Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – Day 7 Complete in Hong Kong Proper; 12/04

[Aussie Wendy]

Yay, I have found your TR. I have been thinking about you the last few days, wondering if I would see any of your talented photography from this trip online and checked the Aussie section to no avail. It took me a few days to notice that all I had to do was go into Other Lands and scroll down.

Anyway, I'm coming out of Disboard retirement and will be catching up and following on.

After my travel hiatus, I even have a trip of my own in the works. So I may even create a post or two of my own.

Hello and welcome back!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Wrong turns lead to Snacks

Only you would manage to just coincidentally find there was a monk in the street to add local colour to the picture!!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Just adding a little here (very late to the party!)
I checked the adapter I bought at the hotel gift shop against my Aus 3 pin plug and it's bottom 'stick' is longer
This must allow the other prongs to go in

Yay an answer to the mystery!

 

[PrincessInOz]

A mix of the USA and Central America - however I'm still quite undecided on some options. In saying that, I don't want to hijack your post with discussions about my own travels, so I'll create a new post on the Australia section. I am keen to gauge people's thoughts and have a general discussion with people who enjoy travel.

Really enjoying your pics of Shanghai. The ones of the Bund are great. I put them up side by side with pics I took about 10 years ago, and the number of buildings has pretty much doubled.
It sounds like getting lost worked in your favour. I remember, even early in the Century, how Shanghai felt very developed. I think it's great that you got to see a less touristy area.

If you have those pictures from 10 years ago, I'd been interested to see the skyline then. It would be fascinating to see how it's changed in that time.

The Chinese Egg Tarts look delicious, I'm not quite so convinced though by those Mochi balls.

I love the Mochi balls. It's the texture of the rice flour dough that does it for me. Next time you're in Melbourne, we should get some from a Japanese grocery shop. It won't be as nice as the ones in Shanghai, but it'll give you the taste to see if you'd like them or not.

Hey Thanks for the heads up on the Where in the World thread!



Wow! Interesting. You are so brave and smart to travel internationally like you do! I will have to live vicariously through your trip reports!

Love your photos and the history of the area is interesting too!

YAY! Thanks for popping in here, Denise. It wouldn't be the same without at least one of the WitW crew. And yes.....Where in the World? Shanghai and Hong Kong!

I stumbled upon this report tonight and I'm so glad I did! I read the whole things in one sitting, and it's so interesting to read about everything that's involved in making a trip to Shanghai, and such good info on dealing with the taxi scammers and the airport guy! I think that one in particular would have thrown me off a bit. The worst I've had to deal with has been in New Orleans, Louisiana or in Hollywood here in the US, and they were speaking English, LOL! It makes me wonder if I'd have an easier or harder time ignoring someone in a different language??

I'm excited to follow along and see the rest of your China adventures!

oooh! New victim!

Thanks for subbing in. Hope you'll enjoy the rest of the TR and it keeps up with your excitement levels.


Yes....I think it's probably easier ignoring someone in a different language. I had no problem ignoring the taxi drivers at Longyang Road station because they only spoke Mandarin. It was harder to ignore the "security" guy at Pudong airport because he spoke English!

Now I feel a little bad for having been to Shanghai twice and still not having seen the Bund lol!

Nah. You haven't missed much. Maybe 3rd time lucky!

I have definitely made some of my best travel discoveries by getting lost. It certainly is the best way to see the real side of a city.

Looks like you at least started and ended your time in Shanghai with beautiful blue skies

The start and end was great!

Looks amazing!

Hope you find it amazing when you get there!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I need to hire you as my travel guide!

I've had Takoyaki, not a huge fan, but I did eat it. Not sure how much I would enjoy so many of the other things you showed.

We have takoyaki in Melbourne. It's squid/calamari filled and DS loves it but I'm not a huge fan. I think it could be okay with a different protein.

I'm sure the Bund would be an interesting spot to visit. If Fran and I became independtly wealthy we would hire you along as a travel guide. I'm sure you wouldn't mind too much. We stay at decent places and eat good meals!

I'm hired! Let me know where and when! I'm so there with you and Fran. LOL!!!

PIO - everything looks beautiful, and exciting. I am enjoying the follow along, and good bit of jealous, maybe one of these days I will get to go.

Glad you're following along. And I know how you feel....everytime you've travelled, I've had that bit of jealousy as well. If you and D head to Shanghai, give me some advanced notice. It could be a great place to meet up!

