Shanghai

We've just arrived in Shanghai after a somewhat turbulent flight from Shenzhen. As I anticipated, seeing China from the air has made me realise just how huge it is. Unfortunately we were above clouds so couldn't see much of the landscape.

As we descended through the thick clouds (and the haze) this gargantuan city which it situated at the mouth of the massive Yangtze River was revealed to us in all its sprawling glory and what a daunting vision to behold. I've never seen so many blocks of tower blocks, high roads and skyscrapers! It's already proving a challenge to get by since we don't speak or read any Chinese but I have another two friends here who have already helped us get from the airport to the hotel and find places to eat. They both work long hours though so we're yet to actually met up with them.

Anyway, Ric and I are have become increasingly adept at getting by on what scraps of English and signage we can find, not to mention wise to taxi scams. We also have a compass which has really helped us out at times, even on the underground would you believe?!

So, first impressions of China? There is so much energy here and so many people, all of them seeming to be rushing about in cars or on foot, pushing and shoving, eating and drinking, chatting, gambling - I wonder if they ever stop. The buildings are colossal. Such overt displays of new wealth. The atmosphere is hot and thick. Olympics advertisements are plastered everywhere and thus impossible to miss. I'm amused and bemused by the lack of queuing skills in China. I nearly wet myself waiting to go for a pee earlier while three women pushed in front of me!

The food is fantastic. It's diverse, of excellent quality, beautifully presented and brought to us by such friendly and helpful servers. They laughed just now when I whipped out my Lonely Planet China brick and hurriedly flicked through the pages to find the food glossary.

Yes I think we're going to have fun here on our last leg of Asia.

As for me and my health, I sometimes feel I've done so much thinking, questioning, talking and often fretting on this trip that I've purged my worries away. I regret my inability to let go of the OCD and my strict eating 'rules', both of which seem to have gone in to overdrive since leaving London in spite of my best intentions.

Thoughts and even dreams of growing older, death, those I love, the past and the possibilities of the future are never far away. Without wishing to sound pessimistic or morbid, I ave felt acutely aware of the brevity of my life, my physical form and the futility of my existence. Perhaps that's due to all the 19th Century French literature I've been reading. I have often felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions. Tears of both joy and sadness seem to come readily, often with little or no provocation.

Strangely enough however, I feel this has all been a cathartic experience. I am optimistic, certain I will be able to settle again and make interesting new acquaintances, happy to have seen all these countries (though some places more than others), glad to have left certain facets of my life in London behind and determined to succeed in whatever I chose to pursue next. Ric and I are also getting on very well, most of the time. He's enjoying eating his way through a variety of meats even if they don't look or taste like meat- he tried turtle today. It looked like blubber ad didn't taste of much.

We also understand each other even better than we thought we could (not always such a good thing) and we laugh a lot (always good).

It's midnight and I ramble on. Wimbledon is on in the background but I've not been following. Time to get some sleep before we face the masses in the morning. There are over 15 million people here!