Pops' China Travel Guide, The Trip Home

Well, I finished my business in China. It was a full 8 days in Shanghai with a day trip to Beijing thrown in. A lot was accomplished and there was also time for some sightseeing and nightlife. Now it's time to come home.

I wrote about this in a previous post but I decided to take a taxi to the Maglev station and then took the Maglev to the airport. The Maglev is a high speed train that rides on a magnetic field. There are no tracks or wheels. There are only a few in the world and none are used in the same way as it is in Shanghai.

The cost is really cheap, 50 Yuan, and very easy to use. You just have the taxi drop you off at the station, go upstairs and buy a ticket. The Maglev turns a 40 min taxi ride into a 6 min train ride. The end of the line is between terminal 1 and 2 at the airport. It doesn't get much easier. The Maglev topped out at a speed of 301 kph or about 180 mph. Try it if you are in Shanghai, it's a once in a lifetime experience.

The flight home was easy on Delta to Seattle. With movies on demand I was able to get caught up on the Hobbit movies. On the way to Shanghai I was able to see all the Oscar nominated movies. My only regret was I missed the Chinese Grand Prix. If the race wasn't on Easter I would have stayed a few days longer.

The good news is I have been back a week and jet-lag never set in. That is a first for me.

Next trip for me is a week in South Lake Tahoe next month.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Pudong Shangri-La

Shangri-La is in center

When I travel I usually look at a hotel as a place to get dressed in the morning and sleep at night. It's not often when a hotel stands out and I am fine with a normal hotel.

On this trip I stayed at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai. The hotel is located across the river from The Bund in Pudong and actually right across the street from the river and next door to the Super Brand Mall. It is in a convenient location close to eating, shopping and also in the heart of the business district. The Shangri-La caters to business travelers and spares no expense. The service was impeccable from the greeting in the lobby to check-in and check-out. In the lobby you are greeted as you enter the door, at the elevators there is someone to help you and if you have a puzzled look on your face there will be someone there asking if they can help. At check-in someone brought up a large pot of hot tea. Everyday in the room I had fresh fruit and cookies. The rooms are large with both a tub and separate shower. The China Daily was delivered to my room.

River Tower Lounge

The layout of the hotel has two towers, the Grand Tower and the River Tower with a lobby for each tower and in between are lounges and shops. I stayed in the River Tower. For amenities I took advantage of the fitness center and pool, the Jade Bar, the Yi Cafe and the shops. There were other restaurants in the hotel but I didn't have a chance to try them. Maybe next time.

The fitness center equipment rivaled what you would find in the best workout clubs and the pool was a nice lap pool. The Jade Bar is on the top,36th floor, of the Grand Tower. I got to know the bar manager who happened to be from Malaysia and we had stories to share about Malaysia. I also met Jackie who was one of the servers. You get a great view of the area from up there and every night they had some kind of special. The Yi Cafe is buffet style and you need a map to get around. For both dinner or breakfast they have stations with most every type of food. I saw western, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Thai, Sushi, juice bars, pastry, fruit and cheese, and the list goes on. I would definitely recommend trying it out even if you are not staying there. There are two lounges, each close to each lobby. They offer a great place to relax. The lounge by the River Tower has high tea in the afternoon and faces the river. Early on in my stay I was sitting in the lobby waiting for someone and I heard music that I thought was piped in. I looked over and there was someone playing the harp.Other days they had piano and violins. The shops included a gift shop, clothing store and a cigar shop. On the second floor I saw a tailor for hand made suits.

Yi Cafe

Jade Bar

Within a block of the hotel are two shopping malls and a number of restaurants from all over the world. Across the street is a promenade that follows the river. Attractions like the Jin Mao Tower, Pearl Tower and aquarium are all within walking distance.

