Friday, July 20th
We left Taipei this morning around 9:30am to head to the airport for our flight to Shanghai. I now have some new FCPS traveling companions who also participated in the New Taipei City Teacher Exchange program. I am travelling with two elementary and two middle school English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers – Jennifer, Carol-Anne, Claudia and Valerie.
It was bittersweet leaving this morning as I was excited for a new adventure but sad to leave such wonderful people and a beautiful country. Forutnately, we made it easily through check-in and customs. I was quite worried that my suitcase would be overweight; however it came in a slim 25.8 kg. The limit is 30 kg so I have plenty to spare and room to buy more stuff! ;)
We arrived in Shanghai around 2:20pm local time and Valerie and I headed for the Airport Shuttle to take us to our hotel. Valerie and I opted to stay in different hotels from the others, but as we headed to the shuttle bus, we were approached by a very well dressed woman asked us if we needed help or a taxi. We both said no thanks and I said we were taking a shuttle. She told us that there were no shuttles, but we had direction from the hotel to take a particular shuttle. All of the travel books warn you to be careful of scam artists in the major cities in China. However, it’s like that everywhere. You have to be careful, especially as a tourist. And even more so here, since it’s easy to spot us.
We got on the correct bus and another passenger helped us communicate with the bus attendant and ensured we knew our correct stop. I know we have to be more cautious here in Shanghai, but it still nice to see such caring people.
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from Shanghai but my initial impression did not match my mental image. I am still trying to wrap my head around the character of the city, but I am sure tomorrow I will get a better chance to walk around and see it all.
Valerie and I spent the evening on The Bund. We took river boat cruise on the Huangpu River that knifes though the Bund and the Pudong New Area. The Pudong New Area is what I expected all of Shanghai to be, but it seems Shanghai is more spread out that I had thought.
The buildings on both sides of the river are beautiful lit up with the Bund representing the old side of the city, while Pudong New Area is full of skyscrapers.
My favorite skyscraper is the Pearl Oriental Building. It looks more like a space ship, but is constantly changing colors.
Valerie and I walked down The Bund and headed up E. Nanjing Road to see what else the city was up to. It was quieter than I had anticipated. I couldn’t tell if it was just the area we were in, or if that was normal.
I can’t access my blog from my computer only my phone app, so it looks like you’ll just be getting posts without pictures until I get to Seoul, South Korea.
Thanks for reading!!
We left Taipei this morning around 9:30am to head to the airport for our flight to Shanghai. I now have some new FCPS traveling companions who also participated in the New Taipei City Teacher Exchange program. I am travelling with two elementary and two middle school English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers – Jennifer, Carol-Anne, Claudia and Valerie.
It was bittersweet leaving this morning as I was excited for a new adventure but sad to leave such wonderful people and a beautiful country. Forutnately, we made it easily through check-in and customs. I was quite worried that my suitcase would be overweight; however it came in a slim 25.8 kg. The limit is 30 kg so I have plenty to spare and room to buy more stuff! ;)
We arrived in Shanghai around 2:20pm local time and Valerie and I headed for the Airport Shuttle to take us to our hotel. Valerie and I opted to stay in different hotels from the others, but as we headed to the shuttle bus, we were approached by a very well dressed woman asked us if we needed help or a taxi. We both said no thanks and I said we were taking a shuttle. She told us that there were no shuttles, but we had direction from the hotel to take a particular shuttle. All of the travel books warn you to be careful of scam artists in the major cities in China. However, it’s like that everywhere. You have to be careful, especially as a tourist. And even more so here, since it’s easy to spot us.
We got on the correct bus and another passenger helped us communicate with the bus attendant and ensured we knew our correct stop. I know we have to be more cautious here in Shanghai, but it still nice to see such caring people.
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from Shanghai but my initial impression did not match my mental image. I am still trying to wrap my head around the character of the city, but I am sure tomorrow I will get a better chance to walk around and see it all.
Valerie and I spent the evening on The Bund. We took river boat cruise on the Huangpu River that knifes though the Bund and the Pudong New Area. The Pudong New Area is what I expected all of Shanghai to be, but it seems Shanghai is more spread out that I had thought.
The buildings on both sides of the river are beautiful lit up with the Bund representing the old side of the city, while Pudong New Area is full of skyscrapers.
My favorite skyscraper is the Pearl Oriental Building. It looks more like a space ship, but is constantly changing colors.
Valerie and I walked down The Bund and headed up E. Nanjing Road to see what else the city was up to. It was quieter than I had anticipated. I couldn’t tell if it was just the area we were in, or if that was normal.
I can’t access my blog from my computer only my phone app, so it looks like you’ll just be getting posts without pictures until I get to Seoul, South Korea.
Thanks for reading!!
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