2005-02-20 - 3:22 p.m.
So I never finished my shanghai trip.
We managed to get to the train station about 30 minutes early to catch the overnight train to shanghai.
In china the trains have 4 levels of comfort. Hard Seat, is just that, a bench seat with no divider, maybe cushions maybe not. Soft seat. You have a divided seat, with cushions (sometimes), hard sleeper (this is dormatory like, with 3 beds stacked to the ceiling, and the whole train is filled like this, and soft sleeper where you have a cabin with a door.
We managed to get hard sleeper (because didn't want hard seat, and didn't want the cost of the soft sleeper). When we got on the train we managed to get 2 of us in one section and the other one was in another section, even though our area was completely empty. So we just moved together. That wasn't going to work. After the train started the lady conductor comes down the walkway and tells our friend to get back in the other section. We try to talk to her and make a change, but we get the same answer, that bed might have been in use at some other station. We tried to explain that we could just swap, no big deal, but apparently it is a big deal to the conductor. Those other people (if they bought tickets) deserved their bed, and to not be moved. And she knew where each persons stop was, and wanted to make sure she could wake the person up, and it was toooooo much work to change the ticket location. Ok. We just stayed up until the next stop and when these people got on we got to swap beds.
Second big issue was the fact I put up a blanket to give some privacy to the section we were in, and to minimize the possibliltiy that someone would just reach in and grab something while walking past. Again same female conductor. NO that must come down. The bed that is on was paid for by someone else, and if you use their blanket they will have no blanket (at the time only 2 beds were being used, and during the whole trip only 4 out of 6 were used). Ok. Ask her if I can have another blanket. She brings one out, and i hang that one up. She hit the roof. Blankets belong on bodies, not hanging up in the air. If you want to use someones else's blanket you will have to pay for their bunk (100 RMB). and of course here comes her boss. He tells us if we want privacy we need to upgrade to a soft sleepter at (200 RMB) more. All of this because I was being individual and trying to have some privacy. The things the chinese putup with.
We get to shanghai the next morning, and check in to our hotel. It was nice, but far away from anything.
Shanghai is a big city (like 12 million people) and it is full of contrasts. In some areas I would swear I was in the villages outside of the town, and I'd turn a block, and be in the middle of a high tech neighborhood. What contrast.
Foreigners were everywhere, and most american products are here. Subway, pizza hut (x5), poppa johns pizza, mcdonalds, and even taco bell.
Now taco bell got me into trouble. You see, well actually you don't, so I'll explain. I am from the american southwest, so I'm very familiar with mexican food. I adore mexicn food. And there is nothing like it here in central china. Ok they can make a decent salsa, but no corn chips, and worst of all no cheese or sour cream. grrrr. So when I heard there was a taco bell resturant in shanghai I had to go.
So here I am walking down the busy shopping street packed with people looking for taco bell. I can't find it. I'm looking and looking and looking. and chinese hustlers keep trying to sell me things (rolex, nike, etc). These guys would fit in in New York, LA. One guy bumps into me and he is trying to sell me something in his right hand, but I feel his left hand go into my pocket. I'm not in the mood to be messed with so I reach down with my right hand and do a simple wrist lock (his hand was stuck in my pocket so I had the time). I step on his foot and rotate and put my knee in his chest and walk off. Now the question should be why?
I know how the pick pockets work. In a gang, and I thought a decent demonstration would have them leave me alone. wrong.
I'm at a stop light still looking for taco bell when a guy walks up and tries the old, "here look at my map, while I pick your pocket" trick. again I feel the hand going into my pocket, so I reach around him, and slip my hand into his outside jacket pocket and take his wallet. (for those of you who don't know me, I have some experience with this) and as I'm walking away, I hold up this wallet, take out 10 RMB and then throw the wallet over my shoulder.
By now you should be wondering a few things.
1. Where is my wallet?
2. How did I do this?
3. Why did I do this?
1. I carry my wallet inside a pocket on my inner shirt. So under an outer shirt, a sweater and a jacket a simple pick pocket cannot reach it. I would have to be naked in order to have someone pick that pocket, and if I was it is an entirely different issue.
2. Again I have some experience with marital arts, and with picking pockets when I was a kid.
3. My reason again was to create a distraction. by throwing the wallet over my shoulder, the thief had to retrieve his own wallet, which means I'm free to go. And lets be honest, I don't know if these pick pockets have weapons (knives, black jacks, clubs, shock guns) so I want to get away from them fast and hard.
So now comes my favorite part. I get to the river and am enjoying the view when I feel another hand go into my pocket. so I reach across my body with my left hand and grab the thiefs wrist, twist the wrist clockwise to pull the thief in front of me, where I pin him against the railing above the river, and I hear "Let goo of me bloomin thum" The accent is etiehr british or australian. I'm so shocked I almost let him go, but I leaned my hip into him. He goe son about how he was just joking around. at this point I have himin a thumb lock, and tell hm that i'm going to take that thumb back to zhengzhou with me as a souviner. I look over my shoulder and see a chinese police officer coming.
Now, I'm not sure how a foreigner would be treated for being a pick pocket in china, but I couldn't do that to him. so I tell him that he has 5 seconds to be out of my sight. 1.... 2... when he replies, "you need to let go of me thum" I do and he disappears.
3 attempted pick pockets in 30 minutes.
I did manage to find taco bell resturant at the other end of the street (back the way I came) had lunch there, and the sour cream is almost worth it, but lunch for three was 230 RMB. (to compare, we ate all we could eat at a reallllly nice chinese resturant for 70 for three).
Will
No comments:
Post a Comment