Tell Me About Shanghai...

[VladtheImpaler]

Going to Shanghai in May. Any hotel, restaurant recommendations? Best place to get a nice suit made? Any day trip recommendations? No problem getting a SIM card for my BB? Thanks!

[GirlySports]

I haven't been in years. Here's a recent article in the Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...8346/?page=all

[Northendzone]

No sbarro's.....

[nik-]

what about Panda Express?

[oilyfan]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Going to Shanghai in May. Any hotel, restaurant recommendations? Best place to get a nice suit made? Any day trip recommendations? No problem getting a SIM card for my BB? Thanks!

I was in Shanghai in 2011. Fascinating place. I stayed at the Hyatt on the Bund, very nice place. They have a breakfast buffet everyday that will blow your mind, and I am not even using hyperbole. A few days I filled up so much in the mornings I didn't eat all day.

Check out the Bund, the Shanghai World Financial Centre and go down the metro. All things I enjoyed while I was there. But most of all one evening check out the Xin Tiandi Mall, it's an open air restaurant/pub area that is busy and has a great vibrant feel to it, a big expat hangout. http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/gui...nt-detail.html

[EYE_Overstand]

its awesome. the skyline is amazing. you can jump on a train from shanghai and go to hangzou... I've been 3 times... I've stayed in Pudong 2 times, and at the bund area once....
if you've been to Hong Kong, Pudong is like Central district and the bund area is like Kowloon...

Yu Garden is full of tourists... you gotta walk the bund.... there are 2 views in pudong that are nice... the Pearl and i believe the hyatt? ... and ya go to hangzou... and the shanghai cabbies are NUTS!

theres so much! enjoy!

[Red Slinger]

I only spent 3 days in Shanghai but I have some very fond memories. I was travelling there on business with a collegue. After checking into our hotel (nowhere near the Bund- don't remember it's name) we took a taxi to the Bund. As soon as we got there and got out of the taxi these three young Chinese people approached us and asked us to take their picture. After I took their picture we chatted for a little bit (in English). As it turns out they were Chinese stundents that were touring Shanghai. They offered to show us around the Bund. We were a little hesitant at first but agreed to their offer.

As it turns out they wanted to practice their English on us and they spent the next 8 hours taking us to old Shanghai, a traditional tea ceremony, a real Chinese hot-pot lunch, and to some of the local attractions. At one point we were at a temple in the center of the city which was bustling with tourists and locals alike. At the end of the night, they called us a taxi, gave the driver directions to our hotel and put us in the cab.

So, my memories of Shanghai are primarily around how nice the people were. I'm sure there are some not-so-nice ones too, but everyone we encountered were very friendly.

One other thing: I have never experienced such extreme air pollution before. It was disgusting.

[JohnnyB]

I've spent most of my last 6 years living in Shanghai. Provide some details of what you're looking for and I'd be happy to help you out. It's a big city, so without details it's not easy to narrow things down.

[Wormius]

I am heading to Shanghai and Chengdu around this spring for a few weeks. The one thing I definiately plan to do is go for a ride on the maglev train.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train

Nearby is Hangzhou, which is supposedly pretty idyllic place, according to my wife, and a short distance away from Shanghai by train.

Note - I was excited about that Hyatt, until I discovered it was nearly $250/night CDN.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

I've spent most of my last 6 years living in Shanghai. Provide some details of what you're looking for and I'd be happy to help you out. It's a big city, so without details it's not easy to narrow things down.

Where are all the clean toilets??

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

I only spent 3 days in Shanghai but I have some very fond memories. I was travelling there on business with a collegue. After checking into our hotel (nowhere near the Bund- don't remember it's name) we took a taxi to the Bund. As soon as we got there and got out of the taxi these three young Chinese people approached us and asked us to take their picture. After I took their picture we chatted for a little bit (in English). As it turns out they were Chinese stundents that were touring Shanghai. They offered to show us around the Bund. We were a little hesitant at first but agreed to their offer.

As it turns out they wanted to practice their English on us and they spent the next 8 hours taking us to old Shanghai, a traditional tea ceremony, a real Chinese hot-pot lunch, and to some of the local attractions. At one point we were at a temple in the center of the city which was bustling with tourists and locals alike. At the end of the night, they called us a taxi, gave the driver directions to our hotel and put us in the cab.

So, my memories of Shanghai are primarily around how nice the people were. I'm sure there are some not-so-nice ones too, but everyone we encountered were very friendly.

One other thing: I have never experienced such extreme air pollution before. It was disgusting.

Green text?

Whatever you do, don't do this. That is one of the most standard ways to get scammed in Shanghai. You see it every day around the Bund and People's Square.

I can't help but think that post is in jest.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Green text?

Whatever you do, don't do this. That is one of the most standard ways to get scammed in Shanghai. You see it every day around the Bund and People's Square.

I can't help but think that post is in jest.

Sounds like the "tours" of Beijing we went on that were half-scam/half-tour.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Where are all the clean toilets??

Shanghai in general is really not bad for this.

However, the toilets in the World Financial Center building are the best I've used in the city.

[Northendzone]

Johnny, just so I can put your claim in context, how many toilets do you think you have used in shanghai? If it is more than 500, then I'd consider holding it until I got to the world financial centre.

For the record, I am sure I have used more than 500 different toilets in Canada and a few select US cities, and at this moment I'd place my own toilet in first, and all other in second.....

[Wormius]

For toilets, at least in Beijing, it would be ranked:

1) Airport.
2) Starbucks.
3) McDonalds.
4) A close relative's.
5) Outdoors.
.
.
.
12,000) Any other restaurant or business.

I am thinking of inventing a new product and selling it to tourists - Raid with Febreze.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Green text?

Whatever you do, don't do this. That is one of the most standard ways to get scammed in Shanghai. You see it every day around the Bund and People's Square.

I can't help but think that post is in jest.

Nope. I was warned by some other tourists along the way but the people I was with were legit. They never asked anything from us and they even bought us lunch.

It's funny because we were first approached I was very hesitant and had some trepidation, for fear of getting scammed. But as it turned out they were just very nice people. I'm not suggesting everyone going to Shanghai should be completely trusting and they'll have the same result as I did but I had a very positive experience there. Sounds like I was lucky.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Johnny, just so I can put your claim in context, how many toilets do you think you have used in shanghai? If it is more than 500, then I'd consider holding it until I got to the world financial centre.

For the record, I am sure I have used more than 500 different toilets in Canada and a few select US cities, and at this moment I'd place my own toilet in first, and all other in second.....

Well, I don't know if I've used 500 in Shanghai, but they're the best public toilets I've used anywhere in the world.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

Nope. I was warned by some other tourists along the way but the people I was with were legit. They never asked anything from us and they even bought us lunch.

It's funny because we were first approached I was very hesitant and had some trepidation, for fear of getting scammed. But as it turned out they were just very nice people. I'm not suggesting everyone going to Shanghai should be completely trusting and they'll have the same result as I did but I had a very positive experience there. Sounds like I was lucky.

Sounds like you were lucky, depending on what you paid for everything else. These people generally have deals with restaurants and whatnot to bring foreign tourists to them, who then get overcharged.

I'd like to think I'm just jaded, but I'm quite sure I'm not.

Though it does sound like you had a good experience I would never recommend this to anyone.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Yes, in general anyone coming up to you wanting to practise their english may not be lying, but 9 times out of 10 they have an ulterior motive...and 100% of the time it involves overcharging you.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I haven't been in years. Here's a recent article in the Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...8346/?page=all

In all honesty, that's a pretty good article for Shanghai. Doing those things would give a pretty good scope of the city without getting too touristy.