Shanghai is a city of 16 million people with Gucci stores everywhere and more Ferrari dealerships than Boulder has 7-11’s. Yet in the planning phases of modern Shanghai someone left out The Internet. I wonder if someone is paying dearly for that omission or if the jet set hipsters of Shanghai are content with the 3G data plans furnished by China Mobile. If you’ve been following along, I’m sure you’ve noticed that our blog has gone radio silent for the last week. Sorry, we’ve tried, but have encountered nothing by internet roadblocks since we arrived in Shanghai.
You know when you go to your bank’s website and the http in your browser’s address bar turns into https? The s stands for secure and means that your web browser has established an encrypted channel with your bank. Well, in Shanghai we haven’t found a single internet connection that allows any form of secure connection. So, we can’t check our email, book our next hostel, book plane tickets, or post to our blog =( I’m expecting not to have internet access in Laos and Cambodia, but in what’s touted as one of the most modern cities in the world, I expected a surplus of internet connectivity.
Our entire day was spent looking for an internet connection. We needed to find a bed in Hong Kong before leaving mainland China on the 11th. We used what little access we do have here at the hostel to make a list of places with free wi-fi. We hopped on the subway around noon. Fast forward about 9 hours later and 15 hotspots, we found a connection that allowed us to book our hostel. We celebrated with beer, fried rice, and dumplings.
Small Mundo 
May 10, 2011 @ 23:00:27
I think Boulder only has one 7-11. 🙂
May 11, 2011 @ 16:41:29
There are only two Ferrari dealerships in Shanghai, so 7-11 was my only choice. Still, two Ferrari dealerships in 20 mile radius and no interwebs … come’on =)
May 11, 2011 @ 17:51:16
Haha! Okay, that’s fair. I was hoping there were at least 5 Ferrari dealerships. Impractical about the internet though. Unless…China has already started to implant wireless chips inside of people to access the secret internet. Huh? Huh? Crazy asians.
May 11, 2011 @ 21:42:01
Let me know if they give you a free Slurpie with any purchase of a 458 Italia in China.
May 13, 2011 @ 06:18:26
No Slurpies in China, but plenty of fish ear fungus frappes. I didn’t even know fish had ears! Dude, your would freak in Hong Kong. The car scene here is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Yesterday we saw three Bentleys, two Ferraris, a GTR, and prob 50 porches. The GTR was by far the sickest of the bunch with matte black paint and big black rims.