So I’m almost a week behind in posting about the rest of my trip during Chinese New Year. I just haven’t felt like writing. Not that this part of the trip is too terribly exciting either. Anyway, I arrived in Shanghai Thursday mid-morning and had to figure out the best way to get to the city and find my hotel. Someone at the airport told me which bus to take into town and which stop to get off at. Luckily as we were driving through town on the bus, I saw where my hotel was located. About five minutes later the bus stopped and I started my trek to the hotel. It was starting to rain just a little bit, but I pushed on! I finally found my hotel, checked in, and decided it was time to eat so I set off in search of some food. I was in the mood for Chinese, but it is so difficult to find a decent Chinese restaurant over here. I kid, I kid! 🙂 After lunch I decided to walk around a bit and headed to the Bund. This is Shanghai’s riverwalk like area, but doesn’t have too much to do (unless you want to buy a bunch of tourist crap). It does have a beautiful view though and I enjoyed walking along it, except for the bitter cold wind. Shanghai is like the New York of the east, there are skyscrapers everywhere and more being built everyday. After walking around the Bund, I headed to the older part of Shanghai, but decided to save more of that for the next day. I wanted to take some time to relax so it was back to the hotel. I had dinner out that night and with it being so cold decided to stay in.
Friday I woke up ready to see Old Shanghai and the Yu Yuan Gardens. Again the weather was bitter cold, but I forged on. By lunchtime I was a popsicle, so I bought some postcards, grabbed some lunch, and went to the hotel bar to write my postcards and stay warm. Again I had a relaxing afternoon, but headed out once more for dinner. I walked along the Bund and ate at a restaurant right on the water.
Saturday I was heading back to Beijing in the late afternoon, so I took my time getting ready Saturday morning. Around noon I headed towards the airport. I had heard that there was a Hooters in Shanghai, which in fact is the only one in China. After being away from the States for almost a month, I was craving some chicken wings, so I stopped at Hooters for lunch and then headed to the airport to catch my plane back to Beijing.
I know there was probably so much more that I could have seen and done in Shanghai, but I was happy with what I got to see and do there. I get bored going to museums by myself, so I didn’t go to any of the ones in Shanghai. I felt that I got a good feel for the city though and would definitely like to go back and spend more time exploring it. Shanghai just doesn’t seem to be as rich in history as Beijing or Xi’an.