We woke up early to make our 10 AM flight to Shanghai. Miraculously, we were able to fit in one taxi with their elongated trunk.
HKG-PVG on DragonairBusiness was nothing special, just a wider seat but again we got delicious Hermolis meals. They actually sent us a lunch and a dinner for the short flight, so the stewardesses packed it up for us to go.
Upon arrival in Shanghai, we opted to take the Maglev train to the city. It’s the fastest train in the world reaching speeds of 431 km/h (268 mph) for the 8 minute journey so we figured it would be an attraction by itself. Big mistake. As it turned out, during the time of our trip it only went 300. Besides for that, they don’t let luggage carts past the elevator down to the platform, so we had to schlep our heavy luggage in shifts. You also have to take a 10-15 minute taxi from the arrival station to reach the hotel. Of course, the taxi drivers attempted to rip us off by quoting us prices 4 times the normal amount, and refusing to turn on the meter. Left with no choice, schlepping heavy bags and with rain starting to fall, we took two of the taxis. When we arrived at our hotel, however, we told the bellboys how much the taxis wanted, and they basically fought our battle for us. We booked into our hotel, the Park Hyatt Shanghai, using FFN nights from moe. It's the world's highest hotel (not sure if the new hotel in the Burj Khalifa, Dubai is higher), located in the 79th to 93rd floors of the Shanghai World Financial Center, the third tallest building in the world. The views were spectacular. It also holds the record for highest swimming pool in the world as well as the highest bar (which is ironic as the building looks like a gigantic bottle opener). The rooms were modern (the hotel recently opened) and many electronic controls. The rain shower was also pretty cool, but the Toto robo toilet definitely took the cake. To quote from the great Johnny Jet, "if you sat on this Toto thing, you would be just as enamored as me. It was so incredible that I needed a moment alone before we left, just to say goodbye. At times, while we were out sightseeing, I wanted to cut the day short, just so I could get back to the room to sit on my friend. First of all, this special little toilet is located in its own separate room for privacy. Secondly, the moment you walk in, the toilet seat cover rises like it's bowing to you and a night light goes on so you can see in the dark without flipping the bright lights on in the middle of the night. Then, when you walk away, it automatically flushes. And I haven't even told you about all the buttons it has … just like a luxurious European car. For starters, the seat is heated (love that!). It's got a built-in bidet, with mechanical nozzles that spray warm water on your bum just how and where you like it. Okay, that part might take a second to get used to but the moment the anxiety of not knowing what those noises are and what's going to happen wears off, it feels so good you don't ever want to get off." But enough about toilets. We then went to take a stroll on the pedestrian only Nanjing Road where we got our first taste of bargaining in China. There were these guys walking around selling laser pointers that shine very far, which were cool, but something I didn’t really need. Since I had the luxury of walking away knowing full well I might not make the purchase, and convincing them of that, I was able to get them at the rock bottom price. So in this situation, the starting price was around 400 RMB ($50) but I ended up getting it for 40 ($6). (it just so happens that these were the most popular things we brought back to the family, but unfortunately we only bought 2. if anyone's going to be in Shanghai, please buy me some more and I'll pay you back.) After our stroll, we went to see the acrobats. There are two types of shows. The regular one and a new one called ERA. The ERA was more expensive, but they had some better acts, so we decided to splurge. Let me tell you, if you haven’t seen Chinese acrobats, you ain't seen nuthin'. There were two standout performances in my opinion. In the first one, he balances himself on a board atop a cylinder. He then proceeds, without getting off, to place cups by the corners and adding another board. He did this until he had four boards. Then he put a bowl on his foot, and kicked so it ended up on top of his head. Then with two, then with three. Then he kicked up a cup that landed in the middle, and lastly a spoon. If I wouldn’t have seen it, I would never have believed it. The second standout stunt was with motorcycles, but it's too hard to explain. Hopefully I'll post some video at the end.
