Day 6
Now that we knew the city, we were raring to go. Well at least after a good workout at the gym. I am finding that I am actually better off if I put in 20-30 min of cardio and some really good stretching. The days that I skip this, my legs are usually fatigued and tight much quicker in the day. We have definitely put in some walking time in China. We both have found it great to be able to just stroll around and feel safe.
We started the day going under the river on the Bund Sightseeing tunnel. We had read not to have high expectations, so we didn't. But just as the reviews said, it was something we wanted to do before leaving. The pictures show it best, dark tunnel with random neon lights.
Wow, what happened to the Smog! Today was the first day we have seen the sun. Until now, it looks as though it is a bright moon behind some clouds. Today, bright and sunny! Perfect as we were in Pudong, the financial district, to go up the Financial Tower. The cool thing was that they had built an elevated walk way for a few blocks in the middle of the financial district. This keep walkers and tourists off the street level. It was very clean and beautiful. It was definitely set up to show business travelers how prominent Shanghai is. The buildings and streets were well manicured.
I have always had a thing for architecture, so I am always excited to see a skyline or go up in the tallest buildings. The Shanghai Financial Center was no let down. They had well done multimedia as you progressed to the high speed elevator. What made this 100th floor viewing unique was that there was clear glass flooring down the middle and on the edges. Very eery to be 100 floors above ground and seeing through the floor. Pretty sure that Kristen's heart rate was about 75% max as we had to cross the glass a few times! We were soo lucky that the smog was the best for viewing today. Best does not mean it was not there or visible. The lower levels of smog allowed us for at least a decent viewing from above Shanghai.
We made our way back across the river via water taxi for a whopping $0.33 per person. We ate lunch at Yu Yuan Gardens at Nanxing Steamed Bun Restaurant where we once again found ourselves trying to order food with non English translation. It was Dim Sum style, so we just pointed to what looked good. We went two for four on taste. The bad thing about this is that we cannot reorder what was good as we have no idea what it was. We finished the meal with crab dumplings which is what they are known for. The dumplings explode with juices when you bite into them, very delicious.
We spent the afternoon walking around the old city and the French Conscessions. We walked past the biggest Burberry, Prada, Gucci, etc.. Stores. Enormous and glamorous store fronts. We loved walked in the French Concession (once we found it in the inner alleys). The French have a huge influence obviously in this area as they were early settlers before Shanghai became part of China. The little shops were fun to peruse. We sat down at an outdoor bar, selling German beer while blaring American rap music in the French Concession. We decided not to stay since the beers were $10 and it didn't feel right with that mix.
We made our way back to the hotel to get our laundry! We had it done at Laundry Express (once again advice from Trip Advisor). We had two loads done within 24 hrs for about $22. A steal compared to the Radisson which charged $5 for boxers alone!! We showered up and made our way to the Shanghai Circus World by subway.
We arrived about an hour early so we decided to look for dinner. There was a local place on the corner that was busy, so we braved it and went in. No English translation again, seems to be a theme. We pointed to two pictures, egg fried rice and lo mein noodles, and a bottle of Tsungtao (sing Tao) for $5! An American couple walked in after us and asked to sit with us since it was packed. We were excited to meet Americans as we have only met one American couple in China. They were on their "honeymoon" one year later. I think they were excited to meet Americans also as they both talked at the same time a hundred miles an hour. It helped make the dinner more comforting as the restaurant was all locals and filled with smoke.
Chinese people love their cigarettes! Holy cow and everywhere. Luckily, most of these interior spaces we traveled banned it.
The Shanghai Circus World was AWESOME. It was an acrobatic show that had to be the back up crew for the Chinese Olympic Gymnastic team. Each performance out did the previous. The last act had motorbikes circling the inside of a round globe. I had seen this before. However, when they had seven bikes going at once, it was unbelievable. Additionally, rarely was anyone strapped in for safety. We winced a few time as we thought someone was going to fall, but all was successful. It was a blast of two hours! No pictures as they were obviously restricted as it would be dangerous for flashes to occur at the top of a huge human hamster wheel.
