IPDPS2012, welcome to Shanghai

Posted: 12 May 2012

Tagged: travel

IPDPS 2012 is being held in Shanghai this week, and I am here to deliver two talks and chair two back-to-back sessions in the HPPAC workshop. Surprise number one arriving in Shanghai, the conference hotel is inside of a full-size stadium. Somehow I didn’t expect that from a computing conference, but the further surprise was that the stadium was hosting the Diamond League Shanghai track and field meet as I was arriving. Needless to say that made it a bit interesting getting into the hotel, slogging through ticket scalpers and attendees.

Having arrived, and finding that the in-room wifi costs about $20 a day, I decided to head up to the bar on the top floor for internet access and caffeine. The picture above is what I found, the Moods bar on the top floor of the Regal Shanghai East Asia hotel is at skybox level, facing out into the stadium. Thus I found myself, in shanghai for less than 2 hours, awake for over 20 hours, sipping Pu’erh tea, reading email, while watching some of the greatest track and field athletes compete below. Welcome to Shanghai indeed.