4 posts tagged “trips”
Shanghai smog from my hotel window
I was away from the UK for 61 hours on my recent trip to Shanghai, travelling out via Tokyo and back via Helsinki. This somewhat less than direct itinerary meant that I spent more than half the elapsed time at airports and on aircraft, giving me only one afternoon and an evening in Shanghai… by no means sufficient to do justice to this most dynamic of world cities.
It is four and a half years since I was last there, and a lot changes in China in that time. What was most noticeable to me was how much worse the smog was. A reminder perhaps of the downsides of China’s enormous and rapid economic development.
Or maybe I was just there on a bad day.
Lobby feature
We realised that it had been some time since we had escaped for a dose of sun and relaxation by the pool. With only a five day slot in our collective calendars, we were somewhat distance and time zone constrained and settled on a few days in Dubai. It had been over 10 years since we had been there as a family and a lot has changed in that time. We expected big and brash and Dubai delivered… with golden knobs on. We expected hot and got 44°C. We expected some of the best hotels in the world and got palatial rooms, fantastic food and an attached water park, complete with ziggurat. What we didn’t quite expect was how expensive the place has become, for example the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu was £40 and a beer was £8. Ouch.
Where is everybody?
It has been great to exchange the business pressures of surviving the credit crunch for the task of trying to stay upright whilst skiing an expanse of fresh powder. Although I must admit that there are some similarities to the two challenges, on the whole it has been a pleasant escape. However, it was impossible to avoid being constantly reminded of the world’s problems. Whether it was the ease of getting a table in the restaurants or the length of the queues for the lifts, there were signs everywhere of the downturn, even though this must have been one of the busiest weeks of the year. What has certainly not helped is the weakness of the pound: suddenly everything is 30% more expensive for us Brits, and Val d’Isère was far from cheap to start with. At least the shops were running sales, so Amanda and Laura got some rather nice new ski jackets with a 30% discount. That made me feel better, almost.
We spent the half term holidays in the States experiencing all that is best about the american lifestyle. We stayed first with friends in Pennsylvania and then with friends in Massachusetts. Highlights included glorious fall foliage, wonderful (huge!) houses and Halloween with pumpkin carving and trick or treating. Shame we couldn’t stay another couple of days and experience the finale to the US election.
