Trip that never happened Part 1

Let us assume for a minute that I am adventurous, or perhaps stupid. Let us assume that booking a flight with my friend's credit card the night before leaving with no accommodations was a possibility. Let us assume, that I took a trip alone in the midst of summer carrying nothing but one backpack. If this trip were to happen, then it happened in Shanghai.

Landing in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I rushed out of the airplane only to be stopped at the long line at immigration. Next in line with me was an architect coming to Shanghai for the third time, but this time was no ordinary one. She told me that she will now be living in Shanghai for the next three years, working at Disneyland, Shanghai branch. I was intrigued, but the line was moving fast than expected. We parted ways before I could tell her the whole story of how stupid I was coming with nowhere to go. Luckily, I slightly had a clue of where I was going and who I would meet. After purchasing a 150RMB-worth China Unicom simcard, the first person I sent a text to was none other than my, "bao bao," Kelsey. She had just finished work for the day so we agreed to meet at Yanggao Middle Road Station. Shanghai Metro was interesting. I was texting Kelsey all the way through while listening to music on my phone. The one thing I can't help but noticing is that the number of people staring right at me.

"I feel like a star," I said to her.

Kelsey showed me the area which she lived with her uncle, aunt and cousin. At a nearby restaurant, we had dinner and talked for a very long time. She convinced me to stay at Hotel Ibis right behind that very mall, after I got rejected asking for an empty bed at my preferred hostel. That night I slept like a king in my very own room. When the rainy night ends, my adventure would finally begin.

"Hey. I'm not gonna make it by 9. Wanna meet up tonight or something? And there's 2 typhoons today, so be careful"

We agreed to meet at around 7 that night instead for dinner which turned out to be another raincheck. At 9 straight, I was at Starbucks having breakfast. Before I left, the cashier people who barely spoke English were kind enough to write down 'Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Station' in Chinese characters so I could show it to the taxi driver. On the Metro to Jing An Temple station, I carried my precious backpack with me that just got heavier as the temperature in Shanghai rose that day. I walked around the station looking for Le Tour Traveler's Rest Youth Hostel for a long time before I found it hidden in alley on Jiaozhou Road. Alas, when I got there, the beds available the night before had already been taken and I hopped back on the train to West Yan An Road station. By that time, the sun was staring down from on top of me and I was lost. It took quite some time before I arrived at Rock & Wood. Traveling without booking things in advance can be quite a bitch, but I was having too much fun with it.