It's still big

Back to Shanghai and guess what? It's still big. Probably a bit bigger than the last time actually. Which is pretty big.

I had thought I would be able to open Chapter 2 with hair-curling stories of how awful it is travelling for 19 hours to Shanghai with 2 children under 3 years old, but truthfully, they were really well behaved on the whole. I had visions of irate passengers complaining to the Captain about Max's nappies and Lilli's Vesuvian temper, trying to re-route the flight via Siberia to drop us off.

Nothing of the sort happened. Probably the most petulant and annoying passenger on-board was some French bloke sat adjacent to us who tutted every time anyone coughed or farted during the flight. I can think of many more relaxing and comfortable ways to spend a day and by the time we got to the apartment we were all a bit tetchy, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. By saying these words, I have surely just damned myself to a nightmarish journey home.



The apartment is a faded beauty. In a city where generally speaking new=good, this 10 year old block is unloved and uncared for (which is why my budget can just about cover it...) We quickly discovered that the apartment is not a place for stay-at-home, Ken Hom style entertainers. Here is a complete kitchen inventory:



A pan.

A plate.

2 bowls (one chipped)

3 chopsticks.

2 table knives.

2 cups with non-matching saucers.

Some mould.



If you read my earlier guff, you may remember that there are some not-too-shabby restaurants in Shanghai so the lack of anything at all useful in the kitchen is not as much of a problem as if I had decided to spend 2 months in suburban Bratislava this Summer.



We went to the local supermarket (Tesco's since you didn't ask) to get something to eat. Here we quickly discovered something else; the children get loads of attention. They are both curly haired and almost as cute as their father. Max is blond and blue-eyed. We got stopped 15 times or more. People were taking pictures of themselves with Lilli, on their mobile phones. I can now imagine what it feels like hanging around with a minor celebrity.

Dog-tired. Bed.