I'll take the time to write about a hotel if it is memorable. This was one of the best experiences I have had with a hotel. If you are going to Shanghai for business or pleasure and want to be pampered then the Shangri-La is the place for you.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

Shanghai is a city with two personalities. The Bund side has the older personality where the Pudong side is young and growing all the time. Shanghai is also an international city. Just look at the options to eat. Within a block from my hotel on the Pudong side I had a Hooters, TGI Friday, Paulaner's Munich Brauhaus, McDonalds, KFC, Italian, Australian among others to choose from. For shopping I had the Super Brand Mall next door to my hotel and the IFC mall across the street.

The Super Brand Mall is a nine story mall with every type of shop, restaurant, drug store and supermarket. The IFC mall has to be the most high end mall I have ever been in. In there I saw Tiffany, Cartier, Armani, De Beers, Mikimoto, Louis Vuitton to name a few. Also in the area are some of the tallest high rises in China and the world.

Super Brand Mall

Although there is very little history on the Pudong side there is still a lot to see and do. You need to check out both sides of the river.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

My last day in Shanghai I decided to walk the Bund area. Being on the Pudong side of the river I had to get across the river to get to the Bund. The Bund is along the river with a nice river promenade. There are really 4 ways to get across the river. By taxi you can take one of the tunnels under the river. Also, by taxi you can cross the river by one of the many bridges. The cost by taxi will run you about 25 yuan. You can also take a ferry to the other side. The cost for the ferry is 2 yuan. The last way across the river is by a driverless cable car that will not only take you to the other side but also puts on a light show in the tunnel. The cost of the cable car is 50 yuan. All prices were each way. Depending on your timing they all take about the same amount of time. For this trip I took the ferry to the Bund and then took the cable car back.

Shanghai is not an old city comparable to other cities in China. The buildings in the Bund are maybe 100 years or so old. For me the best part of the Bund is walking the promenade and enjoying the views of Pudong. The views are iconic and what they show when they talk about Shanghai.

Unfortunately, it had rained that morning. I was able to take a lot of pictures but didn't come out like they would on a clear day. It may look like smog, and in China you might think that is what it was, but it was just overcast that day. Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

Well, I'm back from China. Sorry that the posts stopped. China blocks social media such as Facebook and Twitter. All of a sudden my access to my own blog stopped. So now I'll get you up to date.

Over the weekend I took my co-worker from Ireland on a tour of Shanghai. We went to the Yu Garden and sampled the night life of Shanghai. Since we are both Liverpool fans we watched the Liverpool vs Manchester City match on Sunday night at the Shanghai Brewery in the French Concession.

I did something on Wednesday I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy. For work I did a day trip to Beijing to visit a customer. The flight from Shanghai to Beijing is about 2 hours. I left the hotel at 6am and arrived in Beijing at 10:40am. After a day with the customer I flew back at 8pm and arrived back at my hotel at 11:30pm. That was too long of a day! Highlights of the day were having Peking Duck for lunch and buying duck tongue at the airport to bring back to the states. I am bringing the duck tongue to my cooks at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Folsom.

My next post will be pictures that I took during the trip.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

The last two nights Pops explored the Shanghai Nightlife. Xintiandi (New Heaven and Earth) is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district. The district is composed of an area of reconstituted traditional mid-19th century shikumen ("stone gate") houses on narrow alleys, and some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls. Most of the cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seating. Xintiandi has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends, though it is a more quite setting than loud music and dance places. It is considered one of the first lifestyle centers in China.

Xintiandi is the locatoin of the first congress of the Communist Party of China and is now preserved at the Museum of the First National congress of the Communist Party. Also nearby are the Shikumen Open House Museum an the site of the Provisional Government of the Republic or Korea when Korea was a Japanese colony. 

Now it is a place full of restaurants, bars and places to shop. We ate dinner at the Paulaner Brauhaus from Munich and had some traditional German food. After that we walked around checking out the shops before ending up at TMSK to have a few drinks and listen to the music. We sat outside which most bars and restaurants have outdoor seating. 

