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Gettin' Shanghai'd

 
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Wind Slither

Since 04 Mar 2005
2570 Posts
The 503
METAL



PostMon May 04, 15 7:34 am    Gettin' Shanghai'd Reply with quote

Going to be based in Shanghai for a month 6/15-7/15. I hear it's the peak of the hot & sticky season.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks! Very Happy

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jasonq

Since 12 Jan 2009
242 Posts
hood river
Stoked



PostMon May 04, 15 8:35 am     Reply with quote

Based on my time in shanghai, be prepared for an interesting and generally unpleasant stay. I found very few redeeming qualities. Don't eat street food, anything not completely cooked, or outside of quality restaurants. But if you like prostitutes, all you have to do is walk around downtown at nite, you'll meet plenty. Oh, if want a watch or a suit, you'll have plenty of offers for those too. One interesting thing to do is go the science and technology museum. Skip the museum, but underneath is an indoor flea market selling pretty much nothing but counterfeits or "fell of the back of a truck" stuff. Just eye opening to see. Subway is actually fairly easy to use, they have a nice computer ticket machine in english, but try to avoid in rush hour.

However, I highly recommend taking a trip to the yellow mountains and go hiking for 3 days (hotels/restaurants on the mountain, so its all day hikes). about 6 hours travel time by ground from shanghai. Look it up on line, amazing. If you can find Mr Hu's contact number on-line, he is the local hotel/restaurant owner that caters to westerners. He can pick you up at the bus stop, arrange for lodging on the mountain, book your return bus ticker, etc. However, depending on your price range, i'd arrange for lodging ahead of time. Can be very crowded at times, but not when we were there at the start of june several years ago. If it is very crowded, skipping the gondola and hiking up to the top of the mountains might be better. The area doesn't cater to foreigners. We were one of two groups of westerners there, and there were several groups of koreans, other than that all chinese. Most signs were in english, and we had no issues. We arranged our own trip, but there are many tours, all geared towards chinese, but the other group of westerners had arranged a custom tour with their own guide. Totally not needed, but nice.

My pics:
http://nosepicker.net/site/yellow_mtns/frame.htm

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foghater

Since 31 Aug 2008
135 Posts

Stoked



PostThu May 07, 15 7:28 am     Reply with quote

Hit up Taiwain as a side trip. Supposedly really good surf and wind.

Good Luck man

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Nak

Since 19 May 2005
4199 Posts
Camas
XTreme Poster

CGKA Member


PostSun May 10, 15 11:45 pm     Reply with quote

Plug no device or disc from Shanghai, HK, or Beijing in to your computer. Guaranteed trojan horse attack designed to steal your financial information.

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Wind Slither

Since 04 Mar 2005
2570 Posts
The 503
METAL



PostSat Jul 04, 15 7:19 pm     Reply with quote

Thought I would close out this thread today as it's July 4th, my favorite time in the PNW and I am feeling a little homesick.

I didn't bring any kite gear, as the prospects were not inspiring. However there is flat water kiting, shops and clubs outside of town. I'm based in probably the nicest part of Shanghai. The closest thing I can relate it to is my time in NYC Manhattan. It's like Time Square on steroids. If you have lots of cash and like (really) big cities it's a great place.

We just got back from The Yellow Mountains and they were as spectacular as Jasonq said. I could have spent weeks up there just exploring all the peaks and trails.

Navigating China is a bitch at first. Mandarin is tough and even what seems like the most obvious sign language just doesn't translate. Anyone with plans to come and stumbles on this thread can PM me for tips and tricks to help avoid the pitfalls.

Next week Beijing and then we head home. Save some wind and waves for me. The Wind Buddahs know I am starving! Thumb's Up


   Me and Mr Hu.jpg 

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