Good afternoon from Shanghai!
It's 2:39pm and we are currently sailing along the Yangtze River looking out to the incredible skyline of The Bund and Downtown Shanghai! The sun is shining, tower blocks glistening and somehow we have managed to end up on a posh yacht with 2 other guys. This is the life!

Last night we arrived at Shanghai airport later than planned and although we had booked a night in the Mercure Airport Hotel, we landed at T1 and the hotel was at T2, 10km away. Eventually we managed to get a taxi and found the hotel but it wasn't as we had planned it to be. Oh well, we have adjusted our plans for the better and so far so good.

This morning we took the subway into the city and found our hostel pretty easily. We decided to pay a hefty fee to join the Big Bus Tour but have enjoyed seeing as much as we can in our day in the modern capital of China. As we look over the the Pudong side of the river we can see the huge Oriental Pearl TV Tower commanding the skyline and surrounded by many amazing buildings. The tallest building is the new Shanghai Tower and after lunch we will go up to the top to see the city and river from above. Now, it's time to enjoy the view from our yacht and catch a few rays.

Good evening,
What a day in Shanghai! The bus tour turned out to be well worth the money we spent as we managed to see the whole city, go on a boat and also go up the worlds 2nd tallest building! Yes you guessed it, the tallest is in Dubai!!
After the boat ride we grabbed a quick subway, hopped back in the bus and hopped off at the tower. The view from the top was amazing! We could see the river winding it's way through the city and the old and new sides of the city on either bank. We sent postcards from the top to our loved ones and then went down all 118 floors in no time at all. It was then back on the bus to the People's Square and the Mingtown Hostel to check in and freshen up.

This evening we decided to walk from our hostel to The Bund so that we could enjoy the skyline at night. We walked down the famous Nanjing Road which was lined with very bright and colourful neon lights! Tom could hardly stand up though as he has zero grip on his flip flops and it had thrown it down for an hour just before we set off!!

Once again we struggled to find anywhere to have a meal as we wanted a proper restaurant and not just a snack or street food. The search continued all the way to The Bund where we stood along with thousands of others gazing at the incredible skyline on the opposite side of the river.

As the search for food became a desperate one we considered getting a taxi to somewhere on the map. On route to find a taxi we happened to stumble across Lost Heaven, a restaurant Tara remembered reading about in her guide book! We were delighted to find an actual real restaurant and had a fantastic meal of Spring Rolls, Chicken with Spring Onion, Beef Stir fry and rice. The restaurant was so good that Tara had a glass of Prosecco and Tom had a beer!

We have just got into our bed in the hostel as a storm starts outside. Tomorrow we are heading to Suzhou, a town that is said to be the Venice of China. Off to bed now...

Night all,
T&T x