Picture the scene: I dragged my bags wearily out of Pudong
airport, feeling the effects of no sleep and 11 hours on a plane next to a
drunk Scotsman. I managed to get into a taxi really quickly, and for once, the
driver seems to be travelling at a reasonable speed, with caution. About 20
minutes in, on the freeway, he starts to slow down and speed up in turn quite
irrationally, flinging his right arm across the passenger seat, as if to secure
something there (there’s nothing there). He starts shaking his legs and
slapping his face. I ask him if he is OK and he says yes. Two seconds later, I
realise that the reason he is doing all of this is because he’s falling asleep.
We’re doing 80mph on the motorway and he’s asleep. And yet, when I banged the
back of the plastic partition and shouted at him, he smiled and laughed like
everything was fine.
I spent the next 25 minutes of the journey watching his eyes
in the rear view mirror, freezing cold as I opened all the windows, listening
to what can only be described as Chinese opera on full blast, to keep him
awake. I have never been so frightened in a taxi in my entire life.
This actually happened to me last week. Welcome back!
Being home for nearly 3 weeks was fantastic. After a couple
of days, it honestly didn’t feel like I’d left. The strangest feeling, as it
always is, is realising that life goes on when you’re not around. Which of
course you know, but hearing friends talk about things you’re not invited to because
you’re not there, does give you that little pang. What was different this time
was that I was getting it for the stuff my friends were doing in Shanghai too,
not just for my friends at home.
It was so good to see so many people too – and for those I
didn’t get round to, I’m truly sorry.
So my New Year’s Resolution still stands – see more of China
and the surrounding areas – which hopefully
will lead to some interesting blog
posts.
Happy New Year!
