China May 2008 Day 1 & 2

Hello all! Going to update on my China Trip now.. Took only about 600+ photos so not so much to upload as the Japan one.. Ok! Let's start!

Day 1- 23 May 2008

My mum drove us to T3 for check in.. Being the last day of school, there was a super big crowd waiting to check in as well.. Headed into the transit area and had a late supper at Hard Rock Cafe.. The portions are huge by the way.. My sister's friends from work came to join us.. Time to board the flight!

Day 2- 24 May 2008

Reached Shanghai's Pudong Airport at about 6am.. Collected our luggage and decided to try out the Maglev Train.. It goes 300 km/h and goes in between only 2 stations namely the airport and Long Yang station.. Wanted to grab some stuff to eat at the station but it was kinda troublesome to do so with all the luggage.. Since our accommodation was just a few stops away, we decided to take the train.. Haha..


Since it was too early, our room was not ready but we were allowed to put our stuff in it first.. Imagine our shock to see the situation the place was in.. The place was furnished well enough but the previous owner had been staying there was a few months and thus the whole place was in a big mess.. So we dumped our stuff and took a cab to "Seven Treasures Old Street".. The Olympic Torch was going thru Shanghai that day so my father bought some T-shirt to support them..

Nothing much to do there.. Just a small town with a few roadside stalls.. So we moved on to People's Square.. A sort of Orchard Road kinda place with a lot of shopping and eating places.. Headed to settle lunch first at a small eatery that specialises in Xiao Long Bao..


The whole meal above only costs S$16.. Very cheap compared to Singapore's price.. But the portions were so huge and oily.. But at least it settled our meal since 6am.. Moved on to buy tickets to visit Madame Tussauds Shanghai Wax Museum.. It was located on Level 10 of a shopping mall.. And you had to pay to take photos with Jackie Chan & Andy Lau.. Took lots of photos in the museum but will post some only..




That's Madame Tussauds herself..

The wax statues were all very lifelike but I think the ugliest were Jay Chou, Jolin Tsai and Jerry Yen.. Don't even look like them at all..

Took the train to Huai Hai Road for more shopping.. But was so tired that we decided to take a rest at Starbucks.. The drinks there were quite horrible in my opinion.. The ice blended had a whole block of ice in it and the chocolate drink was bitter.. Proceeded on to Parkson to buy a pair of Crocs for my sister as her shoes were giving her blisters..

Took a train back to People's Square to visit the Pearl of the Orient..

This is People's Square at night.. Lots of people and lights.. There's even a tram that brings you from one destination to another..

And here's the Pearl of the Orient along the Shanghai Bund.. One of the prettiest nightview in the world.. And to get across the bund, you gotta ride through this underground sightseeing tunnel.. I took a video of it but I'll probably post it later on..

Ah.. The beautiful Pearl of the Orient.. It's the tallest tower in Asia and the 3rd tallest in the world.. There are different levels of the tower and the higher you go the more expensive..

The view from the highest level.. As it was Saturday, the nightlights were turned on along the bund.. A little dark but still nice.. Hehe..

And they had an indoor roller coaster inside the tower as well.. Quite a scary ride as it was all dark.. Kinda reminded me of Space Mountain in Disneyland..

And at the basement of the tower, they had this wax exhibit of how Shanghai was transformed from a little village to the French- influenced city it is today.. Took too many photos so should not post them here.. Haha..

Took the train back to our accommodation.. Accidentally took the wrong side and had to wait for another train.. While waiting, we heard a little girl exclaiming to her mother that she wanted to pee and guess what her mum did? She brought the girl to a corner of the station and let her daughter pee there.. Total eeww! Hadn't had dinner so we went to the nearest convenience store to get some instant noodles.. Wore the wrong type of shoes that day and my feet were aching so badly..

Ok.. That's it for Day 1 & 2.. Stay tuned for my future posts!