Hotels in Shanghai

Wifi Sucks overall in China, it is a hassle to access gmail if you have a google account. As for search engines you have to use Yahoo or Bing as Google really sucks over there. I hired a month of VPN for my phone with an app called SurfEasy VPN and the problem was sorted I could access everything from google to facebook to instagram. Shanghai is damn polluted, this really sucks the way of life of this amazing city. People from China do not have cleanliness customs. People never cover their cough, we returned with a cold, nothing bad but hey after spending a week travelling in the metro with lots of people coughing and the pollution levels really high its the least one could expect. Use the metro, its cheap, its great and takes you everywhere in a flash. Find apps that will help you move around if you don´t know Chinese. I used PLECO, WAYGO and AIR QUALITY. They really helped us out in situations where language becomes a barrier, which is... well.... always... Do plan your days, you could expecto to go to markets for two hours and then you find out you´ve spent half a day, so really plan your trip... Careful with alcohol, as we´ve heard that illegal alcohol is very common in Shanghai nowadays, try and have bottled beer instead of draft and make sure they serve the drink in front of you... People in restaurants and cafes have very nice service, but in the public way its a jungle. People do not cover their cough, dont even try to get out of the way when walking past and forget about social and transit rules when crossing the street.... seriously, be careful when on the streets, people are mad...

Transport is very good, trains and taxi's were easy to navigate and cheap. For taxi's you need to have the destination written down in Chinese. Hotel staff can help here. The hotel had pre printed destinations on a card which helped. Shopping is generally more expensive than the UK. Google, titter and facebook do not operate in China, (they have a Chinese equivalent) so mapping etc has to be done the old fashion way. (Microsoft Bing seemed to work). WhatsApp also worked. We were in China for ten nights two of which were in Shanghai so not much time to see the city, we did cover the following; 1) World Financial Centre - Head to the observation deck 2) The Bund at night - Great vista across the river 3) Night River cruise - Huangpu River 4) YuYuan Gardens - Beautiful garden but the area around it is a must see at night, eat on the street and forget about a restaurant this night. 5) Peoples Square and the Exhibition and Planning Hall - third floor must see 6) Ninghai E Road - Shopping 7) Bus Tour - hop on and hop off, worth doing if you do not have much time. We travelled into Shanghai from Ningpo via train and flew out from Pudong Airport. We took a taxi and the maglev train from our hotel to the airport which I think was the right choice. 30mins in a taxi to the maglev train and 8 Mins to the airport at 441km/hr.

Food and shopping. Shopping:- 1. Nanjing Road both East and West, 2. HuaHai Road for luxurious brands and X'mas deco, 3. Xin Tian Di for the ancient architect of the building vs trendy retail shops, 4. QiPu wholesale malls Food:- 1. Wong Bao He Restaurant- with more than a century of history. Must try their hairy crab and other famous crab dishes though they come with high price tags but to me it was so worth it especially the hairy crab. Fresh and juicy meat with very creamy roe. 2. Huang He Road food street for cheap and delicious Shanghainese food like Jia Jia Tang Bao, Xiao Yang Sheng Jian and Ah Yi Milk Tea. The glutinous rice milk tea is a MUST try. Ask for more glutinous rice if you enjoy it as much as I do. 3. Cheng Huang Temple- for the local delights as souvenirs to bring home. Nice glutinous rice cracker but a little too sweet. Try to avoid Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, to me it was overrated and not worth the space of my stomach.

Shanghai is great place to explore. Puxi has a great deal of historic places of interest where one gets to experience the combination of old historical buildings housing modern facilities and shops. Pudong has all the ultra modern skyscrapers with modern shopping malls. It is quite a contrast and that's the beauty of the city. Travelling around in taxis are convenient though it could be a bit havoc when walking on the streets as silent scooters whizz past haphazardly. You need to keep an eye on the road especially crossing one as the cars do not treat you respectfully.Cars honking are a norm. It make one wonders if you take away their car horns, they are able to drive.

Shanghai was an interesting transit stop over - We took advantage of the 72 hour Visa on our way home from Australia to the UK. It was interesting to visit but I would not return due to the pollution and cost involved. Flying out of Shanghai, the severity of the pollution was seen from the sky. It was as if we were flying out of a nicotene stained landscape into blue skies. For miles (appeared hundreds of miles) you could see the true scale of the factories that create the pollution. With the skyscrapers - really - you could be in any city so it was fabulous to visit Old Shanghai and remember you are actually in China.

A small but very cosy Huaihai park. Super street musician there. Mercato restaurant (italian) at 'Three at the Bund'. Avoid couples who start by asking you to take a photo of them, then chat with you for quite some time and end up inviting you to a tea ceremony where you would have to pay too much. The ceremony was actually good but I guess way too expensive (I don't remember how much we paid because I was there two years ago, this time I avoided going there after being caught on the same scenario close to old town). The city itself is full of contrast - very rich and modern parts go hand in hand with the old and poor ones. It is way too dirty in certain areas, but very clean and shining in all major central touristic places.