Day 8 Guilin to Shanghai
Like Chengdu before it, Guilin was a brief stop, but I didn't have a strong desire to stick around. Chengdu, Xi'an, and Guilin all pretty much have one single major attraction. I'm not sure what you would do if you stayed longer. I'd rather keep moving and see 'A' list attractions.
We had breakfast again in the main dining room. Today I tried the rice noodles. The cook preparing them did not speak English so I motioned to her to fix mine just like the man in front of me. I added some chives and spicy pepper sauce just as he did. It was delicious, but spicy. We had a brief optional tai chi exercise pool side by a local master. Afterwards, we met in the lobby and headed out to the airport for our flight to Shanghai.
Driving into Shanghai was very different from anything so far. Wealth for one. The amount of beautiful office and apartment buildings seemed far more than in Beijing or Chengdu. The amount of exotic cars and other luxury cars on the highways. Beijing and Chengdu had their fair share, but not to the level of Shanghai. Architecture was very different too. Shanghai used to be home thousands of French, British, and Americans before WWII. You can see the French and British styles especially around the hotel and park we visited the next day. The Huangpu River cuts through Shanghai. The side of the river our hotel is on is the Bund - a string of riverside buildings from the 20s and 30s. Very Art Deco and European. On the other side of the river, the Pudong, is a 21st century skyline like no place on earth. It is absolutely incredible. 20 years ago there was literally nothing there but rice fields.
We checked into the Peninsula which has the ideal spot on the Bund. You can walk down the Bund or cross the street and walk along the waterfront. The hotel is beautiful and is perhaps the nicest hotel I've stayed in. It's evokes a 1930s Art Deco, European charm. When we arrived I believe high tea was being served in the lobby. Everyone working there is so nice, and the service standards are so high. We were taken to a conference room on the top floor where we were given a quick PowerPoint presentation of how to work the electronics in the room from the mood lighting, to the curtains, to the lady's nail dryer to the valet box, to the free international call VOIP button.... The rooms were beautiful. Since it was just Gavin and me we were given a single room. Families with more than two I think had a designating connecting rooms/suites. Not sure. Our room was lovely complete with a gorgeous bathroom and dressing room. I'm ready to redecorate my bathroom. Haha!
We had a couple hours free so Gavin and I walked up to the Bund. This was another big moment for me. It was still daylight, but amazing. Gavin was still a celebrity. A few people stopped him and asked for photos. He obliged.
Dinner was at M on the Bund. In Beijing we ate at its sister, Capital M. This was equally great, we dressed up a bit. And had a choice of salmon or steak. I chose steak and several of us ordered glasses of wine. It was an excellent dinner, high marks for ABD. And the view from the balcony which overlooked the Bund was amazing. You could set your gaze across the Huangpu River over to Pudong the greatest lit up skyline in the world. It was arranged and delivered perfectly by ABD. Granted it was a set menu... Understandable, but all things considered probably the best meal and overall restaurant experience I've had on an
Adventures by Disney. They need to duplicate this as best they can in Beijing. That's what's missing. In Saigon, we had a dinner in Cirrus - a beautiful high end restaurant overlooking the city and the Saigon River for 2nd night I believe. That's what Disney needs in Beijing.
After dinner Gavin and I walked with others down the waterfront. In stead of going straight to our hotel, we made a detour a couple blocks away. We turned down Nanjing Rd in front of the famous Peace hotel and walked a couple blocks down to pedestrian Nanjing Rd, the busiest shopping district in China. Very famous and touristy. They have everything from fake LV to real LV and everything in between. We went for the lights and to check it off my list. Is it worth it? Eh, probably not for most, but I've heard of it for a while and would have been disappointed if I didn't see it in person. On the way back to the hotel we stopped into the Peace Hotel - the most famous hotel in Shanghai. It was beautifully decorated. I heard it was considered the finest example of an Art Deco hotel in the world in the 30s. It's still beautiful. Long day. We had a great sleep. Perfect hotel and perfect dinner, ABD. Well done.
Now if I can just get over my hesitancy about the flight and the weather...