It has been really crazy lately since I barely get on the boards with everything going on from work and my family. I have an upcoming trip this Thursday to Sunday to the DLR and can't wait to leave. I am looking forward to the DCA F&W Festival again which is bigger over last years.

Nice to see that you and your mom both got to Shanghai safely. I would have enjoyed riding the Maglev train.

Shanghai looks so amazing and going down to all those different shops which the sweets looks good. Looking forward to reading more when I get back.

Hope you've been well and that the family/life isn't too crazy. Have fun at the F&W festival. Completely envious!

Look forward to both of our schedules settling down and we can get back to chats on the Dis.

Just adding a little here (very late to the party!)
I checked the adapter I bought at the hotel gift shop against my Aus 3 pin plug and it's bottom 'stick' is longer
This must allow the other prongs to go in

Ooh! That's a good observation.

Glad you're here!

Looks like that enforced detour turned out to be a real blessing. What a shame that you never found any silk you liked. The snacks looked amazing. I loved he contrast in the buildings on the opposite side of the river. I have to admit though that I was drawn more to the skyscrapers.

Corinna

I always like getting a little lost.
Yes, I need to include shopping time for next time.

Only you would manage to just coincidentally find there was a monk in the street to add local colour to the picture!!

LOL! It was a lucky coincidence.

 

[PrincessInOz]

They Say the Neon Lights are Bright


They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway…..er…..Pudong.





Pudong means “East of Huangpu” which describes the literal location of the city. Pudong used to be farm land until not too long ago. In the 1990’s, it acquired the status of Special Economic Zone and investment poured in. Today, Pudong is home to over 300 of the Global Fortune 500 companies (another 100 reside on the other side of the river) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. That's one heck of a development; even for a SER. I'm hoping that @WanderlustNZ might post some pictures of the Pudong skyline from 10 years ago so that we can do a bit of comparison! No pressure.


There are some amazing buildings lighting up this skyline! And based on the research I did, it seems that a night time river cruise down the Huangpo is one of those must-do’s to experience.


My destination for tonight was the Shilupu Marina and a cruise along the Huangpo River. At least, I think that’s where we ended up. It could have been that Huangpo River Cruise spot on the map.






More than likely, I think we ended up buying our tickets for the boat at the Huangpo River Cruise and then walked down to the Shilupu Marina. Yes, let’s go with that for this TR. I’m not trying to be vague or anything (actually, it looks like I don’t have to try very hard to appear vague), but I really didn’t take too much notice of what crossroads we were hitting when walking along the Bund. I do know that we found a group of places selling river cruises somewhere along the Bund and after we bought out tickets, we were pointed further down the Bund to a wharf/marina area. I will assume that we ended up at Shilupu Marina.


We paid 120 Yuan for our 50-minute cruise. I think this was the going rate for a standard cruise on a boat like this one.






I had hoped to get on a boat with a bit more character……






Maybe next time.


It was dark when we boarded the boat and I headed up to the 3rd level. It was a nice night albeit a little chilly. But the upper deck gave me clear open air and views of the river banks. I took up a position and clicked away to my heart’s content.





Seems like I did capture the marina area (that blue area on the river bank). Hmm. I’m pretty certain that is the Shilupu Marina now.





I faced the Bund heading up the river. That’s the Gutzlaff or Meteological Signal Tower you can see. It’s one of the major landmarks along the Bund. The first signal tower was built in 1865 by the French. The current structure was built in 1907 and named after Karl Gutzlaff, the German missionary. It no longer operates as a weather station; and operates as a museum of Bund history.





To the right of the tower, there are 4 historic buildings. The second one along is the Shanghai Club building. Once an exclusive private men’s club, this is now part of the Waldorf Astoria.

I believe the first of the yellow buildings in Three on the Bund or the Union Building. It’s a trendy bar/restaurant.


Further along the Bund you’ll find the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building and the Customs House building. Both buildings were built in the 1920’s.





The Peace Building/Hotel sits at the corner of Nanjing Road (the building with the green pyramid). The Fairmont chain currently operates the hotel.





The cruise took us past the Waibadu Bridge.





It did go a little bit further up the river and then turned around to head back to the marina.


Bright neon lights?





Dazzling!





I faced that Pudong skyline on the way back.





The Orient Pearl TV Tower is one of the distinctive structures that dominates the skyline on this side.




