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I am laying in bed right now in Bali and I figured now would be as good of a time as ever to write the Christmas edition of our travel blog about our layover in Shanghai. This year we decided to skip the family pleasantries and embark on an epic adventure in Bali (Indonesia). This journey found us having a long layover in Shanghai, China where we decided to take up the challenge of wandering around this fascinating city without guidance or much planning.
Our voyage began with a 14 and a half hour flight from LAX. This year and only time (Grant will vehemently disagree) we sprang for Business Class so we were a bit pampered. As everyone found themselves squished like sardines we found ourselves in a near private cabin and able to lay flat. After a mildly tasty meal, we crashed hard and fast. When I woke up there were only 4.5 hours left of the 14.5 flight. I watched a few shows on Netflix and joined Grant in some jovial conversation.
Upon landing, we rushed to customs where we had to obtain a visa. The entire process took about an hour, but they finally let us into China.
Having done little research on the city— I knew I wanted to do three things. I wanted to eat Dumplings, I wanted to see the legendary Bund (which turned out to just be an epic view of the skyline) and finally see Old Shanghai. Grant wanted to visit the worlds tallest observation deck at the Shanghai Tower. We were able to accomplish all of those things and more.
The city of Shanghai itself was very clean and relatively flat. The terrain made it very suitable for the million skyscrapers that filled the city to the sky. Upon landing, we hopped on the Maglev, which was their high-speed train. Within 8 minutes we found ourselves in the heart of Shanghai bypassing all of the traffic that would have easily eaten most of the layover time.
Our first stop was the Bund, which was the number one tourist destination according to multiple travel sites. Their skyline was incredible and we took some great photos of told pearl building that captured the uniqueness and beauty of the city perfectly.
Next, we wandered to Yang’s Fried Dumplings shop or at least we thought we did. Mind you, Grant and I cannot even say hello in Chinese—we are the typical dumb Americans. So armed with an iPhone and a passion for dumpling we tried to navigate the windy and packed streets. We made our way to what we thought was Yangs and attempted to order. The only problem was the entire menu was in Chinese. I politely asked if they had an English menu and while they did— saying “pork” to describe something isn’t necessarily a vivid description of what I am about to consume.
Our first round of food came out and it was delicious. It was by far the best dumplings and hot and sour soup we have ever eaten. Portions are incredibly small in China and us large Americans are used to hearty or filling meals so I decided to order more. The same problem-filled us with lack of detail. I attempted to explain in English what we wanted, but the friendly Chinese women would have no idea what I wanted and would just point to soda. She literally did this 4 times. I then attempted to use my phone and show pictures of Western Chinese food, which gave the women a good laugh. So I literally decided to walk around and aimlessly point at people’s food on the table. This proved successful and we were on our way with some delicious food.
Upon leaving for Old Town Shanghai, we realized that Yang’s Dumpling (the most famous dumplings in Shanghai) was actually located next to the restaurant we just embarrassed ourselves. And as traditional glumness Americans, we decided to order more dumplings. Thankfully we did as these bad boys were amazing.
Having only an iPhone with shoddy service and a will to see Old Town Shanghai— we took the roundabout path to our location. Here at Old Town Shanghai, we found the traditional or feudal architecture that I thought would be throughout the city. This area has been transformed into a tourist destination by repurposing the old buildings as local shops and restaurant. The beauty of this area was maintained by the sweeping roof lines and wooden detailing in am of the buildings.
Now here is a very important lesson. China’s bathrooms are disgusting. While some have adopted the Western toilet others have continued the tradition of a hole in the ground. As a Westerner who needed to use the restroom, it proved to be a bit of a challenge. Upon completely my bowl deposit into said hole, I reached for the paper only to be mortified to find there was nothing. I went to a different stall and no luck. I began to panic and quickly pulled up my pants. I explained to Grant the situation where he gleefully laughed at my expense. We attempted a different bathroom only to find the same problem. Fortunately, Starbucks had taken residency in this area and we ran to it. Salvation was had in the form of a handful of napkins and we put this nasty creamy mess behind us. (See what I did there— yes I am 5 sometimes)
The final stop was to cross the river and get to the newly completed Shanghai Tower. Completed in 2016, the tower itself is only dwarfed by the tower in Dubai. This tower, however, had its observation deck on levels higher than the one in Dubai making it technically the world tallest observation deck in the 2nd highest building the world. This explanation was provided to you by Grant’s research and me paying attention.
We hopped on a ferry and made our way over. After purchasing the tickets we were up, up and up. It took 70 seconds to traverse 118 floors in the worlds fastest elevator according to the bellhop. We wandered around and took a few pictures. The view from the top was incredible as we could see hundreds upon hundreds of skyscrapers. We left and headed back to the airport.
As a perk of being business class, we got to enjoy the China Eastern airlines VIP lounge. It was pretty incredible with a ramen cook there and massage chairs. We killed the remaining hour that we had lounging around and were off on our six-hour flight to Bali.
Our seats were not as comfy as last time, but both Grant and I were exhausted. He swore he would not fall asleep. Here is irrefutable proof that he can sleep on a plane!
Besides this video— I thought this lady was crazy and took a video of her journey. Fortunately, she did not get hit, but she is a brave women for sure to attempt this.
