Shanghai airport, reaching my new chinese home!

Shanghai airport is the first step I took on chinese land! It is very impressive in its enormity.
There is the long wait at the emmigration counter and thats when the chinese characters first hit me. As I waited in the long but fast moving queue for emmigration check, I was trying to figure out what those chinese characters might mean. Just then, there is a very interesting observation I made.

There are around 25 counters for emmigration checks. Few are for chinese passport holders and the rest are for foreign passport holders. Having nothing else to do, I am looking more keenly now at the counter numbers and I see there s a..... counter 11, counter 12, counter 14, counter 15....
Notice anything?
There was no counter13!
Interesting, isnt it?

This was followed by baggage claim, security check which entailed explaining what chutney pudi is! I had hardly gotten out of the airport and this ordeal was unpleasant already. My head was reeling with apprehension of my 4 week stay in china. Making a mental note of what i need to do next, i moved on.

Tired and hungry I walked out only to find an unexpected yet familiar face call out to me. Ah, my relief! It was Dora, a Melton Fellow in Shanghai who had come to the airport to receive me. She helped me get the exchange and we went across the street outside the airpor to the bus stop. Interestingly again, i met a few urdu speaking people there. they were visiting and had some good pointers to give me in the furtive conversation we had in hindi.

It was about 1800hrs and my bus to hangzhou was scheduled to depart at 1930. Dora had to leave and that only meant more of "LONELY..." for me. Once again it was me and my parleG in the waiting room of the bus-stop.

Through my wait I was just getting accustomed to the people around me. It struck me how soon the chinese socialize with one another. They jus say 2 words and they go from being random strangers to having a hearty laugh together ! It is really nice how quick they accept each other and acknowledge familiarity.
Interesting, again!

I got off at the dragon sports centre in Hangzhou. Borrwed a phone from another person who had just gotten off and called henry who picked me up in a minute and we took a taxi home.
(borrowing a phone to make a call is very common here, i had heard. isnt that kind!)

Henry's parents were asleep, as it was late and they retire early for the day. I was really tired and it had began to drizzle. so i hit the sack with prayers for a safe stay ahead.