My Holiday Part Four - Shanghai Again

While the weather continued its assault against China we took a 5 hour bus back to the big smoke, Shanghai, where we'd decided our last night in China together was going to be spent somewhere really nice.

* To look at from the outside, the Shanghai Hilton really isn't that elegant. Fortunately, appearances are deceptive and one should never judge a book by its cover.

* When you are a numpty and book a room for the wrong bloody night, it helps to be apologetic and offer to pay any changing fee they may have, but it also helps to have booked the Executive Room and thus appear somewhat above your actual status ;)

* To anyone wondering, yes it was a little expensive. No, it was nowhere near as expensive as you'd pay to stay in the New York, London, Paris or any-other-Western Hilton. Score.

* I don't really know what to say about this bit of the holiday - it was an indulgence in luxury for us both. Staying in the Hilton with a good view of the city, working A/C, windows that opened, 33 floors up, eating out first at Jin Mao tower (the world's highest bar is still Cloud 9 on the 87th floor, a dizzying height which that night put us ABOVE the clouds that hovered low over Shanghai), and then again in Windows Too (a much more down-to-earth establishment both physically and where price is concerned) before coming back to the hotel and crashing out on the bed that (and I quote, almost verbatim I am sure), "can sleep 3 adults" with its multiple pillows and thick soft mattress before having to get up early and make the most of the Executive Lounge breakfast (om nom nom, this was a most satisfying venture).

* Our last day together was just yesterday, but it feels like months ago already. I won't go into grand detail but there were tears and despite the fact we're over halfway through this academic year, my year abroad, the next four and a half months still stretches on into forever. I'm back in Urumqi now and really I'm wishing I wasn't. But I am, and that's how it has to be for the next 140ish days, so I had better crack on with some work and in the words of Lucy, "Learn the Chinese. Learn it good."