China 2013: Day 6

Day 6 was our first "free" day.  We got to go where we wanted on our own.  Meaning, we didn't have the shuttle or the bus to bring us.  Since I brought my book, we had a copy of the train line and decided to take the train to Nanjing Road.  We were there pretty much the whole afternoon to evening.

The thing though about taking the train in a big-ass city such as Shanghai, is that the stations are so far apart that walking to one would develop your leg muscles. 

China 2013: Day 5

This is gonna be a photo-filled post, 19 photos to be exact.

During the morning, we went to The Bund, the waterfront area were you could easily the Oriental Pearl Tower and all the modern buildings in one side and on the side we were in, we could see the old sort of "European" style buildings.  The buildings were really pretty and the weather was so nice when we were there, just the right cold to a sunny day.

From there, we walked to Nanjing Rd., which is one of their highlighted shopping areas, with the road closed for pedestrians.  We came back here the next day.  Of course, for the shopping. Hahaha.

After lunch, we headed to a silk showroom.  Obviously the intention of these companies is to sell you something after the "tour" or the discussion, but I just appreciate the information you actually get from them.

Someone had a bit of fun. :)

After the silk showroom, we went to the Yu Garden which we came back to on the day after.  Here, they have all those souvenirs at a cheaper price, I could say, than the one in Beijing.  Our first stop in the stretch of that street was a tea house were a lady showed us the art of tea making.  Pretty cool since I actually enjoy tea. :)

 The souvenirs were outside the garden.  The garden itself was really nice.  There's this zigzag bridge and a lot of bridges actually overlooking a pond.  There were a lot of Koi fish, even a turtle!  The place was so packed though with tourists that we could hardly move in that bridge.  Too bad.

They were also selling these candied fruits and grilled squid and others.  I especially liked their version of the Takoyaki, less veggies, more seafood topped with good sauce and squid flakes. :)  Too bad we didn't get to try that dumpling everybody lined up for, but apparently its the best.
 

Now I'm hungry.  

You may browse my Flickr for higher quality photos. :)

China 2013: Day 4

Day 4 of our China trip was our last day at Beijing.  We checked out of the hotel, Holiday Express Inn (which apparently they have a lot of there), quite early.  We said our good byes to Sherry who even gave the kids panda hats, so sweet of her.

We rode the bullet train to Shanghai, which took about 5 hours.  We didn't mind though since it actually had more leg room than an airplane would!  And we got to see the landscapes of part of China as well.  Their train station looked like an airport too.

We arrived at Shanghai around lunch time.  Our first stop was a short cruise.  Timing was good since we got a glimpse of the sunset.  When we reached the Oriental Pearl Tower which looked like a rocket about to launch, it was evening already.  All the lights were lit up and from above it was really cool, especially in the part were they had glass or crystal flooring. 

Check some of my photos at my Flickr. :)

China 2013: Day 3

Even on our third day in China, we still were surprised at how cold we felt.  The morning of the third day was the time we went to the Summer Palace.  The cold though made us not want to wander around.  Instead, we just took some photos and left after about 20 minutes.  It was unfortunate since the place really looked nice.

It was so nice seeing the elderly freely exercise in this open space.  Made me sorta guilty of not having any exercise at all. Hahahaha.

And here we have a giant rubber duck floating in the middle of the lake!  It was so cute, but it kept on being knocked out by the wind; sometimes, it even faces flat on the water.

After the Summer Palace, we spent a few minutes on a bridge to take some shots with the Bird's Nest, Beijing's stadium that was used to host the Olympics.

I think we had lunch after that and I believe that was one of the group's favorite restaurants of all those we went to during the trip.  But more on that later.  After, since the tour guide knew of the Filipinos' favorite past-time during trips (other than taking numerous photos), she brought us to a "mall" that held all these souvenir shops and imitation everything.  Below is a photo of the group fussing over an imitation iPhone.  The phones really look alike except for the box and the photos the camera take.  Beside that was a "mall", but more of stand-alone shops like Uniqlo, Mac, etc.

After, we watched the Acrobatics show which was quite fast, but amazing, especially the last act.  The last act was about 7 motorcyclists driving inside a sphere.  Crazy!

The ladies bought matching boots from the shopping and wore them right away to beat the cold.  The technique in haggling with the vendors is to simply walk away.  Then, they'd just come running to you giving you the price you want.  Man are they aggressive.

For better quality photos, try viewing my Flickr. :)

China 2013: Day 2

Day 2 consisted of these tour spots:

• Jade shop
• Ming tombs
• Big-ass and expensive souvenir shop 
• The Great Wall
• Panda zoo
• Red Theatre for the Kung Fu Show

Of course, the highlight of the day was the Great Wall.  It was unbelievable to actually be there and actually climb the wall.  I think, there's a part of the Great Wall that has a cable car, but we weren't brought there.  I think it was better that way since we'd be able to experience it up close.  If only it weren't too crowded.  The photos are not in order, by the way.

Below is a photo taken at the Ming Tombs.  The weeping willow trees are so nice on the photos and in actual.  I wish we could have them in the Philippines.

Look at their extra long buses.

The many souvenirs of China.  Its amazing how they have a lot of intricate detail in everything.

They didn't allow viewers to take shots of the performance, but it was amazing how good the actors were in Kung Fu and how young the others are.

These are what they call the Locks of Love.  I'm not so sure of the story behind this, but you'd see it on the sides of the wall. :)

For better quality photos, try viewing my Flickr. :)