Shanghai

1st Sept - 4th Sept (Day 181 - Day 184)

Hi everyone, sorry for the huge delay in the blog updates...I´m going to blame a combination of limited internet access and two weeks in Las Vegas, probably more the later.

After 2 nights in Xián we took a flight to Shanghai. It was a simple 2 hour flight to Pudong airport in Shanghai, we then successfully navigated the Shanghai metro system and arrived at our hotel which was located right next to the bund. Once again we managed to find ourselves a really nice hotel which was relatively cheap and in a great location......result!

Once we were settled into our hotel the first thing we did was to head straight to the bund, a two minute walk. When we got there we were blown away, the bund itself incrediable, so many great colonial buildings side by side, so much history and very different from the China we had experienced so far.

What was even more impressive was once we had taken in the bund, the other side of the river was also stunning with amazing views of the skyscrapers in Pudong, particularly the futuristic Pearl TV tower. I can´t remember having visted anywhere before where either side of the river you have world class panoramic views....amazing!

Over the next couple of days we explored Shanghai further and I was surprised by what we found. Unlike the rest of China, Shanghai has a strong European colonial feel as it is where the colonial powers were allowed to base themselves in the early 20th century. As a result you have an great mix of classic British architecture on the bund, classic French Boulevards of the now high end designer former French concession, add to this some beautiful parks and public areas, then top it all of with some of the best modern arcitecture China has to offer, which all makes for a fantastic mix.

On our third day in Shanghai we decided to head over to the Pudong side of the river,in order to get over to the other side we decided to take the ´tourist tunnel´, rather than simply just jump on the metro. According to the information we had read the tourist tunnel consists of a small capsule which takes you on a futuristic ride through a tunnel under the river, with the help of some amazing visual and light effects. As you could imagine we were pretty excitied......but I´m afraid I have to tell you it didn´t really live up to the hype. We were transported on a capsule, through effects that seemed to have been based on a mixture of a particularly bad 1970s doctor who episode and blackpool illuminations, we were left underwelmed to say the least.

Later that afternoon we headed to a local park for a wander, whilst there we came across a group of people ballroom dancing, at first I thought this was a little odd but as we walk further it turned out the whole park was packed with portable sound systems and people ballroom dancing. It was a pleasant surprise especially when the people dancing had some nice unusual outfits on. Tina and I watched for over an hour, taking in the dancing, the partner swapping, outfits and general scene.

Overall I really enjoyed Shanghai, having not known what to really expect when I arrived, I was really taken with the place. There were a couple of odd moments. One being the oodles of brides and grooms around the city in their wedding attire having photoshoots in the oddest places and in the strangest poses. Tina and I had many a giggles over this. One of the more curious elements of being in Shanghai was the apparent obsession with the singer Seal.....I kid you not, everytime we were in a restuarant or in a shopping centre it seemed as if Seal was on. I have never head ´kiss from a rose´ so many times in a four day period. This still remains an odd and unexplained part of our time in Shanghai.....and possibly the whole trip so far.

After a great 4 days in Shanghai our next stop was the lake city of Hangzhou.
Take Care x x x