Suitcase and World: Shanghai....the furnace of China.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Shanghai....the furnace of China.


L
ei warned me that Shanghai would be swelteringly hot and she wasn't kidding. I thought I had packed light enough clothing but it looks like I forgot to bring along the icepack :-)

It is hot here with daytime temps in the high 90's F but what makes it unbearable is the humidty. It is s-o-o-o humid that the Shanghai sky is constantly gray and hazy. At first I thought it was smog but my lungs would have choked if it was. Andrew confirmed it's just humidity.

The humidity is so oppressive that I am dripping in sweat just walking around. When I looked back at the photos of Zhouzhuang, Suzhou and Hangzhou, I realized I looked like a very unhappy, drowned rat. Sheesh...was hoping there would be one good photo of me but sadly there are none :-(

The last two afternoons it has rained and not a gentle rain. The skies darken quickly, thunder and lighten sound and strike and then there's a massive downpour. You hope that the rains will cool off the temperature but oh no, it just makes it worse :-(

I've started carrying tissue paper to dry my face off with but I run out too quickly so I think today I will buy a small face towel. I've also decided that if you can't beat the humidity, you can at least use it as an excuse to have a popsicle :-)