Arriving in Shanghai whilst it is enjoying the tail end of a cyclone, adds considerable dampness to what is already a rather grey construction site. Your correspondent, however, was daunted neither by rain, nor a total absence of Mandarin, when he decided to eschew all offers of limousine hire, and make his own way through the myriad minibus offerings to discover the local conveyance, which, for a bargain fee of 30 yuan, would transport him to the budget hotel which FOW had selected as the recommended accommodation.
Parsimony was rewarded, for upon checking in the guest directory 'lodging regulations' stated:
1. Nausiating odours are forbidden in the hotel.
2. Don't shout, get drunk.
3. No fighting, gambling, drug taking and whoring.
4.The health club features table tennis and British pool table.
My first evening meal, with FOW's finest, Mr David Setters and Ms Sue Lovell-Greene, was an extremely pleasant...