Day 1 - Shanghai

After a long flight (and a fruitless trip to the other side of the airport in search of the wrong gate) we safely arrived at Shanghai Pudong airport at 8am this morning (1am UK time) where we were met by our tour guide, Lucy. We took the Maglev train from the airport to the city which went at a speed of 300km/h, the fastest we’ve ever been on ground, unless you count Phil’s driving! 😂
After checking in to our hotel and spending an hour setting up our Chinese SIM cards, Lucy showed us all around The Bund this afternoon - this a central area of Shanghai on the waterfront - and filled us with many facts and all the history of The Bund, which is very rich in European influence and architecture.

In the evening we were totally immersed in Shanghai’s Yuyuan Old Street Market - absolutely delightful, colourful and so vibrant - way beyond our expectations. It was also fun seeing many people dressed in traditional costumes - not performers, just mostly younger people dressing up for the occasion. Following this unforgettable experience we went to a local restaurant for Dim Sum - just delicious 😋
We finished off our evening with a boat trip through Central Shanghai along the Huangpu River. We were very lucky to grab 2 returned tickets for the boat.
Despite being jet lagged and tired after our long flight and day, we were amazed by the trip. The skyscrapers and surrounding buildings gave us an incredible light show - again totally immersed.Read more