HOMEWARD BOUND

A couple of days before my home flight I heard that Lufthansa pilots were going on strike. Of course that was scheduled for the day I flew to Shanghai. I checked my flight details and it still said my flight would be on time so I figured I would just go to the airport anyway and find out when I was there.

After all my careful planning the trip to Heathrow airport at peak hour went relatively smoothly. Was able to cash in my Oyster Card and organise my tax refund for goods bought in Denmark. Then to find out if my flight had been cancelled. There was a very large list of cancellations – including a flight to Shanghai – later that evening. My flight was on schedule! I still had three hours to spare after checking in. Much prefer sitting at an airport for three hours than wondering if I will make it on time.

First stop was Frankfurt. There was only about an hour between flights and the gate for my next flight was a long distance away. I walked for about 15 minutes then got a train to another terminal. Walked along about 6 travelators and another 15 minutes to the right gate. No time for sightseeing! Tried to find something to show I was there!

When I arrived at Shanghai my driver was waiting with my name on his sign. It took an hour to get to the hotel. It was lovely to be staying in a nice hotel. A Howard Johnson hotel. My body clock was all mixed up. I arrived in Shanghai at 10am but that was 3am in London. Decided I needed a nap before venturing out.

Luckily there was a large pedestrian shopping street just around the corner from the hotel. There wasn't enough time to go on any tour so I just walked around the shops. They were fascinating. One shop just for children. A whole floor for childrens shoes. 

Another store was just puffer jackets.

I resisted buying any chocolates at the M&M shop.

Just across the road Huawei had some kind of show going. Couldn't figure out what that was all about.

I knew I had better not stray too far. The signs gave such a lot of information – if you could read them!

This was the biggest Apple store I have seen. Right across the road from Gap.

Unfortunately the food smells made me lose my appetite. I looked at numerous restaurants to see where I might eat but nothing appealed. There were too many unfamiliar objects.

The next morning I needed to be ready about 9.30 for my ride back to the airport. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from at the airport so I didn't starve for long.

I got a photo of my plane. When you have been away from home for so long, such familiar sites are really precious.

What a joyous sight – arriving home!