The Shanghai Experience

From Beijing I flew to Shanghai, which is about as different as you can get from the historic, sombre environment of Beijing. Shanghai is the biggest city in the country, and by far the most dynamic and growing - with over 15 million people. I landed at night, and would highly recommend this, as the drive into the city is amazing - there are hundreds of skyscrapers and each one is lit up at the very top with different colours, each emphasizing the unique architecture of each building. It's fabulous.

I wasn't exactly "roughing it" in Shanghai, as I checked into the ultra-luxurious Shangri-La hotel, in Pudong, on the bank of the Yangzi over looking the historic Bund on the opposite bank of the river. My 45th floor hotel room had floor to ceiling windows the entire width of the room with a fantastic view of the entire city - which is very cosmopolitan and bustling... much different than Beijing. The Bund is a riverside promenade lined with grand colonial buildings that are a direct contrast to the modern glass and skyscrapers in the commercial zone just across the river. In the mornings, it is very common to see tons of residents come out to do their morning exercises along the waterfront of the Bund.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much sightseeing time in Shanghai since I was working the entire time I was there, however I did manage to sample a bit of the nightlife, some fantastic restaurants and of course, the trip wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the infamous Xiangyang Market (where you can get the best knock-offs and fakes ever!) On our last day, we all trooped over there to put our bartering skills to the test - and we all came home loaded with some lovely fake Coach and Vuitton bags - one of my colleagues even bought an entire set of Callaways, complete with bag, putter and balls - for $100! All part of the experience...

I managed to get up the Oriental Pearl Tower, which is like the Eiffel Tower of Shanghai - it's a free-standing structure that looks like a needle with two pearls threaded through it and is sort of represents the birth of modern art in China at the start of the 20th century.

Definitely need to get back to Shanghai to really experience some of the sites of the city - a week is just not enough time, however, the 95th floor of the hotel did have a particular nice martini bar, which was well used by our team at the end of another hard day!