Shanghai: Out with the old!
Do I ever work? The answer is a resounding NO. And I love it.
After an amazing time in Australia, I came back to Korea, rested a bit, went to school for a week (not to teach, but just to sit and "attend") and then left for China.
I know everyone says "How did you get Steph?", and "You sure are lucky" and "You don't deserve her, you tall..." (Yeah, some people go a little overboard), but she outdid herself this time. Steph planned all the flights, hotels, the sleeper train and the sights to see in China! All I did was show up and pose for pictures. Sweet deal!
Shanghai is only 2 hours by plane, but it takes 5+ hours to get to the Seoul airport from our town, so no flight is a short one. Again, no one minds any inconvenience when they are heading off on vcation. We arrived in Shanghai, and immediately noticed what everyone told us: Everything looks new and everything is built on a massive scale. The city of 18 million is striving to be the financial center and the prime international destination in China, and all I can say is - Wow.
After a 150Y ($25)/40 minute cab ride from the biggest airport I have ever seen (and a equal sized addition almost completed to its side) we arrived at our Hotel; The Panorama (
31°14'46.70"N 121°29'12.94"E). Located right in the Bund district, on the Huangpu River, we were in the middle of everything! To make matters even better, we were even upgraded to a suite, which was far better than my fears a week earlier when we heard the hotel had a recent "change in management" and was unable to confirm our reservations!
Every morning we ate breakfast at the top floor restaurant, overlooking the Bund and Pudong districts. It was unreal. We spent our 4 days walking the riverfront, shopping on Nanjing street (with every other person in China), sitting in People's Park and People's Square (31°13'52.69"N 121°28'11.17"E), braving the crowds at the "Old Shanghai" Yuyuan markets (31°13'47.33"N 121°29'11.54"E) (you begin to see that Markets were a focal point for one of us!!!), gazing at the Oriental Pearl(31°14'29.31"N 121°29'43.68"E) and taking riverboats up the Huangpu. Steph even took me up to the 56th floor of the Jin Mao Building (31°14'14.28"N 121°30'4.61"E) (The tallest hotel in the world) for my birthday dinner!
Shanghai is developing at a ridiculous pace. Blocks upon blocks of Hutongs (old traditional houses) lie in semi-gutted conditions, walls broken down and roofs removed to make them inhospitable, clearly in wait for another enormous apartment complex to take over the land. The progress of this can be seen clearly in pictures displayed in the center of the new financial district of Pudong(31°14'22.96"N 121°30'7.78"E). Pictures taken every year show the "Out with the old" process from 1993 and on... Amazing.
Visiting Shanghai on Lunar New Year is a wild experience to say the least. Lucky for us, being as tall as we are, the crowds practically parted as we walked through them. Unlike in Korea, the stares were usually followed with a smile, as well as a friendly "Nihow". It was an incredible place, but still exhausting.
Check out the rest of our pictures!
After an amazing time in Australia, I came back to Korea, rested a bit, went to school for a week (not to teach, but just to sit and "attend") and then left for China.
I know everyone says "How did you get Steph?", and "You sure are lucky" and "You don't deserve her, you tall..." (Yeah, some people go a little overboard), but she outdid herself this time. Steph planned all the flights, hotels, the sleeper train and the sights to see in China! All I did was show up and pose for pictures. Sweet deal!Shanghai is only 2 hours by plane, but it takes 5+ hours to get to the Seoul airport from our town, so no flight is a short one. Again, no one minds any inconvenience when they are heading off on vcation. We arrived in Shanghai, and immediately noticed what everyone told us: Everything looks new and everything is built on a massive scale. The city of 18 million is striving to be the financial center and the prime international destination in China, and all I can say is - Wow.
After a 150Y ($25)/40 minute cab ride from the biggest airport I have ever seen (and a equal sized addition almost completed to its side) we arrived at our Hotel; The Panorama (31°14'46.70"N 121°29'12.94"E). Located right in the Bund district, on the Huangpu River, we were in the middle of everything! To make matters even better, we were even upgraded to a suite, which was far better than my fears a week earlier when we heard the hotel had a recent "change in management" and was unable to confirm our reservations!Every morning we ate breakfast at the top floor restaurant, overlooking the Bund and Pudong districts. It was unreal. We spent our 4 days walking the riverfront, shopping on Nanjing street (with every other person in China), sitting in People's Park and People's Square (31°13'52.69"N 121°28'11.17"E), braving the crowds at the "Old Shanghai" Yuyuan markets (31°13'47.33"N 121°29'11.54"E) (you begin to see that Markets were a focal point for one of us!!!), gazing at the Oriental Pearl(31°14'29.31"N 121°29'43.68"E) and taking riverboats up the Huangpu. Steph even took me up to the 56th floor of the Jin Mao Building (31°14'14.28"N 121°30'4.61"E) (The tallest hotel in the world) for my birthday dinner!Shanghai is developing at a ridiculous pace. Blocks upon blocks of Hutongs (old traditional houses) lie in semi-gutted conditions, walls broken down and roofs removed to make them inhospitable, clearly in wait for another enormous apartment complex to take over the land. The progress of this can be seen clearly in pictures displayed in the center of the new financial district of Pudong(
31°14'22.96"N 121°30'7.78"E). Pictures taken every year show the "Out with the old" process from 1993 and on... Amazing.Visiting Shanghai on Lunar New Year is a wild experience to say the least. Lucky for us, being as tall as we are, the crowds practically parted as we walked through them. Unlike in Korea, the stares were usually followed with a smile, as well as a friendly "Nihow". It was an incredible place, but still exhausting.
Check out the rest of our pictures!
Labels: Bund, China, Jin Mao, Oriental Pearl, Panorama, Pudong, Shanghai, Waldo
posted by Brent at 9:25 p.m.
3 Comments:
Love that last photo.
And yes... how did you get someone like Steph? You lucky devil you.
:P
You'd think the roofies whould have worn off by now.
Nice work Poolie!!
Actually, I used my club and I dragged her home by the hair!!!
Ug, ug! Me like you woman!
You come with me!
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