Day 19

28.04.18 (Shanghai)

WeRun Update: 23348 steps

Off to Shanghai!
It's crazy how you take the high speed train for 1.5 hrs and end up in a completely different city, a completely new vibe. This is one great thing I love about China. The food is different, the people speak a different dialect. It's refreshing.

A one-way ticket from Nanjing to Shanghai is 135 RMB for the high-speed trains. The train system here is split into different types (speeds) of trains. G trains are the quickest, then it goes D (slightly slower) and K (very slow, old sleeper trains). Tickets get progressively cheaper.

Personally, I feel indifferent to going to Shanghai. I have been many times, and there really isn't much to do there if you're broke, since you break the bank every time you want to do something fun. Shanghai is the most Western (international) city in China - it's very flashy/extra on occasions (and I compare it to being the Sydney of China). You'll see much more wealth on the streets of Shanghai. There's more Westerners there and I feel like it's becoming less authentic, so I'm not really digging the vibe. Work-wise, it's where the opportunities are at - so there could be a move towards there in the future.

So the reason why I'm here is because I'm meeting my friend Vinci, who works in Hong Kong and has made the trip down for Electric Daisy Carnival held in Shanghai. It's pretty cool how we've managed to chill out in different parts of the world - first in Hong Kong, then Paris, then Melbourne and now Shanghai!

We go have some crab-meat Xiao Long Baos and crab meat Wontons just off East Nanjing Road, then we head to The Bund for the obligatory tourist photo. Since it's public holidays (5-1), The Bund is the most packed I've seen it. We end up sitting down on the floor and chatting for hours, looking across at the famous Lujiazui Skyline. Afterwards, I duck off to see another friend for dinner.

I meet up with Vinci and her friends afterwards at West Nanjing Rd, where there is the biggest Starbucks in the world - and it is truly the biggest. The clubs were screaming out to us after that, so we went to Myst where there were a few international DJs headlining that night. 300RMB for entry (no drinks included) - absolute madness. Four different Ferraris then pull up outside the club. That was the moment when I knew I had to get out. Ain't got no time to waste my money on this Shanghai lifestyle. I'm all about the free entry at Nanjing!

So Vinci, her friend Gina and I went to a Dianping recommended bar called Barbarossa, inside People's Square park surrounded by a lake. It was a really unique joint because it was tucked inside some park. Different vibe but I enjoyed it. We had some quiet drinks and shisha.

Shanghai has really cracked down on the no-smoking, which is just so different from Nanjing where I could smoke in the lift of a shopping center if I wanted to (and it has happened in the past). We couldn't smoke inside the bar. And I couldn't smoke in the hotel room as well (some law that's been passed only in Shanghai because they're more like the West now).