The Maglev - Bullet Train

Interior of the maglev train.

Longyang Road station and maglev "tracks".

Maglev ticket.

Greetings from Shanghai!  Once again we had snow in Shanghai.  Apparently we have had more snow than in many, many years past.  Thursday I awoke to a Christmas postcard scene.  I decided that to ride a scooter would be suicide (being on the road here most of the time is tempting fate!) so I walked to school.  We very much hoped for a snow day, but all the buses got through and most of the children were at school so it was business as usual.  

Today I wanted to write about the Maglev, or bullet train.  It operates to and from Pudong Airport to Longyang Road station and this station is my nearest subway station, too.  You can read more about the Shanghai Maglev at: 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train

The maglev at the station.

In short, the maglev is a high speed train that works on the levitation principle, using magnets.  The maglev is allowed to travel at two speeds - 300 km per hour at certain times of the day, and 430 at other times.  It takes about 9 minutes to cover the 30 kilometres from the airport to Longyang Road station.  I have been on the maglev twice and at both speeds you barely realise that you are going so fast.

They recently opened a high speed train from Shanghai to Hangzhou, cutting a trip of several hours to about 45 minutes.  

My next posting will almost certainly be about my trip to Boracay!  Bye for now! 

A shaky photo - because we were going at 430 km/hr!

To New Zealand and Back!

Snow just before Christmas!  A real treat!

Well, it’s a tough life, but someone has to do it.  Travel, that is!  Mom and Dad keep saying that travelling isn’t relaxing any more.  Maybe not exactly relaxing, but it is still lots and lots of FUN!!!   (for me, anyway)

It was a tight turnaround - I finished school at 12:00 and flew out at 21:55 for Beijing.  It is a rather sweet custom that when it is a holiday, the staff wave goodbye to the children leaving on the buses.  As we were waving, a sprinkling of snow began, and as the afternoon wore on we had about 2 inches of snow.  Not the most comforting thought when this is a city not used to much snow (about every 4 years or so, is what I have heard) and trying to get to the airport.  The worries were unfounded and all went well.  

Ohope Beach at dawn

The flight was great, the driver was at the airport to meet me, but the airport hotel was disappointing.  Oh well, it was a place to sleep and I was in plenty of time the next morning to catch my flight to New Zealand.  Uneventful - just the way I like it.  

I had a great day in Auckland, seeing both of my boys at various stages of the day, getting through at least 5 scheduled appointments and wedging in at least 4 other things along the way.  Not bad for a jetlagged teacher!  My lovely friend drove me to Ohope and stayed a few days.  Two days only gave us time to scratch the surface of all the things we had to catch up on, but we made a valiant attempt!  

From the balcony

Ohope was a beautiful as ever, mostly warm and sunny, although this year was another “jellyfish” year so I stayed clear of the sea.  We had walks on the beach, shopping in Whakatane, a wonderful day visiting a friend in Taupo, a family Christmas and more shopping!  

Christmas 2010

As the days went by, it was hard to think about leaving.  But New Year’s Day arrived and it was time to go back to Auckland for the return to my new home.  Once again, there were many stops along the way, trying to see as many people as I could.  We had a lovely lunch near Hamilton and dinner at the airport with another friend.  

I was lucky that my upgrade went through, so I flew back premium economy - a great luxury!  Champagne, a doubled suitcase allowance, restaurant-type meal service, newspaper, more leg room, toothbrush and things, not to mention the personal attention that has long been gone in cattle class!  

Home was VERY cold and quite lonely for a few days, after the hustle and bustle of family life at Ohope.  But now school has started again so there is little time to think too much about it.  I had a wonderful time, and true to past years, I know the holiday was great if I feel I don’t want to come back.  

xx,

Shanghaisuz