China: Shanghai

  Shanghai, China
Friday, January 26, 2007

Well this was another fun packed 16 hour trip to here. From the train station we took taxis to the hotel. This has got to be the most hair raising experience ever. You are driving on roads with 3 or 4 lanes but it doesn't really make a difference. They just shoot in and out of lanes at mighty speeds. Its not uncommon to see a bus coming straight for your side door. This usually accompained by a huge amount of horn blowing. They do not give an inch here. In Beijing I saw a man crossing the road at a green man signal with his bike. He wasn't quick enough and the lights turned green for the traffic, even though he was half way there they didn't let him cross and he stood there while 4 lanes of traffic flew by him from both sides.

Anyway we made it alive and booked into our hotel followed by a walking orientation of the city from Mill. Again it was crazy busy but at least it had a nice river walk (The Bund) which made it a bit more enjoyable.

33 The Bund

This was a very quick stop over so there wasn't a huge amount done. It has some fantastic sky scrapers and buildings. As soon as you hit the main streets though again you are confronted by a hords of people all shouting pretty much the same chant "DVDs, Shoes, Louis Vouton, Rolex, Gucci come look, see see, cheap cheap".


On the first night we went to the Shanhai acrobats. It was a pretty good show. Some of the stuff was amazing to look at.

24 Shanghai Acrobats

It finished with a ball of death. It was basically a metal sphere where a guy in a motorbike would drive in and drive all around it, that was pretty good then they added a second guy then a third, followed by a fourth and fifth guy. It was well done. The second day we went for a walk around the city itself. We went into The Shanghai Museum which had a five floor collection of everything from old coins to caligraphy to clay pots to wooden  furniture. We spent 3 hours here just wandering around and  having a look. It was pretty impressive. After that we went to the Pearl TV,

34 Pearl Tower

its basically a 300 odd metre high tower where you can go to the top and have a look out over the city.

On the last day we only had a few hours before getting the 26 hour train to Guilin. So we spent going around Shaghai looking for a shop that would sell bread that wasn't sweetened. It took a while but we got there, we also got some cheese which was a great find. We then just headed to The Gardens near the city center.

27 Shanghai Gardens

It done exactly what it said on the tin. Just a nice big quiet garden, which in these busy cities is understandable because the hustle and bustle can get to you at times. Anyway at 4 we more taxis (more near death experiences) to go to Shanghai train station which was the nicest of the stations we've been to so far. There was a place to sit down which was great.

We got the train to Guilin around 6. 26 hours of fun ahead!!!!!!