It was over 200 on the air quality index as I turned my back on Shanghai this morning. A short flight later and I am taking a huge intake of breath into my pollution choked lungs. It feels good, very good.
Having been warned that nobody would be able to speak English here I quickly befriended a Fukuoka man now living in Shanghai as we queued for the bus from the airport. I have, after all these years of travelled, learnt how to spot an English speaker In a crowd.
He taught me the first rule of life in Japan. You have to wait for the green man in order to cross the road even if there are no cars to be seen anywhere. Most odd.
I just about made it to the tourist info office in Tenjin before it closed and as well as some great suggestions for places to visit got a recommendation for a good cheap sushi restaurant. In fact it was so popular that I had to join a queuing system and wait for half an hour while watching others feasting on the most exquisite little portions of rice and fish.
50p is pretty cheap per portion and I are 9 before I realised I had eaten far too much. The whole city is very clean and organised and people don’t push or spit or race for a seat when the train doors open. It’s very refreshing.
Tomorrow I might go to Hiroshima.