Last night we wanted to watch the Liverpool/Manchester City match and found out where the local Liverpool fan club hangs out. We went to the Shanghai Brewery in the French Concession are of Shanghai. Shanghai is a very large city made up of distinct sections. It's amazing to see how many expats you see and to also see how much fun they are having living in shanghai. I want to talk more about that in another post.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

Today is Saturday here and we went to the Yuyuan Garden. There you will find thousands of shops and places to eat. If you can't find a present there to bring home it doesn't exist. I ended up buying a hand carved stamp for the children with their names in English and Chinese. Each stamp has a figure depicting the year they were born. One is a rabbit and the other a snake.

The cool thing about the area around Yuyuan Garden is the architecture. It was built during the Ming Dynasty and is very beautiful. The garden itself charges an entrance fee but the rest of the area is free. Inside the garden you will see a 4 meter high rock of jade. It is considered one of the top 3 rocks in China.

I would say this is one of the top attractions in Shanghai. It is easy to get there and is located on the Bund side of the river. Our taxi from Pudong was 20 yuan.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

After work today we decided to have a drink before dinner. I can think of no better place to have a drink and enjoy the view of Shanghai than the Cloud 9 Bar in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the Jin Mao Tower.

The Cloud 9 Bar is located on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower and is part of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The hotel itself is pretty high as the lobby is located on the 54th floor and the hotel goes up from there. Once inside the bar you can enjoy 360 degree views of Shanghai.

The journey itself is an adventure as it takes 3 elevators to get there. They have a happy hour, all tables have a view and you can order food to go with your drink.

Take the time to see for yourself. The Jin Mao Tower is located in Pudong, close to the Pearl Tower.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

It's a beautiful day here in Shanghai. The view from my room is a lot different during the day. From my room I can see across the river to the Bund. I counted at least 7 high rises going up in the Bund area.

Today is a work day but this weekend I'll be able to do some exploring.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

I made it to Shanghai and am checked in to the hotel. I have a great room on the 11th floor overlooking the river. I think I'm due for a quick trip to the bar and then call it a night. The picture from my room didn't turn out great but I'll try again in the morning with less glare.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

I'm on my way to China. Drove from Sacramento to San Francisco and dropped the car off again at Skypark. I love Skypark as I can just drive up leave the car and board the shuttle for my terminal. They park the car for you and retrieve it when you come back. This takes some of the hassle out of flying.

I am currently in Seattle waiting for my connecting flight. My flight to Shanghai is 13 hours and will get me into Shanghai at about 6pm tomorrow Shanghai time which is 3am Pacific time. Because of that and they offer movies on demand I'll stay awake the entire trip. After checking into the hotel, telling everyone back home I made it safe and a trip to the bar it should be around 10pm and I will sleep great and will be ready for a full day on Friday.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

Pudong Showing Shangri La Hotel in Middle

Well, I received my VISA today and so I am set for the trip on April 9th. The VISA process using CBIT took about one week. I now have everything complete except packing my bag which I'll start this weekend.

1. VISA application is complete and back from CBIT
2. Flight and hotel is booked
3. Reservation at Skypark at SFO is complete
4. Reservations and itinerary have been printed out
5. Printed destinations in both English and Chinese to give to taxi drivers 

I also found something useful from a previous trip to Shanghai. The Sofitel Hotel I stayed at handed out a three fold business card when you checked in that had the address and name of the hotel in both English and Chinese. It also included a map and three other sections divided into sightseeing, shopping and nightlife. All with names in both English and Chinese. This is in the size of a typical business card. Ask your hotel when you check in, they may have something similar. 

Because exchanging currency outside of the hotel is sometimes tricky in China I am taking some cash but will be using ATMs if I need money. Before you leave let your bank know you will be in China. Otherwise they may deny the transaction. 

I'll be staying at the Shangri La Hotel in Pudong. The pictures above are of Pudong. The hotel can be seen in the middle of the bottom picture.

I'll send updates when I get there on the 10th.