Big Chef and I went to Shanghai last weekend for 5 days. We took the bullet train, only 5 hours travelling at a speed of over 300 km/hr, and pretty comfortable with clean toilets. Tickets were around RM250 a person economy class. Next time we will take business class so that we don't have to sit with the hoi-polloi ! LOL ! There was a big group of Chinese tourists, some of whom decided to play cards. And the train has these amazing seats that you can rotate round, so that 6 people can sit facing one another. Very useful for families and groups of friends, but not very peaceful for other travellers. The shouts and shrieks from the excitable group prevented me from having a nap. It was quite amusing actually, I rather like observing Chinese behaviour. I'm beginning to believe that the Chinese are the most talkative people in the world !
Shanghai has wonderful architecture. Old European buildings on the Bund, fantastic glassed skyscrapers on the other side of the Bund. Just incredible. We went up to the Observatory over 400 metres high and saw the enormous sprawl of Shanghai. That's when you start to realise that there's over 20 million people living here. I had the urge to use the washroom facilities, and while I was sitting in the end cubicle of the washroom, one side of which was made of glass, I had this long peaceful uninterrupted moment while I observed the vista spread below me and contemplated the incredible engineering and plumbing feats that must be involved 430 metres above sea level. Yup, just incredible.
From the Observatory.
The incredible Apple store.
In the lift going up the Observatory.
There is a vibrancy, a liveliness in Shanghai that Beijing is lacking. You feel that Shanghai moves faster, is more cosmopolitan, Beijing is more staid.
Inside the charming Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
The shopping street - Nanjing Road East.
A saxophonist at Nanjing Road East.
Dancing to the music.
One of the highlights of our sojourn in Shanghai was staying at a villa which we found through airbnb (www.airbnb.com/shanghai - see Quiet villa in downtown Shanghai). Our hosts Milan and Sherrill made us wonderfully welcome and their villa in a peaceful gated community was a respite from our daily explorations. Interesting conversations with our hosts and a delicious home cooked meal in a warm comfortable home with a cuddly cat (Scottish fold just like the Japanese internet sensation Maru the Cat from Youtube) just made our trip !
So many things to see and experience in Shanghai but we didn't have enough time. Shanghai - we will be back !
Shanghai has wonderful architecture. Old European buildings on the Bund, fantastic glassed skyscrapers on the other side of the Bund. Just incredible. We went up to the Observatory over 400 metres high and saw the enormous sprawl of Shanghai. That's when you start to realise that there's over 20 million people living here. I had the urge to use the washroom facilities, and while I was sitting in the end cubicle of the washroom, one side of which was made of glass, I had this long peaceful uninterrupted moment while I observed the vista spread below me and contemplated the incredible engineering and plumbing feats that must be involved 430 metres above sea level. Yup, just incredible.
From the Observatory.
The incredible Apple store.
In the lift going up the Observatory.
There is a vibrancy, a liveliness in Shanghai that Beijing is lacking. You feel that Shanghai moves faster, is more cosmopolitan, Beijing is more staid.
Inside the charming Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
The shopping street - Nanjing Road East.
A saxophonist at Nanjing Road East.
Dancing to the music.
One of the highlights of our sojourn in Shanghai was staying at a villa which we found through airbnb (www.airbnb.com/shanghai - see Quiet villa in downtown Shanghai). Our hosts Milan and Sherrill made us wonderfully welcome and their villa in a peaceful gated community was a respite from our daily explorations. Interesting conversations with our hosts and a delicious home cooked meal in a warm comfortable home with a cuddly cat (Scottish fold just like the Japanese internet sensation Maru the Cat from Youtube) just made our trip !
So many things to see and experience in Shanghai but we didn't have enough time. Shanghai - we will be back !