We packed our bags for an early departure the next day to Cambodia.
Pictures of Shanghai. CLICK HERE
Now that we knew the city, we were raring to go. Well at least after a good workout at the gym. I am finding that I am actually better off if I put in 20-30 min of cardio and some really good stretching. The days that I skip this, my legs are usually fatigued and tight much quicker in the day. We have definitely put in some walking time in China. We both have found it great to be able to just stroll around and feel safe.
Wow, what happened to the Smog! Today was the first day we have seen the sun. Until now, it looks as though it is a bright moon behind some clouds. Today, bright and sunny! Perfect as we were in Pudong, the financial district, to go up the Financial Tower. The cool thing was that they had built an elevated walk way for a few blocks in the middle of the financial district. This keep walkers and tourists off the street level. It was very clean and beautiful. It was definitely set up to show business travelers how prominent Shanghai is. The buildings and streets were well manicured.
I have always had a thing for architecture, so I am always excited to see a skyline or go up in the tallest buildings. The Shanghai Financial Center was no let down. They had well done multimedia as you progressed to the high speed elevator. What made this 100th floor viewing unique was that there was clear glass flooring down the middle and on the edges. Very eery to be 100 floors above ground and seeing through the floor. Pretty sure that Kristen's heart rate was about 75% max as we had to cross the glass a few times! We were soo lucky that the smog was the best for viewing today. Best does not mean it was not there or visible. The lower levels of smog allowed us for at least a decent viewing from above Shanghai.
We made our way back across the river via water taxi for a whopping $0.33 per person. We ate lunch at Yu Yuan Gardens at Nanxing Steamed Bun Restaurant where we once again found ourselves trying to order food with non English translation. It was Dim Sum style, so we just pointed to what looked good. We went two for four on taste. The bad thing about this is that we cannot reorder what was good as we have no idea what it was. We finished the meal with crab dumplings which is what they are known for. The dumplings explode with juices when you bite into them, very delicious.
We spent the afternoon walking around the old city and the French Conscessions. We walked past the biggest Burberry, Prada, Gucci, etc.. Stores. Enormous and glamorous store fronts. We loved walked in the French Concession (once we found it in the inner alleys). The French have a huge influence obviously in this area as they were early settlers before Shanghai became part of China. The little shops were fun to peruse. We sat down at an outdoor bar, selling German beer while blaring American rap music in the French Concession. We decided not to stay since the beers were $10 and it didn't feel right with that mix.
We made our way back to the hotel to get our laundry! We had it done at Laundry Express (once again advice from Trip Advisor). We had two loads done within 24 hrs for about $22. A steal compared to the Radisson which charged $5 for boxers alone!! We showered up and made our way to the Shanghai Circus World by subway.
We arrived about an hour early so we decided to look for dinner. There was a local place on the corner that was busy, so we braved it and went in. No English translation again, seems to be a theme. We pointed to two pictures, egg fried rice and lo mein noodles, and a bottle of Tsungtao (sing Tao) for $5! An American couple walked in after us and asked to sit with us since it was packed. We were excited to meet Americans as we have only met one American couple in China. They were on their "honeymoon" one year later. I think they were excited to meet Americans also as they both talked at the same time a hundred miles an hour. It helped make the dinner more comforting as the restaurant was all locals and filled with smoke.
Chinese people love their cigarettes! Holy cow and everywhere. Luckily, most of these interior spaces we traveled banned it.
The Shanghai Circus World was AWESOME. It was an acrobatic show that had to be the back up crew for the Chinese Olympic Gymnastic team. Each performance out did the previous. The last act had motorbikes circling the inside of a round globe. I had seen this before. However, when they had seven bikes going at once, it was unbelievable. Additionally, rarely was anyone strapped in for safety. We winced a few time as we thought someone was going to fall, but all was successful. It was a blast of two hours! No pictures as they were obviously restricted as it would be dangerous for flashes to occur at the top of a huge human hamster wheel.
We packed our bags for an early departure the next day to Cambodia.
Pictures of Shanghai. CLICK HERE
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