To get to Shanghai today was a matter of only about 150 kilometers. I planned to ride along the coast hoping I would be treated with some nice views but the sky was hazy and full of smog so I decided to just follow the signs straight to the big city. I had a few new encounters with suicidal Chinese stepping or driving straight into my way and I was forced to do a little detour after refusing to turn on a tolled expressway but after riding through the outskirts of the city for a few dozen kilometers I arrived to the city centre recognizable by all the tall buildings just after noon.

The emotional stress I was going through made me feel lost. In fact I really didn’t have the slightest idea of where I was going and what I was going to do. I had no map of Shanghai, nor Lonely Planet, nor I had any recommendation from other travelers since I haven’t met any during the several past weeks of my travels in this huge country. Despite all, however, my luck in finding places worked in my favor again…

From an elevated North-South highway leading straight through the middle of the city I turned off when I felt like the exit that I took could have been one of the possible ones to take me somewhere near the centre. After being stopped by the police for riding on a road where motorbikes are not permitted and being subsequently let off the hook as soon as I took off my helmet (they even tried to help me! – I mean where are all the police that reportedly take advantage of foreign tourists??) I stopped by a drink shop to refresh. I also made a couple of local phone calls to the Indian embassy from which I might be needing Indian visa. I still badly needed to call Tanja and hear her voice. This was not possible from this little shop so I drove further.

Just a couple of streets further I noticed a proper telephone shop so I tried my luck again. And really, after three days of pure impossibility to call oversees from any of the many telephone shops in different cities I tried I was finally “blessed” with this opportunity. After the best few minutes of the day I was outside of the shop having the first meal in three whole days. I could eat again. After the meal, like it was timed just for me, a Caucasian walks around so I stop him. This nice Scottish guy answers my question about where he stays with the best answer I could have heard at that point: “I stay just around that corner in the cheapest hostel there is in the whole Shanghai.” !! I could not believe my ears. In a 13 million Shanghai (that’s the official number, 20 million is reportedly closer to reality) I stop just about 120 steps from the cheapest place to stay. My other big problem was solved right at that moment. The hostel is really nice and they even could place my motorbike next door to a place that is securely locked each night from 5PM to 8AM the next day. In fact they first wanted me to drive the bike into the nicely marbled reception, but after seeing how big it was they arranged the place next door. I was happy. I was happy even more when I learned that this hostel usually needs to be booked well in advance as it is usually completely full. With no booking I was accommodated in a very nice dorm room as soon as I rocked up. Beauty!

Together with a Polish guy – Igor who arrived at about the same time as I and stayed in the same room Malcolm (the Scottish guy) took us to a huge Internet place and then we talked a bit. Late night I and Igor walked the old city of Shanghai being amazed by the sights of many people sleeping right on the street. Four people would lie next to each other on a big piece of cardboard, another two sleeping in the cheap foldable chairs, another sleeping on a door placed flat on the pavement and others would just sleep straight on the street along the walls of buildings or just about anywhere. It is officially forbidden by law to sleep on the street but can you decline people to sleep at all? Of course you cannot and so these poor people do it on public every night.