No Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. I'm so jetlagged and disoriented I don't care if Merlin and Coco or any other killer cat catches me. A nice man at the airport arranged a taxi and hotel for me. It's been shall we say, a trip. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe some old movie version of Shanghai. Rickshaws, opium dens, pagodas. Boy was I wrong. Shanghai is a huge modern city with flashing billboards everywhere. It has a hyperkinetic Vegas on steroids feel that makes Times Square look like dullsville.
"Xie Xie." I say to the taxi driver. It's the only Chinese I know. It means thank-you which is useful except maybe if I get mugged. The taxi drivers don't speak English so you have to travel around with business cards or addresses on a piece of paper.
The thing that overwhelms me is the amount of people and they're all speaking Chinese in loud high pitched sounds not unlike Merlin caterwauling. Mandarin,Cantonese,Wu, it's all Greek to me. I've been to Chinatown in New York but this is the real deal. I thought knowing my way around a Chinese restaurant menu would come in handy but nothing is what I expected except the service at the Four Season's hotel.
I felt soothed by the beautiful lobby.The flower arrangements were so big, a family of gnomes could move in. Dear hearts, the staff spoke English. All I wanted was to slip under the covers and dream of Swanhilda. My body wanted sleep but my mind buzzed like the traffic ouside the window. I clasped the golden key in my hand wondering if it had made a mistake guiding me here.
To be continued...
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The crazy adventures of the Gather Gnome started a month ago.