My first 36 hours in Shanghai were like the city itself: sprawling, indulgent and magical. My flight and arrival to China were as I had hope: on time and uneventful. Despite my concerns that my entry into the country (working for Google and all) would result in extra scrutiny or issue - I breezed through customs and into the cab line to head to my hotel.
It is definitely worth noting that most people in China do not speak English. A handy tip I was given was to have the hotel name & address written down in Chinese to give to the driver. No matter how many times I could have said Park Hyatt Hotel it would have been like Greek to my cabbie. Anywho, turns out that whomever wrote the name and address for me had made an error. So my poor driver was utterly confused and had to stop for directions and help a few times. I, unable to help in the slightest, just sat in the back and nodded politely as he chattered away his frustrations to me in Chinese. Poor guy -- it was clearly bad directions because the Park Hyatt happens to be located on the 87th floor of the World Financial Center - the tallest building in all of China.
Let me just say, I consider myself to be a very lucky girl. This hotel is killer. The style is gorgeous-meets-zen, the service is impeccable and there's no way you could ever beat the view.
After checking in, playing with all of the crazy in-room technology and freshening up a bit, it was time for dinner and a night on the town. My host in Shanghai & Singapore is an old friend/Google colleague who has been living in SE Asia (Singapore-based) for the last 2 years. We met in the NYC office years ago when I was in need of a notary (he was acting as in-office notary at the time), he also lived in the West Village and as Facebook would discover this last year - also worked at a law firm with one of my favorite NYC lawyers - Gillian. Small world, right? I couldn't have asked for a better guide while in Shanghai. You all know I love a man with a plan, and boy did Adam deliver.
We started out heading the Bund (symbolic of colonial Shanghai, the Bund was the city's Wall St, a place of feverish trading where many a fortune was made and lost) for some pre-dinner cocktails. Our first stop was The Long Bar at the Waldorf Astoria. A jazzy, art deco lounge, reminiscent of the 1930s and just oozing opulence. It was formerly known as the Shanghai Club in 1910 (when only white males were allowed to enter) and your placement at the bar indicated your status (the seat of honor being the closest to the Bund itself. Needless to say, it was a great place to kick off the night. From there we headed to Lost Heaven for a Yunnan-style feast. From there, it was off to the clubs.
We started at Bar Rouge - the see-and-be-seen scene of Shanghai - with stunning views of the Pudong skyline across the river.
From there we headed to the French Concession (more on this 'hood later) to Shelter - a converted bomb shelter - to experience the underground dance/music scene.
It is definitely worth noting that most people in China do not speak English. A handy tip I was given was to have the hotel name & address written down in Chinese to give to the driver. No matter how many times I could have said Park Hyatt Hotel it would have been like Greek to my cabbie. Anywho, turns out that whomever wrote the name and address for me had made an error. So my poor driver was utterly confused and had to stop for directions and help a few times. I, unable to help in the slightest, just sat in the back and nodded politely as he chattered away his frustrations to me in Chinese. Poor guy -- it was clearly bad directions because the Park Hyatt happens to be located on the 87th floor of the World Financial Center - the tallest building in all of China.
Let me just say, I consider myself to be a very lucky girl. This hotel is killer. The style is gorgeous-meets-zen, the service is impeccable and there's no way you could ever beat the view.
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| View from the 87th floor hotel lobby |
After checking in, playing with all of the crazy in-room technology and freshening up a bit, it was time for dinner and a night on the town. My host in Shanghai & Singapore is an old friend/Google colleague who has been living in SE Asia (Singapore-based) for the last 2 years. We met in the NYC office years ago when I was in need of a notary (he was acting as in-office notary at the time), he also lived in the West Village and as Facebook would discover this last year - also worked at a law firm with one of my favorite NYC lawyers - Gillian. Small world, right? I couldn't have asked for a better guide while in Shanghai. You all know I love a man with a plan, and boy did Adam deliver.
We started out heading the Bund (symbolic of colonial Shanghai, the Bund was the city's Wall St, a place of feverish trading where many a fortune was made and lost) for some pre-dinner cocktails. Our first stop was The Long Bar at the Waldorf Astoria. A jazzy, art deco lounge, reminiscent of the 1930s and just oozing opulence. It was formerly known as the Shanghai Club in 1910 (when only white males were allowed to enter) and your placement at the bar indicated your status (the seat of honor being the closest to the Bund itself. Needless to say, it was a great place to kick off the night. From there we headed to Lost Heaven for a Yunnan-style feast. From there, it was off to the clubs.
We started at Bar Rouge - the see-and-be-seen scene of Shanghai - with stunning views of the Pudong skyline across the river.
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| With Adam @ Bar Rouge |
Everything about this place was over the top. From the champaign sparklers, to the pole dancers to the dancing on banquets. It was a good time. A few drinks in, we met up with Guillermo (import/export from Mexico City) and his friend from New Orleans. They were a hoot.
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| Pole dancing over the Bund |
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| Yes, that is me on the right, dancing with a group of Russian models. |
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| With our new friends. |
From there we headed to the French Concession (more on this 'hood later) to Shelter - a converted bomb shelter - to experience the underground dance/music scene.
Adam and I doing our best (despite multiple cocktails) to show how "shelter-like" the shelter was. I mean, it was concrete rooms underground. The scene was pretty hipster-meets-grunge-meets DJ dance scene. A pretty big change from our first 2 stops.
Our last stop of the night was BaBa, also in the French Concession. This was the most amazingly hilarious locals-scene club - decked out as a western saloon. Here's one of my favorite shots of the night -- made all the better by the photo-bombing Chinese bartender-cowboy.
We stumbled back to our hotel around 6am, with the sun just starting to rise over Shanghai. To be honest, I didn't think I had it in me -- it is probably the latest I've been out in like 5 years (I'm turning into such responsible girl in my old age...sorta). I definitely had the whacked-out time zone change working in my favor...plus, I think Shanghai just brings out the most fun in people. Who wants to go home early when there are Chinese cowboys to party with!?
You're having so much fun! I love following your adventures.
ReplyDeleteI knew you had it in you to party with best of them. So fun!
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