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One Part New England + One Nascar = Shanghai Taxi

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Made it to my hotel room tonight in Shanghai.  The ride from the Airport was an adventure. We started 45 minutes out, but the driver said he was going to "make time".  He didn't lie. He flashed more cars with high beams than a Girls Gone Wild TV spot and I think he was also a Nascar fan.  The other drivers seemed to understand it meant "out of my way because this car ain't stopn'. As I'd heard about from other Asia pacific travelers the traffic was... interesting. L anes are apparently optional and so are red lights.  Before a red turns green it seems to go yellow. This is when the drivers rev their engines and the bikers pedal for dear life to finish crossing the road. 

The drive back also made me wonder what would happen to this area if other world regions, like Africa or South America, become viable low cost manufacturing markets. The highway back from the airport to the city was one long stretch of Factories.  My homies from New England would have instantly recognized the area as a current and future Fall River.  Low cost factories surrounded by low cost housing surrounded by more factories surrounded by water and the shipping industry.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but you do get a Blade-Runner vibe around here.

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