New Year in Shanghai....

4th February - SUPERBOWL in Shanghai

The morning of the Superbowl (an American tradition so we are told by the native James Caroll), and, being the good friends we are we joined him for the biggest american football game of the season. Where better place to go than Malone's American Bar.

What a game!!! A great atmosphere and we fitted right in by making the odd yank comment. 'You can't be serious mannnnn!' etc etc. We were even treated to breakfast by James who had won 1000 Yuan in Macdonalds the day previous! The underdogs (NY Giants) won and we came back to the hostel feeling very satisfied.

In the afternoon we made a trip to Shanghai station to arrange our onward journey to Hong Kong but again, due to New Years celebrations there were no train tickets until 20th February. Instead we have now arranged flights to HK on the 9th February at 3pm.

For dinner we went to the Indian Kitchen, a brilliant Indian restaurant 2 stops away from our hostel on the tube.

5th February - Soaking up Shanghai

Today we had our sights set on the clothes market and walked down the river to the multistorey building where it was situated. The sellers were no where near as pushey as those in Beijing, however, there was plenty of 'looka looka' men trying to offload DVD's. After a good bit of bartering we all walked out with some fresh new threads (clothes).

We then bought some speakers so we could listen to music back at the hostel before heading out for some food in the evening. From Lonely Planet we had spotted an all you can eat Mexican restaurant. After looking for an hour we found it....but it was shut for New Year!!!

6th February - New Years Eve in Shanghai

We made our way to People's Park which is situated in the middle of many skyscrapers. We headed into the tallest one we could find which ended up being a very posh hotel with a view to getting to the top. Unfortunately our plan was foiled on the 8th floor when we were told we would need a keycard for a room to enter the lift.

After wandering some more we stumbled upon Shanghais 'Madame Tussauds' (much to Ricks disappointment I have revealed this as he sneakily posted a picture of himself with Tom Cruise and tried to con people into believing we had met the real thing!). Here we mingled with many famous faces including Madonna, Tom Cruise and David Beckham. It was then on for our New Years meal for which we had some
traditional Chinese hotpot. The waitress also had some fun practising her English which she was studying at university.

Then...New Years celebrations began! We made our way to a club called Bonbons which for 7 quid entry included a free bar all night...need I say anymore!!! Several casualties the next morning but a brilliant night had by all.

7th February - New Years Day in Shanghai

Woke up a little bit worse for ware but after a little struggle we managed to get up. We went straight to the Bund to soak up the atmosphere on New Years Day. It was busy!!! The whole Bund was rammed with families who had come together for New Year and were enjoying the sun. There was a great vibe and several families asked us to have pictures with them (felt a little like a celebrity!)

After strolling along the Bund we hopped on the subway to the other side of the river where we went up the Oriental Pearl TV Tower - 200 meters. With clear blue skies this made for some fantastic views over the rest of Shanghai. The viewing tower was 360 degrees and allowed us to take in the entire Shanghai skyline. We then went down to the lower levels which contained a roller coaster! Of course we all went on and had a laugh.

8th February - The French Concession

It was nearing the end of our stay in Shanghai and having covered a great deal during the last few days we thought we would travel to the one area we had not yet visited - the French Concession. This was the old traditional Shanghai, before the building had began. The sun was shining again and we spent most of the day strolling through the characteristic streets. At one point Ross took a picture of one of the old buildings but had unintentionally included a local in the picture. He was not best pleased and made to chase after us! We ran!

Finally got back to the hostel but I was feeling a little off and had to stay in bed suffering with a little food poisoning while the others went for a night out at a local bar/club - Windows Too.

9th February - Our Final Day in Shanghai

I woke feeling a little better and was ready to say goodbye to Shanghai as we moved on to Hong Kong. With all our bags (feeling like real travellers now) we headed on the tube to the train station where the Maglev train departs to the airport. Now this isn't just any train, this is one of the fastest trains in the world travelling at 430km/hour and covering 30km in only 8 minutes. It was fast! The speedometer in the cabin measured our speed and at the top speed of 430km/hr we really were flying!

It was goodbye to Shanghai which, after spending several days here, had began to feel like home. A great city and one which some time in the future I hope to return to.

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