Welcome to Shanghai

Yes, the flight was all it was hyped up to be. First class on an international flight is definately sweet. We were in the air for 14.5 hrs between Chicago and Shanghai. It felt more like being locked in your office, than being on an airplane.

I would include a shot of the poor coach cabin people from our balcony here, but I think there's some kind of Geneva Convention law against that. I'll just let the menu speak for itself...

• To Start: Marinated cheese antipasto
• Appetizer: Sliced Cher Siu Chicken & Drunken Shrimp w/seaweed salad
• Salad: Sliced breast of duck and fresh seasonal greens w/zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, and yellow bell peppers
• Warm bread basket
• Entree: Cowboy beef filet [sic] w/red chilis, onions, and a corn been ragout
• Dessert: Breyers Vanilla (I opted out on the numerous toppings), and assorted chocolates

A few hours later we were served Uno's pizza... then later it was Udon noodle soup w/assorted seafood dumplings.

The seats were spacious and reclined into beds. There are two built-in desks, and a built-in personal LCD screen for watching TV or movies, or the in-flight navigator screen. I was able to work on my laptop, watch the navigator screen, and still have room for my lush dinner spread.

We got out of the airport in Shanghai at around 2:30am US time, 3:30pm Shanghai time. Then a 45-minute close encounter with death in a new Audi A6, en route to the Ritz-Carleton. That driver was fearless. He didn't speak much English, but I distinctly heard him say "shit" at one point. We were like the walking dead after the ride, but had enough energy to cheese out and eat at the California Pizza kitchen in the hotel here. Yes, we're wusses. We did walk around town a little. We walked for several blocks on a sidewalk that was temporarily covered with thick wooden planks, that kept bouncing as people moved across them. I felt like I was getting my sea legs. It was slightly nauseating, but fun too. Here's the view from my room.