Day 1 - Part II: Landing in Shanghai

Holy s***. I'm here in Shanghai. An initial shock gets my travel adrenaline pumping when Marco (my Italian contact, friend and employer in China) is nowhere to be found. After collecting my bags and passing through immigration I'm alone in the second-largest city in the most populous country in the world. Completely alone in China on the very first day with little money and no clue? Perfect. But, after an anxious HOUR Marco arrives and we reunite with much laughter and sighs of relief before the cab ride to our hotel in the city. We reach Motel 168 around 11PM and grab my first meal in China: disgusting grilled street food on the closest corner to the hotel. Unsatisfied but excited for the night ahead, our room keys are dropped off by Marco's friend Rafa (from Barcelona) and we begin drinking. Heavily. We then join Marco's other Italian friends Mateo and Laura as well as Rafa's Lithuanian girlfriend Yurgita (whom he would later marry) and join them in their rooms to continue the revelry. They're hilarious and kind and a ton of fun. After finishing an entire 5th of Vodka between us Marco and I leave the hotel at 3AM to hit one of his favorites spots in Shanghai: Bar Rouge. Marco unsuccessfully talks the door girl out of charging us the 100 Kwai (Chinese RMB) cover, but upon arriving upstairs I realize IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT. The bar has an incredible view of the city's skyline and is populated by an upscale mix of foreigners and local hip patrons. I wind up speaking with a lovely French woman before we abandon the cause near 5:30am, hitting the street to buy some snack and taking a cab back to our hotel. After watching one of our local Chinese neighbors pee out of their own apartment window down onto the street, we revel in how hilarious and wonderful the night has been before falling asleep as sunlight begins to filter into the room.