Shanghai
Trip Start
Apr 06, 2008
1
23
Trip End
Jun 20, 2008
Shanghai,
Shanghai,
China
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Went to Jinmao tower (420.5 meters), but instead of paying the 70 yuan entrance fee, I just had a coffee in the restaurant of the Grand Hyatt Hotel (53-87th floor), its a great place, the highest hotel above groundlevel of any towers in the whole world!Shanghai's tallest building is in full construction ( the Shanghai World Finance Building, what a technical name for such a beauty!), and when completed, will have 90 floors at a height of 460 meters!
The Shanghai museum is well worth a visit.
Also I have a stroll down Nanjing Road East, lots of fake brands in watches and bags on offer.Prostitution is rampant just on the same road, but only in the darkness of the Shanghai night.Street hookers, their english just enough to discreetly whisper the figures.
Elderly beggars on the same road.
The Huangpu river is also quite polluted.
Construction is going on everywhere, there is not much room for planning.
All this is the other side of the coin of Deng Hsiao Pings: "it does not matter if the cat is white or black, the most important thing is that she catches the mice"!or the comeback of capitalism in the People's Republic.
I managed to cross the Huangpu river in a 2 yuan (0,30 USD) ferry, similar to the Hongkong ferry, but dramatically less tradition.
I have the overall feeling that Shanghai in many ways tries to compete with its sister city Hongkong, and it might as well become one day China's most important port city along the coast.It's all a question of time!
Comments
Tom Well Done -Jerly van Berge Henegouwen
Hi Thomas ! What a great job you're doing! I can't hardly keep up man tracing you. Although absolutely damn proud of you, reading your travel blog makes me feel like I'm a 120 years old! Judging by your pace, I guess it's a piece of cake to be able to fulfill your dream to visit all 194 countries in your lifetime - you are almost there !I'm still on my 28th country and in deep contrast to your pace, I'll be damn ecstatic if I can add 10 more.
My father used to say to me that 'a rolling stone gathers no moss' - well, I'll probably rephrase it - 'a wandering thomas gathers up history moss'. You are some fellow - a travelling human machine. Half a century of existence well-spent indeed! You are one piece of living human history in the making and it will be just a matter of time before you'll reach that much coveted dream of yours...keep it up and hope to greet you personally at the finishing line...and perhaps another reggae party in Boracay dubbed by then as the 'triumph of the footloose' ,or 'the triumph of the Swiss wanderer'. Or I guess, I'll just write a book in my senior years entitled 'Tom, The Nomad I Know'.
Go for it my friend and conquer that dream ! Don't do anything I won't do ! Take good care, keep your hands in your pockets, and do nourish well that wandering soul of yours ! Break a leg and see you !Love - Jerly, Roel, Sarah, Tyrah
Tom - The Biggest Loser - Jerly
Hi Thomas,
It seems to me you could join the 'Biggest Loser' reality show. You've lost a lot of weight - your beer belly is disappearing. What I really mean to say is you look absolutely great, especially that cuddly picture of yours under the bamboo trees. You look so damn peaceful if not cute...
Heyy, carry on my dear friend...you've got the guts, you'll soon reap the glory... Sending you lots of love and kisses from this football-frenzy continent called Europe - Jerly, Roel, Sarah and Tyrah.