7:36 PM (Shanghai time) - My
very last “currently sitting on a plane” blog post. So incredibly sad. Leaving
Shanghai was probably the hardest city to say goodbye to as it definitely stole
my heart. Leaving Shanghai also marked the unofficial end of our trip and
thinking about that alone gets me every time.
4:52 PM (Vancouver time) - Never
mind, I lied. One more “on a plane” post. We just took off from Vancouver
airport about half an hour ago, en route to Toronto. Did you see what just
happened there? Casually went back in time as Vancity is 9 hours behind
Shanghai – it’s a pretty cool feeling to get 9 hours of your life back. Though
I have to account for the three-hour time difference between Vancouver and
Toronto… my mind is hurting just figuring out what day it is. I feel far from
normal right now and there are a zillion factors that can explain why – first,
we’ve obviously gotten used to China time. Trying super hard not to fall asleep
on the plane right now just so I can go to bed tonight – quite the challenge as
it’s technically 5 AM. Being in three time zones in just 12 hours can really
make things fuzzy haha. Also, it’s hard for me to grasp that this morning, I
woke up in Shanghai and will go to bed in Mississauga. It’s scarily incredible
how accessible the world is.
I’m
trying to make up my mind on whether or not I preferred a direct, 15-hour
flight versus splitting it 10 and 5. I’ve been trying to avoid writing my
Shanghai blog post because it’s so sad to relive it but I know I’ll kick myself
if I didn’t have it done by the time I got home so here it goes!
Shanghai
was definitely one of my favourite destinations and if I were to rank which
city I’d be more likely to re-visit, Shanghai would top this list. In short, it
was the perfect balance between city center and traditional China. In short,
one of my favourite aspects of Shanghai was how easy it was to switch between
two extremes. For example, crossing the ____ River to get to downtown Shanghai
was like looking into the future. The architecture was cooler than anything
I’ve ever seen in Toronto. The skyline boasts some of the tallest buildings in
the world, encompassed by the most extravagant array of international designer
stores. Then you take a quick 15-minute subway ride and you end up in old
Shanghai – temples and dirt roads. Truly unbelievable.
We
came full circle with this last destination. Not only were there crazy
similarities to Hong Kong, we also decided to stay in a hostel (Blue Mountain) instead. Best decision
ever – not only was dirt cheap, it was a 5 minute walk from a key area called The Bund and we were able to meet some
really awesome people along the way. Hayley, Justin and I shared a room and to
think that (aside from Wuhu), this was probably the nicest and cleanest
accommodation we had on this trip. The rooms were modern with this gorgeous
curved wall window with a view of the city. One of our favourite things about
the hostel was its homey look and feel. There was an awesome on-site bar and
lounge with couches, books, TVs and computers, as well as this huge outdoor
patio/rooftop with a pool table and a killer view. I thought I enjoyed our HK
hostel but this was ten folds better (and cheaper?!?).
After
we checked in, we left to explore the area. The Bund is a central location in
Shanghai and looks like a mini, Asian Time Square. Lights, billboards and music
– absolutely gorgeous. At various points on the strip, it’s taken over by
pedestrians so cars don’t really drive through it, which is nice. This area is
home to a wide range of shops, restaurants and businesses – from high end
Cartier to local street meat vendors, you name it, it has it. Ice cream seemed
to be a theme of the trip, so we took an ice cream break at some side street
vendor and did some people watching. A lot of the buildings have a European
look at feel to them, so sometimes it doesn’t even feel like you’re in Asia. We
walked to the river and pretty sure all of us suffered a major case of déjà vu.
It was like HK all over again – being hit with the most stunning river skyline
on a busy boardwalk. Something about these skylines, I will never get bored of.
As we ventured along the river, we came across a hidden gem – an entertainment
area called Bar City (?), which was
a collection of boutique shops and international restaurants. To celebrate the
end of the conferenced, patio pints of Tsingtao was in order so we chose a Thai
bistro to sit and soak up the view. Let’s be real, when I say we wanted to
celebrate, we wanted to celebrate. So
the game plan was to grab dinner and experience Shanghai nightlife.
One
of Justin’s friends did an exchange in Shanghai and recommended to us a very
popular dumpling house called Yang’s
Dumplings. Apparently on busy days, they sell out before the evening! Took
us a lifetime to find but it was worth the wait. Drooling as I type – some of
the best deep fried dumplings I have ever had. The cooks make them in a glass
room, so you can watch as they make your meal! A bunch of the guys went back
for seconds the next day for more of its goodness.
Annnnd
it’s finally time to drink. One of the things I will miss the most about China
is how cheap alcohol is. It’s stupid cheap. You can pick up a six pack at any
random street corner store or supermarket for less than 2 bucks… how do you
ever go back to paying Canadian alcohol prices?!?! After picking up some
drinks, we headed to the rooftop patio for our typical life chats but at that
time, who knew how the night would
end up.
There
were two Chinese girls who sat close to us but we automatically assumed that
they didn’t know a word of English until they turned around and asked to join
us. These girls came off as crazy but we loved every minute of it LOL. Turned
out that (well… to this day, we still aren’t too sure what they reaallllly do) their friends are club
promoters slash own clubs slash they work there themselves (who knows).
Realistically, none of these details matter when they invite to take you out to
a Shanghai club with free bottle service ;). Accepting a stranger’s offer to
take you out drinking in a foreign city probably isn’t the smartest thing to do
but… when in Rome. Hailing down a cab was like asking to get hit by a car.
No comments:
Post a Comment