Monday - June 3rd 2019
After traveling to Japan last year we wanted to see more of Asia and since we are both big Disney fans, we decided to give China a try and combine the newly opened Shanghai Disneyland with a trip to the Middle Kingdom. Vacation planning started early, because a visa was required to enter China. To our suprise obtaining the tourism visa for China was less of a hassle than getting a travel permit for the USA.
Our journey to the Middle Kingdom started Sunday afternoon in Munich from where our Air China flight to Shanghai departed. Our new Airbus A350neo left on time and about twelve hours later we landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport on time early Monday morning. Immigration was quick and easy. Our first stop in Shanghai was at Starbucks at the airport to get an energy boost. Soon we we purchased our tickets for the Shanghai Maglev and with 300km/h we rushed into the city. The ride took only a couple of minutes and then we had to change to the metro. Once we arrived at the hotel our room was already ready and we were delighted to take a shower and refresh a little. In Shanghai we stayed at the Campanile The Bund Hotel, which was located about 15 minutes by foot from the famous Bund. The hotel had a modern look and our room was also quite nice. Since it was still morning, we had breakfast in the hotel before we headed out into the city.
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| Air China Airbus A350neo at Munich Airport |
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| Vegan Food on Board |
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| Shanghai Maglev |
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| Our Room |
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| Our Room |
For today we hadn't planned anything special, because we just wanted to use the day to get acclimated. So we decided to to just walk around the neighbourhood and check out a nearby shopping street. Our first stop was Peoples Square with its museums and theatre venues. From there we walked to Nanjing Street to get an iced coffee at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and a little snack for lunch. Afterwards we strolled through the little shops before heading back to the hotel to get a rest from the humidity. Back at the hotel we took a nap, because the jetlag was kicking in.
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai Museum |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai Grand Theatre |
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| Shanghai |
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| Starbucks Reserve Roastery |
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| Starbucks Reserve Roastery |
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| Cold Beverages |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
For the evening we planned to visit Yu Yuan Garden and have dinner at a nearby vegetarian restaurant. Navigating through Shanghai wasn't easy since Google Map didn't work properly despite using a VPN service. Nonetheless we found the restaurant and were surprised to see so many western guests there. I guess traditional Chinese food wasn't everybody's first choice. The vegan food was pretty good and so it wasn't our last meal there. After a delicious dinner we were on the way to Yu Yuan. There we just checked out the little shops and restaurants before we returned to the hotel, where we enjoyed a couple of drinks at the hotel bar.
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| Shanghai |
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| Campanile The Bund Hotel |
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| Shanghai |
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| Vegan Dinner |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Shanghai |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
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| Yu Yuan |
