Shanghai Shenanigans

China was never really on my bucket list, but one fine morning when I got an email saying an official workout in Shanghai, I was super kicked! My first thoughts- stock up on food!

A colleague and I hence started planning our trip. We landed in Shanghai on a Saturday afternoon and entered immigration - you insert your passport for scanning and the biometrics instructions are in Hindi! Woah! After that pleasant surprise we set out to our hotel - first impressions - hmmm.. quite like Mumbai, India - similar high rise apartments, population, way of life, only very very clean.

Upon checking in, we immediately set out to explore the city. We had our top picks selected on Visit a City ( I think I should become the brand ambassador for the app) and we picked the areas which were good for the evening- Bund, World Financial Center, Pearl tower etx. Whatsapp and Google dont work too well in China, on the Iphone it works a bit though.. But you basically need patience to wait for the site to load.. All said and done it's still a Life saver!

How to navigate in China like a Chinese - tip #1 - English isnt spoken or understood by cab drivers - ensure you have a chinese version of the places you want to visit - google maps displays the chinese name below the english name for most spots.

We headed to the Bund and 2 things we noticed - Spectacular view of the high rises on the riverside and A glimpse of China’s population! Nevertheless totally worth it!

30mins and a zillion photos later we headed to the other side of the river to the SWFC ( Shanghai World Financial Center). Traffic in Shanghai is like in Bangalore - barely moving! We reached SWFC, took tickets to get to the 100th floor of one of the tallest buildings in the world. The view when you get there is worth the long queues, the 100 stairs climbed and the cost of the ticket! Absolutely gorgeous view of Shanghai’s skyline. We returned tired, ate our food which we carried and crashed.

The next morning we woke up to heavy rains - turns out that there was a typhoon which had hit and I hate rains when I travel! But the enthu us couldn't sit in the hotel.. so we enquired of places which were somewhat enclosed to visit. We were told - "Take Taxi, metro crowded". We eventually didn't follow that for sure! Anyhow, First stop - Jianin Temple. One of the old temples housing a big Jade Buddha statue, it was crowded despite the rains. I like the spirit of Chinese tourists :P After spending some time there we walked down Nanjing road W which is the shoppers street lined up with the top luxury brands from around the world #NotInTheBudget

After an hour of walking around and many failed attempts at hailing a taxi, we took a tram to a middle spot and then a taxi to Yu Garden area. Here is a garden, surrounded by small chinese shops, a Tea House and the City God temple. This area is a world in itself - with small stores to buy souvenirs, quirky items, silk goods etc, it gives a good glimpse into the chinese culture. After a short visit to the City God temple our stop was the Tea House which is built on stilts! You should go in, sit, relax, order yourself a pot of jasmine or chrysanthemum flower tea and watch the flower bloom in your tea pot! That was the best 1hour spent - watching the rain, sipping relaxing tea, eating dried raisins as chakna! There are many more places we wanted to visit in Shanghai, but thanks to the rains, we couldn't cover them. Also most temples/tourist attractions close by 4/5pm and hence plan accordingly. We now had just weeknights to experience Shanghai.

One of our colleagues had advised us - “Don't attempt the metro” and the adventurous us did exactly the opposite. We were in a local mall doing some window shopping and decided to go to the main shopping area of Nanjing road East by metro since both of us didn't want to go through the pain of explaining to a taxi guy where to take us. #Facepalm. A quick look at the map, a few clicks on the ticketing machine and we were on our way!

How to navigate China like a Chinese - Tip #2 - The metro is the most easy, convenient and affordable mode of transport and the machines are in English & did I mention not having to play dumb charades with someone on where we wanted to go! Big + +

The rain gods had decided to play Murphy’s law with us during our entire trip and our walk down Nanjing road was filled with pitstops due to rain. Nanjing road east is a great way to spend an evening - among neon lights of the buildings, some great bargains and some ice cream; ending the day with a bag full of quirkies from Miniso (I think I’m in love with that shop)! We then grabbed a metro, got back to the hotel, ate our Theplas and upma made in Wine glasses and crashed.

How to navigate China like a Chinese - Tip #3 - there is no concept of a queue; survival of the fittest, fastest plays everywhere!A walk down the road, or a ride through the metro is always accompanied with a lot of nudges, shoves. Hence be prepared.

On one of the weeknights, we decided to visit the Underground market at AP Plaza located below the Science and Technology museum, right at the metro exit and it is a Must Visit just to have fun bargaining! This markets hosts all the fake versions of luxury brands - watches, bags, belts, clothes etc. The prices start at 100% markup and you can bargain your way out. We bought 4 backpacks, initially quoted at 8000 rmb for 450 rmb!! Its a lot of fun just listening to their impeccable english (learnt from some tv shows) and their mannerisms! Just be careful that you start bargaining on price only if you are sure you want that product.

One of the other memorable experiences in Shanghai is the ride on the MagLev. The Magnetic Levitation train was first operational in 2004 and has since then been ferrying passengers from the airport to the city or vice versa in flat 10 mins!! We decided to take a joy ride in the MagLev one evening and it was amazing! Must do!

Food was a challenge for us since both were vegetarians and we had to carry our own food. We were pleasantly surprised with having an Indian counter at the hotel which dolled up roti, sabji and even masala dosai with dal makhni!! Never imagined that one! Being a vegetarian in China is a tough task- hence carry your food!

Shanghai is the financial capital with the neon lights and high rises. Technologically they are very very advanced, they have 3 Level Flyovers all across the city! They are the master of all quirky things - eg: parents have wrist leashes for children so that they aren't lost in the crowd! Who would have thought of that! However, language is still difficult as a tourist since everyone mostly speaks Chinese. It has been a great experience using a mix of translation apps, broken english and a never ending game of charades to try and get directions. The typhoon mania continued as our next stop was Beijing and a typhoon was expected the day before we flew out. But nevertheless, we were at the airport on our last day, waiting for our flight to Beijing.

Next up the Blistering Beijing Barnacles!

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The Bund -