Travel in Shanghai- Day 1
I spent my past one week in three places but in the same country. I was in China from 1 Jan 2007 till 6 Jan 2007. First stop was Shanghai. And I also went to Hong Kong and Macau. (I’m stating correctly. Heez. Those two places are indeed in the same country now =P)
Day 1 Singapore- Shanghai
Flight from Singapore was at 8am which means that I have to reach airport at 6am!! Did not really have much sleep the night before. I did not get involved in the New Year countdown for the first time as far as I remember. I slept throughout the countdown, only to wake up at 1am. And start rolling on the bed before deciding to switch on the computer to check on the places that I plan to visit in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau.
Before travelling :
It’s good to do some background check on the transport and location so that one can get around easily and also to prevent on from looking like “sotong” (blur) when in foreign place. Oh ya, don’t just look at the screen only. Print it out or write it down somewhere. Pack some medications (like panadol and diahorrea preventive pills, you’ll never know). If there’s intention to go shopping or buy clothes, do not bring too many of them along. That was one thing which I forgot. Brought quite some clothings and in the end, I have to stuff my bag because I got myself additional three universities sweaters. Also, if you are planning to use any of your electrical components, bring along the adapter compatible with china’s power socket. The shape of the pin hole can be seen on the third photo of the motel 168 (on the left side, middle). There are two types of pin hole that can be used.
Back to my trip. I took Cathay Pacific from Changi Airport. Transit in Hong Kong and took Dragon Air to Shanghai. (Dragon Air??? Never heard of the airline before. Thought it was some unknown China airline. It turned out to be a Hong Kong airline) The flight was okay after all. Reach Shanghai around 4.30pm. By 5pm, it was already dark like 8pm in Singapore. It’s winter in Shanghai so the day is shorter.
Stayed in Motel 168 in Shanghai. (Motel?? not hotel??? Hey, although the name is motel, it’s actually a chain of hotels. There are more than 10 Motel 168 in Shanghai. And it’s a nice one too) Quite affordable for those who wants a clean, cheap and nice hotel. The one I stayed is just directly below the train station, which means a very nice location to move around. Or you can just take cab. Below are the pictures of the motel 168. (P/s: the bathroom is a bit too clear)
Places that I visited in Shanghai on day 1. I went to Yunnan Road to have dinner. It was recommended by the taxi driver. There are a lot of stalls along the road. Cheap and nice too. Especially the mutton satay.
Transportation in Shanghai
Overall is pretty good (but i’m not sure about the bus). The flag rate for taxi is RMB 11. and every 250 metres or so, it’ll be RMB 1. After 12am, the flag rate will be RMB 14. There won’t be additional surcharge. If you want to take subway in Shanghai, it’s possible and also cheaper than taxi. But you’ll need to travel before 10pm as the last train leaves around that time. Price starts from around RMB 3. There’s another mode of transport if you wish to travel from Pudong to Puxi. You can take the ferry which operates 24 hours. The fare is only RMB 2. But you’ll need to walk a very very long distance to the ferry terminal (which I did!!!)
Place of interest
I’m the type who go for scenery. Not really for shopping. If you want to do shopping, there’s one famous place in Shanghai which is Nanjing Road. There’s one whole stretch of shops for you to go to. But most shops sell branded stuff (I guess. Didn’t really walk around). And I only saw some stalls in the alleys which sell cheap (also pirated) accessories. Nanjing Road is the only place I went at night which has shopping element.
To go for sight-seeing, a must go place would be The Bund (chinese: “Wai Tan”). This place has very nice early 20th century British structures. They are all beautifully lighted at night. From the Bund, across the river would be Pudong, the new development area of Shanghai. There’s this very tall tower: Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower. There are quite a number of high-rise buildings as well. One of the more famous one would be Jin Mao Tower (I went up the tower on Day 2Â to the 87th floor out of 88). It’s definitely an unforgetable place to go to. Oh ya, most tower lights in Shanghai are switched off at 11pm so if you want to take nice photos, don’t wait till too late. One thing I realise is that the phrase “ye shanghai” (English: Shanghai Night)Â is only valid till 11pm!!
View at the Bund
View of Pudong from the Bund
Jin Mao Tower
Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower
That’s all for Day 1. Coming up: Day 2 in Shanghai
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