The ferry: 50% Japan, 50% China

I decided to travel to China by boat rather than plane. That's right, a boat, like you see in the movies. Maybe it was the romance of the whole thing...maybe it was the purism of travelling overseas by literally traveling over a sea...or maybe it was the fact that it was far cheaper than any other possible mode of transport, and that I am trying to save every last yen in getting out of the country.

Half the passengers were Japanese going to China, the other half Chinese going back home. Almost everyone spoke Japanese, but almost everyone spoke Chinese too. The food is half Japanese, half Chinese. We sail through the islands of Japan, and soon we are on the high seas.

The boat ride was so much fun I would have happily paid to go in a full circle. Watching sunsets looking out over the high seas, a beautiful deep blue, falling asleep in a room full of 40 people to the gentle sway of the boat, and exploring the millions of secret rooms (including a fully decked-out Japanese onsen!) made the journey just as exciting as the destination. Like the Titanic, except without the crashing and sinking, and Leonardo Di Caprio.

Shanghai: 100% China

When I wake up on the second morning, and I notice the sea has turned brown. We must be getting near...

Eventually I catch the sight of land, my first ever sight of China. It is rather boring, like every first sighting of a country, just flat plains and dull buildings. But eventually the skyline builds, as does the ocean-going traffic. Soon we are surrounded by hundreds of other ships of all kinds, drifting through a river with giant buildings (most under construction) on all sides. I see the perfect photo opportunity; a rusty little boat carrying a boatload of coal, slowly chugging its way down the river, with a Chinese flag waving enthusiastically behind. I try and get my camera working in time, but it is too late, the boat has already passed by. Just as I am lamenting my misfortune, another boat comes into view, with exactly the same Chinese flag and exactly the same pile of coal. I lean over the deck and look into the distance...there is another, and another, and another, stretching in a line as far as the eye can see. We are now in 100% China.

...Then the boat pulls into the dock...

Suddenly I am on the ground, in a state of mild shock. Goodbye Japanese friends. Check into my hotel room. Wander the Bund beside the river, looking out over the skyscrapers of Pudong. Avoid the beggars, see the children lying on the street. Run across the road, trying to avoid all the cars and bikes intent on running a red light. Decline the offer of a motorbike ride, and take a $2 taxi instead. Eat 40 cent dumplings from the food carts. "Sir, DVD, Watches, Shirts, you want!" "No Thankyou". "Hey handsome man, massage for you!" "No Thankyou". Men play cards in the back alley, smoking and spitting. Children play in the street, laughing and yelling. 100% China.

To find more information about the ferry between Osaka and Shanghai, go to http://www.shanghai-ferry.co.jp/. The cost of the ferry return in the cheapest class was 30 000 yen (1932 RMB) return for the cheapest class, which involved sleeping on a mattress in a room with about 40 other people. The amenities on board were amazing though, and I met plenty of people who were taking the trip for the second or third time, having loved it the first time and decided to do it all over again.