Back to Shanghai

After one night in Beijing, it is time to leave to Shanghai. When you have the next one week full with meetings and discussion, the last thing you want to face is the turbulence sitting in the Air China.

 

I decided to take the High Speed Railway train this time.

 



It is convenient too, considering that the train is available every 20 minutes or so. It offers the flexibility for tourist and business travellers who wish to commute between the two cities.

But the price can be expensive.

 

The first class coach cost me around 933 Yuan (Equivalent to approximately MYR 400 in Malaysia)

for the 4 hour and 50 minutes trip.

 

 

If u come to Shanghai and wanted to try the High Speed Rail, make sure you have the "G" letters front of the train numbers. Like mine it is G125. So it is one of the fastest train around. (Up to 380 KM/H).

 

 

I must admit the train was quite cosy. (For the first class). The seat is adjustable with a lot of leg rooms so you can have a good sleep during the trip.

 

Also similar to when you are flying, you also get served with drinks and foods. (Free).

 

But. the main difference was.

 



 

For 933 Yuan, all I get was a pack of snacks (Peanuts and Chips) and a small bottle of Coke as complimentary.

 

 

Screw it. I had my early breakfast and the food on the train is the last thing on my mind anyway.

 

For this trip, I took the train all the way to Shanghai Hong Qiao station. Arriving at 5pm in the evening, I decided to take the subway to the nearest station to my Hotel for the week - Holiday Inn Pudong in Dong Fang Road.

 

 

When I arrived in the hotel lobby, my counterpart who has arrived a day earlier, greeted me and while I am doing my check-in to the room, he told the guy over the counter to upgrade it to the "Club Room".

 

 

The hotel lounge.



 



 

If you are the guest staying in the "Club Room" in Holiday Inn, you will be treated " a little bit more differently".



 

Apart from a bigger room and toilet with Jacuzzi.

 

 (Fruits in the room are complimentary too I supposed).

 

You also get the complimentary Holiday Inn Lounge access for breakfast, tea-time, and free flow of beers and wine from 5.30pm to 8.30pm every single day.

 

So me and my friend will just jump into the lounge to have some foods whenever we feel hungry, and beers whenever we felt wanted to do so.

 

Price? You are looking at somewhere between MYR 800 per night of stay in the club room. But I am a lucky guy considering all the expenses was covered for the meeting.

 

On the ground floor of this hotel, there is this one pub called the Flanagan, the Irish pub with Live band for us to sit down, have a beer and listening to the music performance.

 

But since you are in Shanghai, one thing you will noticed is that there are always some Chinese ladies in the bar, doing nothing but just sit there all day long with their phone and ipad.

When I dig further in, apparently they are the so called "sex workers" who charge their customer for a fee. Whether for massage or sex.

But the rule of the hotel does not allow them to approach customer. Only customer will be allowed to approach these girls or else the girls will be chased out from the hotel.

The last time around when I was in Shanghai, I visited the night scene in Hengshan Road, so this time, I managed to make my way to the Xin Tian Di, another popular night spot in Shanghai.

Most of the cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seating.

Xintiandi has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends, though romantic settings are more common than loud music and dance places. It is considered one of the first lifestyle centre in China.

A Dutch and a Chinese guy tried a selfie after two round of beers.

As for this trip, it is more on business rather than travel so nothing much I could update. You may wanted to check out my previous post on my first trip to Shanghai.

 

Maybe another trip in July I will try my best to fit in some tours around the places.

 

Tell the world I am coming home!