48 Hours in Shanghai

I'm so glad that China now has a free 72 hour Transit Visa!  A "real" Visa costs $130 for a US citizen ($30 for everyone else >.<)  So, although I've been living right next door, it was hard to have the desire to go and make it count for that price!  For those looking at getting the Transit Visa in Shanghai, it was super easy!  I flew into the Hongqiao (SHA) airport from Seoul at 1pm.  Make sure you have your itinerary and address of where you will be staying.  It only took about 10 minutes to process and then I was in!

I was super blessed to be able to stay with S.S. Lee, my old landlord in Korea (2008).  He has a swank job in Shanghai and I was picked up by his driver at the airport.  Silly me, I tried to get in the front seat of the car… guess I've never had a "driver" before.  

From the airport we drove into the city and I tried to remain wide eyed, taking in the sights along the highway.  I met S.S. Lee at his office downtown and we headed to "The Bund", probably the most famous place in Shanghai to go for a stroll.  After that it was off to dinner.  The first Japanese restaurant that my host was hoping to go to was pretty full, so we went to a new Korean restaurant… I'd have to wait until the next day for authentic Chinese food because S.S. Lee isn't much of a fan.  ;-)

At the end of the day we picked up some bread from Paris Baguette (a Korean bakery) and then picked up James (his son) from a Math academy.  Then it was time to head home.  The Lee family house is on the outskirts of Shanghai in a gated community.  Its pretty much AMAZING… the next morning I wandered around the neighborhood and took a few photos. 

S.S.Lee family home

This Amused Me

This is someone's house! In China! (what?!)

The rest of the day held a visit to Qibao, a famous ancient water city only 20 km from Shanghai.  If you want REAL Chinese food, this may be a good place to visit.  But then again… the most "famous" dish is a stinky tofu.  It was entirely too early to partake in such a "delight".

Other famous dishes include Peking Duck and tiny chicks on a stick.  Surprisingly, in all of my travels the only thing I ate on a stick was highly recognizable meat ready for grilling. ;-)

I enjoyed a shadow puppet play, a boat ride down a small stretch of the river and if you go early enough you can escape the horrible crowd slowly wandering down the tiny food alley!  A fun day that I felt was a little bit more authentic "China".

 

The rest of the time was spent hanging out and eating with the family.  I saw a concert at the British School where the eldest son goes.  Then I recorded a song with the younger son and enjoyed some family band videos.

The last few hours were spent at TianZiFang arts and crafts market area in the French Concession part of town.

It was a perfect 48 hours in Shanghai.  Huge thanks to my Korean family living in China for such a great time!  

The next step was heading to the other Shanghai airport (PVG) to meet up with my travel buddy, Ben for 4 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia!