On the 27th of September we travelled up to Shanghai principally to meet my parents who were flying into China on the 29th. The first two nights we stayed with our friend Will at his place in south Shanghai, and on the second day, we made our way into Shanghai (not far west of People’s Square) where I bought a number of second hand vinyl LPs (records).
Albums I Acquired
- Aerosmith – Draw the line [US]
- David Bowie – Lodger [Japan]
- Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother [Japan – Sample]
- Beatles – In Concert at Whiskey Flat [Bootleg – Clear Yellow Vinyl]
- Rolling Stones – Dirty Work [Japan]
- Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV [Japan]
- Korn – Good God [US 12” Single]
- Deep Purple – Live in Japan [Japan]
- Rolling Stones – Tattoo You [Japan]
We later met up with Will’s girlfriend Fiona at Will’s place and ventured out for dinner. The next day, after a night of multiplayer Halo, we took the subway into the city to check into the managed apartment that we had booked for the nights of the 29th, 30th and 1st of October. We checked in without incident, then made our way out to Pudong airport to meet my parents.
Short on time, we opted to use the MagLev train, which ran at 330kms/hr. All up, we arrived about ten minutes late, but managed to find our guests just outside of the arrival gate. We returned via the MagLev (this time, the return leg at a whopping 440kms/hr) and dropped all baggage at the hotel.
Toni at the Bund Crossing to Pudong via underwater tunnel
Our first evening in Shanghai with my folks consisted of an orientation.. a sort of “welcome to Shanghai” experience, as we walked to People’s Square, the Bund and eventually via the tunnel to Pudong and ascending the Shanghai World Trade Centre Tower – all the way to the top viewing platform on the 100th floor!
Oriental Pearl Tower Shanghai Trade Centre
View from the 100th floor Descending
The next day was our Expo day. We took the subway south to the Puxi side of Expo (gate 2) and found our way to the ferry which took us across to the Pudong side of the river. We walked a long way around all of the major pavilions (split into geographic blocks) and had lunch and dinner on the expo grounds.
China Pavilion Expo Centre Spain Pavilion
United Kingdom Pavilion Australia Pavilion Pedestrian Walk
Night Time on Puxi Grounds
Our final day in Shanghai also happened to be the National holiday, and as such the city was packed. There were soldiers and flags everywhere, although all the shops and businesses seemed to be trading. We went to a number of shopping districts and bought a few items.
The next day we checked out of the hotel and took Mum to the Shanghai East Hospital. Once she had been seen, we made our way to the nearest City Shop where we acquired a number of food items we can’t find in HangZhou.
Our last stop was the far side of People’s Square but time, and a sea of people caused us to eventually abandon that plan just inside the Samsung building, and we had to quick march back to the hotel to get our bags and rush to the Shanghai South train station to catch our train to HangZhou.
To be continued.