interesting to see more of the countryside. We glimpsed the sky about half way into the trip for the first and last in days. So much smog, it’s so sad.
While on the train my heart and mind were so full. I wrote this out as we were traveling, and later posted it on our Facebook site.
I was such a mess of emotions with each mile that flew by as we got closer to Shanghai.
Then we arrived. We stumbled out onto the platform (one of more than I could count…at least 20!), and found a redcap to help us with the remainder of our bags. With no guide in sight, we pressed on to find our guide, which out itinerary vaguely said she would be at the exit. This train station was just as big as any airport I’d been in…and there was no one way out. So finding the one exit she might be at seemed laughable. We made it to the second floor and still didn’t see anyone. Lots of hand gestures later, our redcap took us and our luggage to a sort of central command place. They finally found someone with some broken English and all we were told was how much waiting was going to cost us. With some quick thinking we pulled out the itinerary paperwork which I had thankfully printed off. On it was our guides number, which we showed the redcap and he called. No answer. Trying to find another number, and he tried again. Answer!!! Lots of back and forth in sharp Chinese.
Finally we were wheeled back to the elevator to go back down (elevators in China are miserable, packing people in like sardines). We finally met up with out guide, then taken outside to a very loud very crowded parking a garage without any questions.
We finally got on our van, and started driving to our hotel. There was very little talking. We pulled up and she basically walked us in and then left.
Overwhelmed doesn’t do it justice. I wanted to sit down and cry. We tried to get settled and then tried our hotels dinner, which was not very good, despite ordering both Chinese and American dishes.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of night I imagined before meeting our daughter, but we made it. I readied the diaper bag and the gifts. Ready or not, our family was growing.