a weekend in Shanghai ...

Hi ya
Seems like an eternity ago now but I spent a three day weekend in Shanghai just before the May day weekend. Shanghai is such a huge and amazing place. But whats more amazing is that it is only 2.5 hrs from here by coach. And it costs me the princely sum of 80 yuan to get there. To save you scrambling for your calculator, that is about $14.
In the past the hardest part has been buying the tickets. But we are getting better at that. There are many sites like Wotif that operate here and other people here that have made the trip many times so there is no shortage of suggestions on where to stay and what to go see. So I organised it all from here and all went ok.

There is some stuff that I think is worth mentioning for the unwary traveller though. And it is about China generally. This is a country where there are many many places where English counts for nothing. In Europe and many other countries around the world you can usually rely on someone speaking or understanding your English. Not so here in China. A lot of times you cannot get your message across in English. A lot of gesturing and finger pointing is required but English does not work.

Shanghai is a big very modern city but there is still plenty of it that just doesn't understand English. So be prepared. Bring a phrase book, keep the hotel room key handy, anything that has in Chinese what you want to do or where you want to go might work.... This is not Hong Kong. So a lot of things take a lot longer to get done just because of the language issue.... Be patient. In a place like Shanghai especially in a hotel there will be someone to help translate for you.

So the weekend was excellent. I selected a hotel that was a little way from The Bund. The closer to The Bund usually the more expensive the hotels are. But is worth it in travelling especially if you can walk there. Maybe next time closer would be better, at least on the Metro line. The Metro in Shanghai is awesome. Cheap and very easy to use the ticket machines. They are in English and it is quick.

Sorry keep getting sidetracked. Our hotel was a good business type hotel and the reception and concierge were great. The only downside was it rained a bit so we spent some time indoors. But a walk around the streets at night is always interesting. Lots of places to eat and get a foot massage. That is one of the really best things about China ... the foot massage for just 30 yuan for an hour. Best there is.

Not a lot of photos of this trip but here is what I can show you of Shanghai ...

zaijian