The Maglev Train

A New Experience

From our hotel in Shanghai we were informed that a bus ride to the airport would take a good 40 minutes but the the travel package included a ride on the super train ; equivalent to the bullet trains of elsewhere.

When we study the geography of Tokyo it is inevitable that the bullet train is mentioned to connote the technological advancement of the nation and a solution to traffic woes in the cosmopolitan city. So here on our last lapse to home we were slapped with a pleasant surprise... a ride on the maglev train !

In conjunction with the World Expo in Shanghai, China is all out to please her tourists... so the maglev ride is part of the deal.

Haibao...the mascot of the Expo but I can't for the world of me deduce why the haibao?

Sleek and handsome, the train is ready to ferry her passengers from the city to the airport... something like ours in Sentul but of course not the same at all !

Passengers need not wait long; tickets were bought with little fuss and soon we were waiting for our turn...






At a speed of 301km/hr, we were soon at our destination in 7 minutes! So we saved much time and had a wonderful experience.





The girls too had their first experience and it was worth remembering.

But just as we were impressed with the nation's advance in hard facilities, I was wondering at the soft skills of her people. I have seen ladies not closing doors when doing their businesses in Shanghai ; loud voices and massive shovings among crowds and a huge appetite for anything new... it is easy to move with technology but not so with nurturing her people. It takes time.

This brought me home to memories of Seafield... the school started with much hardship without hard and soft skills. But it took a turn when we straighten the physical part in the hope to change the mindset of her children. It worked. Her children had to change to fit into an environment that taught them beauty, appreciation and pride. To fit into a right environment you have to learn to be right. Ha...so much for memories.

The Maglev Ride...