to this...
...as the rain bands passed
The building motion got more and more severe as the day passed. The hotel room started creaking like an old pirate ship in the movies with a series of creaks spaced out every 5 to 10 seconds as the building moved back and forth. When I started to feel seasick (which I had expected on the ship... not on dry land), we decided to head downstairs.
There we found a Starbucks with suitable tables for a quick Chess tournament. I started out by playing Brandon, but the sneaky kid kept beating me. You can tell by the photos that I don't like losing, but he delights in beating me. Concentration was heavy and after beating me three times, I let Tiger play him. Tiger just received his chess set when I arrived and though he was familiar with a Chinese version of the game he is still getting used to it. He seems to have picked it up quickly, though.
All that is planned for the afternoon is to hang around the hotel, watch movies and try not to get seasick. Vicky now feels the effect of the swaying after being downstairs. As the storm passes, we may try and visit the World Financial Center later this evening.
We spent the afternoon swaying, watching TV and napping (much needed after the intensity of the cruise and all the shore excursions). Then as the storm settled down a little, we went out to M on the Bund, a high-end restaurant that Vicky used to use to entertain the VIP clients from her business. This place is noted for it's night time views from across the river, but with the storm still going on, those views were somewhat subdued - still a riot of color though.
Finally around 2:00 AM the building stopped swaying... it's still wet outside, but the worst seems to be over. So we'll have breakfast at the Hyatt and then head to Hangzhou.
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