The Sights of Shanghai
Trip Start
Nov 21, 2008
1
25
84
Trip End
May 29, 2009
Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Chinese Massage
Top of the heap was the incredible "four hand massage" where Anna and Tom took us to a beautiful example of Shanghai's many massage parlours for Christmas. Here after selecting which particular oil I preferred and donning an ill fitting pair of tissue paper pants I was made to lie down and bask in an all over body massage by two young Chinese ladies at the same time. Including feet, hands and a head massage the effect of this talented pair was to synchronise their strokes so that it felt like there was one person with 20 fingers massaging your body.
M on the Bund
As part of our Christmas present Tom took us to his favourite restaurant called M on the Bund. This was Shanghais first 5 star restaurant which is located on the top floor of a beautiful hotel on the Bund. The Bund is basically a strip of prime waterfront real estate on the east bank of the Yuang pu river which runs through Shanghai and so along with our magnificent food we were afforded a beautiful view of Shanghai city at night.
Yuang Pu River Cruise
One of the best ways to see Shanghai is to take a river cruise along the Yuang Pu river which runs North to South through the city. Despite a fair amount of smog the cruise affords a wonderful view of Shanghai's majestic skyscrapers and also gives a great understanding of the sheer volume of growth and construction that is happening in Shanghai.
Dolar Shop
A quintessentially Chinese way of eating, basically a flavoured pot of boiling water is set on a burner in front of you and a variety of raw food is placed on trays on the table which you then add to the pot and cook to your liking. Add to this your own mix of sauces and spices and a multitude of culinary sensations are guaranteed.
The Bottle Opener
The Bottle Opener or officially the SWFC tower is China's tallest building and currently the tallest fully completed building by ceiling height (current world building height is recorded from the top of the antenna and there is currently a skyscraper in construction in Dubai that dwarfs them all reported to be coming in at over 600 meters) so our trip up the bottle opener saw us viewing the city at the highest observation deck in the world. At a massive 492 metes high with spectacular views over the city and glass panels in the floor the bottle opener is a must see for anyone visiting Shanghai.
Partyworld
Last but by no means least was the madness of the New Years Day KTV experience. KTV is a very typical Chinese past time and is basically a Karaoke bar with style, well as much style as can be mustered from a room full of drunken foreigners anyway but essentially each KTV bar has distinct separate rooms each equipped with its own karaoke equipment which you hire out by the hour, so you and your friends can warble and wail to your hearts content or until your ears give out - whichever happens first. So if the photographic evidence isn't damning enough when I get back to the UK ply me with enough alcohol and I may be bribed to show you the videos :o)
