Welcome to Shanghai

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We arrived in Shanghai after a smooth early morning flight from Beijing. Getting to the hotel via taxi was a problem this time, even though I was able to point out where we were going on the driver’s map. Even in another language, I was able to tell where the hotel was, so I wasn’t sure what the problem was.

Checking into the hotel was a bit of a nightmare. We had pre-booked our stay at the Villas 1937 Hotel because of its great location blocks from The Bund, the main drag along the Huangpu River. The desk clerk did not seem to understand that we had already paid for the hotel in advance online, so it took some time for her to call the manager, check our receipts and online payment confirmation before we got things straightened out. We were charged a room deposit of about $30 Cdn (despite having already paid) which was to be refunded (more on our nightmare checking out later).

The hotel was beautiful in an old-world colonial way and we were quite happy until we flopped down on the bed, only to discover it was just a box spring and not a mattress. Ouch. So a hard night’s sleep it would be.

Undeterred, we wanted to take a look at Shanghai. It was a cloudy and windy day so we stuck close to the hotel and Bund area. After changing some money at the bank, we walked along the main shopping street, Nanjing Road and grabbed some lunch. The Old Peace Hotel is on Nanjing Road so that was fun to see, although it has since closed. The old architecture is quite stunning.

We heard the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel was a tacky site not to miss, so we gladly bought our ticket and prepared to be whisked under the River over to Pudong. The Sightseeing Tunnel was a bit of a disappointment- it wasn’t as nearly as tacky as I had hoped. I think that growing up in tourist central Niagara Falls has numbed me to the gaudy.

Once over on Pudong, we headed to the Shanghai Aquarium since the weather didn’t look promising. A nice aquarium, it’s not really a must-see in Shanghai although they do have the longest underwater shark tunnel in the world. There wasn’t a lot to do in Shanghai on a cloudy day, so it was one of our only options.

After the aquarium, we decided to relax with a beer at a German beer garden along the river. We had a fantastic view and enjoyed seeing all the lights come on along the Bund. The subway system in Shanghai is much easier to navigate than Beijing’s, and the stops are much more strategically placed.

After looking for a place to eat in a shopping mall, we found a nearby restaurant complex (complete with Pizza hut and KFC- and picked a place called Babela’s Kitchen for some pasta. It was dirt cheap and tasty food. A nice break from all the dumplings we had been eating as of late.

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Photos

Sucker Fish
At the Shanghai Aquarium

Flying to Shanghai
:eaving Beijing behind for the final leg of our adventure

Pudong
The view from the Bund

The Bund SIghtseeing Tunnel
Pretty high tech

Pudong
The Oriental Pearl on a cloudy day

Tunnel
One of the many shark/sea life tunnels

The Bund
Lights coming on the Bund

Comments

[Terence LLoren]

Growing Up with Shanghai
Hi! If you enjoyed Shanghai I think you might like my latest project. http://www.growingupwithshanghai.com Thanks! Terence

[Taylor]

is this fish actually called a sucker fish? I have one in my fish tank and I wanted to know what kind it was. Thanks for the help.