At 468, it’s currently the 4th tallest tower in the world. I did plan to head up the tower but we just didn’t find the time this trip.


The LED light display on the tower was mesmerising.









They say there’s always magic in the air.






The Shangri-la hotel is completely overshadowed these days. But when it first opened, it was one of the first foreign owned hotel chains allowed into China.





By this stage, my fingers were a little frozen and I went downstairs in search of warmth and my mother. I found her enjoying the lower deck couches.




I did manage to thaw out a little before the end of the cruise. All in all, it was a very enjoyable hour!

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Bund at Night


It was a long walk back from the Shilupu Marina to Nanjing Road. On hindsight, I probably should have caught the Metro back….but my mother was willing to walk, so walk we did.


I really liked the Bund Promenade. The night views were lovely and it felt like a very safe place to walk at night. So, I stopped being cautious and openly took pictures along the way back.

















Nearly back to Nanjing Road.





By this stage, we were both tired, cold and hungry. Very hungry!

 

[RachelTori]

Great report and gorgeous photos, PIO! What a fabulous trip!

Sorry it took me awhile to catch up with your TR (life getting in the way again!)

 

[dolphingirl47]

Wow, the city looks gorgeous all lit up. Now I want to go even more.

Corinna

 

[dhorner233]

Wow! Your photos are gorgeous as usual! What type of camera/lens were you using? I assume some fancy, expensive zoom with a very low f stop?

Those boats were beautiful!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great report and gorgeous photos, PIO! What a fabulous trip!

Sorry it took me awhile to catch up with your TR (life getting in the way again!)

Nice to see you here! Hope you and DH have been well. Looks like you've been having a fab time yourself! Real life has a way of catching up. But I'm grateful you found time to make your way here.

Hope you'll enjoy the Disney parts of the trip...when I eventually get round to starting to post about it. Shanghai is a great park; and I think you and DH would enjoy Shanghai as well. Lots to see, eat and drink!

Wow, the city looks gorgeous all lit up. Now I want to go even more.

Corinna

It's beautiful at night. Are you planning on heading to Shanghai soon?

Wow! Your photos are gorgeous as usual! What type of camera/lens were you using? I assume some fancy, expensive zoom with a very low f stop?

Those boats were beautiful!

Thanks, Denise.

I'm STILL shooting with the Canon 7D and the 17 - 55, f/2.8 lens. It's the same set up as what I was shooting with in 2013. Sadly, I've come back from this trip knowing that I've probably outgrown the beloved 7D.
I'll be on the hunt for new equipment this year.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hello and welcome back!

Thanks Wendy. It's nice to be back.

If you have those pictures from 10 years ago, I'd been interested to see the skyline then. It would be fascinating to see how it's changed in that time.

I love the Mochi balls. It's the texture of the rice flour dough that does it for me. Next time you're in Melbourne, we should get some from a Japanese grocery shop. It won't be as nice as the ones in Shanghai, but it'll give you the taste to see if you'd like them or not.

Very keen to try them and also very keen to get back to Melbourne one day. Despite not being city people, it's a city we love. You're lucky to have it on your doorstep.

I've completely forgotten how to add photos to this site, but I'll give it a try. It does make for quite a interesting comparison.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

What it looks like now

What it looked like almost 11 years ago.

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[WanderlustNZ]

I had hoped to get on a boat with a bit more character……

But had you been on that boat, you would have only been able to look across the bay and take pics of the boring boat.

Loving the night time pics.

 

[dhorner233]

Happy Birthday Princess!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Are you planning on heading to Shanghai soon?

There are no definite plans as yet. This year is unlikely to happen as most of my leave is used up for this upcoming trip. I am kind of hoping that we can squeeze it in next year.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

What it looks like now



What it looked like almost 11 years ago.

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WOW! Look how much it has changed in 10 years!

But had you been on that boat, you would have only been able to look across the bay and take pics of the boring boat.

Loving the night time pics.

That is soooo true!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Happy Birthday Princess!

Thanks for helping me celebrate!

 

[PrincessInOz]

There are no definite plans as yet. This year is unlikely to happen as most of my leave is used up for this upcoming trip. I am kind of hoping that we can squeeze it in next year.

Corinna

Next year? Hmmm. I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Next year? Hmmm. I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

Next year is quite a important year for us. It is a special birthday for Graham and our 20th wedding anniversary.

Corinna