China, Day 2, Arrival in Shanghai

Monday June 4, Day 2

Turkish Airlines, 0026

Tamara w/ Bouquet in Shanghai. They really do everything big there.

After not having really slept since Friday night, we basically collapsed in the plane from Istanbul to Shanghai. I managed to rouse myself to daven amongst all the sleeping Chinese and somehow managed not to disturb the woman next to me as I put on my talit and tefilin. We caught a cab easily enough and thanked God that the driver seemed to understand our written address (in Chinese).

I wasn’t sure what to expect. The driver drove us into a gated complex of run down, four-story apartment buildings. We finally found the right address in the maze of buildings and he let us off. The number was right, but no signs, no hints of a hotel, just a locked gate to the building.

Some of the shorter buildings in Shanghai

A tenant exited and we entered the building. The first apartment on the left seemed like a good candidate for Apt 101, though the number wasn’t clearly apparent. Buzzing the doorbell had no effect. Called the “hotel”. After going through three receptionists discovered that this was indeed the right place, but there’s a secret to getting in. There is a small lockbox with a code that produces a key which opens the door.

We entered the two-story apartment. It’s basically a tzimmer in residential Shanghai. Nice wood flooring and clean. I was directed to the first room on the second floor only to find a man sleeping in the bed whom I had now woken up. Turns out our room was downstairs. After the excitement of settling in, we found Chabad nearby and enjoyed a tasty Chinese dinner (sweet and sour chicken for me, cashew for Tamara). Visited the mall across the street from us and bought a few items.