The sister-in-law has successfully been retrieved from the airport and is now sleeping off some of her jet lag. I'm taking the opportunity to connect to the electronic world, because I am one of those people who find it difficult to disconnect even on vacation.
I arrived to Shanghai on Sunday via the small domestic airport, Hongqiao, and picked up my SIL from the large international airport, Pudong. I think these experiences qualify me to make nonscientific generalities about these airports and the people in them. Mostly I just want to talk about H1N1 flu virus scares. Seeing as how there are cases of the virus in China, and pretty much everywhere else, were there more masked travelers than usual? I say "than usual" because in Asia it is not uncommon to see random people on the street and in airports wearing masks. Michael Jackson would not warrant any extra attention here for his mask wearing.
People wear masks here for lots of reasons. When it is very cold outside and you are walking or riding a bicycle, a face mask is very comfortable. The same goes for dusty, windy days, and with the amount of pollutants in the air here, some believe face masks offer some protection against the dirty air. (The truth is most masks here provide no protection to viruses and pollutants - these little creatures can get through surgical masks and those made from fabric.) Sometimes I think masks are a fashion statement, especially the ones in Hello Kitty designs.
I stood waiting in the Pudong arrivals hall for about 30 minutes. During that time, two flights arrived, one from Osaka, Japan and one from Seoul, Korea. The passengers from Osaka wore more masks than I had seen previously. My SIL's flight from Hong Kong was surprisingly free of masks. Overall I would say there is not too much fear or overreaction among the travelers I saw. I base a lot of this opinion on my experience living and working in Toronto during the SARS outbreak. Yes, I worked in a hospital that had SARS patients. Luckily during the time some of those patients were on my unit, I was off-site at a local college doing an acute care training course. On my return, however, I did have to wear a N95 mask for the entirety of my 12 hour shifts. That was not a pleasant time. What was annoying to those of us working in the hospitals was the large number of people arriving to Toronto wearing surgical masks, which were useless against SARS.
Here in Shanghai the sun is out and it is going to be a hot one. I'm taking my sister-in-law to the French Concession neighborhood, which is full of tree-lined lanes, coffee shops and lots of shopping opportunities. Economic crisis? I don't even want to think about it!
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Oops, those links did not post:
May 20, 2009 at 9:49 a.m.for general info on meals: http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblo...
for food prices & American/Western food available (not much in Linyi but a nice amount of grocery products and Western restaurants in Beijing & Shanghai:
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblo...
Alton that is very interesting about the masks and commerce back in the 1918 flu epidemic. I did not know that! As for slaughtering pigs, I haven't heard anything about that, although I know imports of pork and pork products were halted. People here seem to be eating pork like always. Since pork is the least expensive meat, it is the most popular. I did a few posts about eating out in China, you might check out this one or this one for supermarket prices! :)
Roy I'll have to get back to you on the actual crime statistics, but I have never heard of anyone being robbed. There is very little crime here, other than the occasional pickpocket. I feel extremely safe here, although I am always aware of my surroundings and careful. Linyi, my small city, probably has much less crime than Shanghai. The big problem for China crime-wise at the moment is probably to do with organized crime gangs in the bigger cities like in Shanghai and Guangzhou (but this is usually only a problem for those getting involved in illegal gambling & loans, etc. not an issue for the common folk) and corruption within the government.
May 20, 2009 at 9:45 a.m.Your article makes me recall reading an article in "Scientific America" and about the use of mask during the 1918 flu pandemic. While the mask had no useful purpose in preventing the wearer from getting the flu or spreading it to others, it gave people a false sense of security that allowed commerce to continue. Until the government told citizens that this would help commerce was rapidly coming to a halt.
May 19, 2009 at 10:33 p.m.Is it true that China is planning to kill all their pigs/hogs over the flu? What have you heard? Are you able to purchase American food there at a reasonable price? Would love to hear about what is the normal meal like there.
Enjoyed your blog. More people seem to be wearing masks when flying. I don't blame them.
May 19, 2009 at 10:08 p.m.as aways great blog. But I have been meaning to ask ,how is the crime rate there. are drugs or robberys as rampant there as here in the good ol USA. If so what is the drug of choice there. tks enjoy you off time
May 19, 2009 at 10:09 a.m.Great post-= Enjoy your vacation and I look forward to reading other exciting information you have to share about Shanghai. WIsh I was there!
May 18, 2009 at 10:15 p.m.Cool post, but where's the photo of the Hello Kitty mask? Have fun on vacation.
May 18, 2009 at 9:57 p.m.