Appooppanthaadi -51

That was the end of it. The third China visit ended on a pleasant note, yet again. This time, I took all pains to experience the speed of a land moving vehicle that touches 430 Kilometers per hour. I reached Shanghai to catch my flight back to my home country well before its scheduled departure. 

A view of Shanghai from the Maglev Train

The weight of my check-in baggage was 6 Kgs more than the allowed 20Kgs. I could hardly walk carrying all these heavy baggages along with me. A coolie approached me at exit gate of  the Shanghai railway station. He had a small trawley to ferry the goods. Seeing his poor looks, I agreed to employ him to transport by baggage upto the taxi stand. I offered him 5 yuans for a hundred meter walk but he demanded 10 yunas. I did not object to that anyway.

Longyang Maglev Station

From the Shanghai Railway station I reached Long Yang Railway station by taxi. The taxi's meter read 57 yuans. When I paid 60 yuans, the driver did not return the change. This is not new in Shanghai. Some drivers do this when they take the passengers for long distances. We on our part cannot argue with them due to the language problem.

The track of the Maglev Train

The fastest land moving vehicle, in as much as I know, runs between Longyang railway station and Shanghai Pudong International Airport railway station. This is a train working on the principle of magnetic levitation.

By the time, I reached Longyang railway station, it was 12 in the noon. In the time slot between 1200 to 1500 hours, this train runs at 300KMPH. From 1500hrs to 1630 Hrs, it runs at 430KMPH. So, I decided to wait at the station till 3pm. 

There were chairs at the station nearby the ticket counter. After having a cheese burger, that was offered without the customery meat in it, upon my demand at the Mc Donalds joint in the station premises, I settled down in one of the chairs. The price of the cheese burger without meat costed me the same as one with meat. 

I was passively observing people who passed by me. So many  westerners were seen coming in and out of the station. Suddenly I heard a heavy voice, shouting "you how much?" "you how much?" Two taxi drivers were follwing a group of westerners and bargaining the fare! 

Despite repeated announcements in English by the public address system of the railway station,  advising the passengers to take taxis only from the taxi stand, these people from the 'advanced' countries approach unauthorised taxi drivers. Of course, a number of taxi drivers hanging around there asked me too if I needed a taxi. These taxis run on pre-fixed rates and the customers, mainly the westerners were seen bargaining with these drivers. 

I just could not take a nap sitting in the chair. How is it possible when the scenes like a boy and a girl standing right by the side of the ticket counter hug each other, lip lock and then remain so for a long time unravels out there? My eyes scanned every nook and corner of the vicinity. Though, no one was even looking at this scene, I, out of curiosity threw indirect looks at it. Please note, it was out of mere curiousity and  certainly without crossing the limit of the presumed decency. Be sure, no eveil eyes were cast on them even though my eyes were green!

The VIP Class

The maglev train has two classes. One is economy class and the other, VIP class. While the economy class costs 50 yuans for a single ride, VIP class costs 100 yuans. Thanks to my employer, this time I went for a ride on VIP class. Surprisingly, I was the lone traveller in the VIP class that prompted the coach attendant to verify my ticket. 

Out of the nearly 30 seats in the compartment, I sat alone with a camera. Though there were a sizeable number of travellers, none of them dared to spend 100 yuans. I too would not have spent it, had my company not refunded it. 

The spped touched 431KMPH in 3 minutes

The train started off at 1500 hours sharp. The digital display unit in the compartment started moving as fast as the train. Within 3 minutes, it touched 431 Kilometers per Hour. The train moved just like any normal train. But, travelling at such a high speed on a vehicle that does not exactly touch the ground is a different experince indeed. After touching the 430KMPH mark, the decelaration started. within another 3 minutes, it reached the destination - 30 kilometes in 7 minutes.

In front of one of the containers

But still, I should not miss to mention about a sad thing. 7 people were fired from the manufacturing unit that I have been visiting for more than two months in China. This is a container manufacturing unit owned by a Scottish national.

The Scottish manager has been sacking the people at the drop of a hat. There were only flimsy reasons attached to his actions. Out of the seven, 5 were workers and 2 were engineers. I was literally taken aback by the way people, even the working class, are trated in a country that was known for nurturing communism once upon a time. I must strogly suggest this :Look at China to learn about the pitfalls of capitalism. Study tours can be organized to China to have first hand feel of how a capitalist system works.