Shanghai load out

4 Clark Transfer trucks packed into 6 smaller Chinese trucks, which means a new pack list for every truck which means hours more work as we shoehorn things together and try to figure out how to pack on the fly.

Hazardous metal ramps with zero tread...

And no light
Lots of labor and heat though...

Took us 5 hours. And we may or may not be leaving this city missing some of the things we came with... A hazard of being in someone else's house and having things grow legs and "walk off..."

We walked home through a completely empty People's Square at 3AM, which is like being in Times Square by yourself.

And then we had to finish packing and catch our shuttle to the airport at 10AM the next morning. 60 people checking out of the same hotel at the same time and trying to catch the same plane...

And then the fun really started. All of us have been in consumer heaven here in Shanghai where everything is SO cheap. I think the Hairspray company has singlehandedly boosted the Chinese economy for the past month. Most people - myself included - are finished Christmas shopping plus all the personal shopping, the handbags, the suits and dresses and winter coats people have commissioned from Asian tailors, the art pieces that were purchased... A LOT of stuff.

Now we have to get this all home.

However, we found out the day before we left Shanghai that the luggage requirements were different on the planes flying us to Beijing, in that our suitcases had to weigh under 44lbs. 50lbs is the normal requirement on US flights and that 6lbs makes a HUGE difference. But we were told that we could have as many suitcases as we wanted, they just couldn't weigh over 44lbs and the rules were strict.

So of course the solution is to do more shopping and buy more luggage.

We arrived at the airport looking like we are taking off for year long trips around the world, several people with 4 or more bags apiece. And we get in line and then the info starts trickling down from the front of the line.

It's not 44lbs, it's 44kg...

And it's not per bag, it's for all your bags together!

And your carry-on can't weigh over 5kg.

And you can't travel batteries on the plane... (why?? don't know)

There's no adequate way to describe what it's like to see 60 people in line with 180+ pieces of luggage all hearing different things from different people who have talked to other people with a limited knowledge of English to our complete un-knowledge of Chinese and tried to figure out what was going on...

I don't think anyone paid overage fees. I'm positive most people's luggage weighed over 44kg. We somehow made it to Beijing with all our stuff - which is something that has never happened when we're all flying American airlines... - and now we get to look forward to deja vu all over again as we try to leave the country.

And Beijing??? Well, that's different post all together. The load in was 3 days and we had a near riot last night when we canceled our invited dress for the press...

more later with pictures...

xox
k