December 29, 2011

layover

Way back when I began my travels in August (I have been floating around SE Asia for about a half a year, life could be worse) I had a twelve hour layover in Shanghai, China. I had never been to any part of China and visa's for American's are hard to get for China as well as expensive (around 250 USD) so when booking my flights, I found out that for under 48 hours you do not need a visa and in Shanghai you can leave the airport during that time. So before I hopped over to Vietnam I had a little day trip around the city, exploring the downtown area, eating some REAL Chinese food and getting a tiny taste of China, fueling my further desire to travel around the massive country.

From the airport you can take the super fast Maglev train from the airport which is a ways out of town, to a subway station that will take you all the way into downtown. The whole trip took about an hour from airport to the Bund. The Maglev was actually an awesome experience in itself. It is a magnetic train that levitates over the tracks and can travel up to speeds of 431 km per hour, depending on the time of day (I was there during the slower hours and we went 300 km/hr.) It was such a smooth ride and when the train turned you could look down and see the ground below you, technology never ceases to amaze me!


The rest of the day was spent lunching on the Bund, wandering the streets, taking photos, eating street dumplings and fruit and enjoying the fresh China air. I loved the buildings and alleys in Shanghai, they were modern with a old look to them and I could have taken a thousand pictures of the city. China was a bit dirty coming from Seoul, yet now after spending a month living in Bangkok, Shanghai was pristine!

Asian tourists are always funny...


The Bund was very beautiful despite the gray haze that covers the skyline...



mid-day cool down


 Guess which popular pizza chain this is?


 Cheap souvenir shop in China... I thought it was very ironic. 

My favorite photo of the day.
              

Why?





Which way should I go?

I loved my little day trip to China that was basically free since it was just a long layover.. take avantage of your layovers to see some cool cities! I'll be seeing you again China, don't you worry!


3 comments:

  1. hi Liz! happy new year! have a great year ahead! =)

    Reply
  2. Awesome! I had no idea about the layover option! Must do this soon! :) Happy New Year! Cheers!

    Reply
  3. Thanks Macy and Alyssa! Happy New Year to you :)

    Reply

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