So our first taste of Chinese trains was an overnight one from Beijing to Shanghai. There was an option to take the bullet train, but being rational the time saved didn't warrant the extra costs, even if the little boy inside of me (no I'm not a cannibal) wished we had taken the super fast choo choo! However the train we took was by no means shabby - comfy and our own TV at the bottom of each bed showing Rambo...in mandarin but what Stallone film actually needs dialogue?!

Shanghai has more of a big city feel than Beijing, in that it is more crammed and it appears a lot more built up. The skyline in 'Pudong' is as impressive as any you are likely to see; in contrast, across the river around the 'Bund', it offers a completely different complexion where it's make-up is primarily of colonial buildings.

We were fortunate enough to be staying in a pretty decent hotel just on the outskirts of the city centre (it was as cheap as a dorm!). However we made the silly error of asking about laundry...it seemed that it was an unfamiliar request and after about an half hour pfaff we eventually got a price list which was extortionate, roughly £1 an item. We now felt obliged to give some laundry after the effort we put the staff through, though needless to say many items got promoted to a bath wash! The only other interesting event in our hotel was the wedding held there...although we were only made aware of this interest by the early morning firework display (outside our window) which marked the start of this occasion...I should have let them know prior that I weren't that interested!

Within our 3 days here we visited People's Park which was quite pretty but it felt a little bit out of place in the heights of Shanghai. However It gave Sara a chance to try and use some of the features on her camera, even if she was getting shown up by the locals with their far superior equipment. Not to be disheartened though, we then proceeded to Yuanyuan gardens which was set within the old streets of Shanghai; I thought the streets looked quite cool though my better (equal at best) half thought they felt tacky and fake - you can make up your own mind from the photos! By the time we reached the gardens it was sweltering, a cold beer in the midday sun was more than welcome, even if it meant that I then became a more popular part of the attraction for the Chinese tourists than the gardens itself! I don't understand it (I do), but they love to take photos of me.

A lot of our time in Shanghai was spent trying to organise train travel around the country. We thought coming to China the language barrier would be a problem, this wasn't so bad (although never ask a security guards for help - they may look authoritative but were never able to speak english and as a result usually pointed you in the wrong direction), unlike getting train tickets which proved to be a challenge. So much so on one occasion I turned up at the booking office at 7:30am on the day the advanced tickets went on sale and all 6 trains had already sold out! We figured it must have been due to the vast amounts of people that exist in China (it's always busy with people everywhere) and they probably also know an alternative way to book online. Either way it was annoying and not friendly to our budget as flying was the next best alternative.

On our last night we wished to go up the Pearl Tower to the revolving restaurant with the glass floor, but due to the unforeseen travel expenses we had to settle for sitting around in the centre of Pudong square, having a drink looking up at the evening sky. It was still mesmerising being dwarfed by the skyscrapers in the night light and it was also a fitting way to bring an end our time in Shanghai.

Xx