China Day Nine (updated)

Not a lot to report today as have spent all day travelling from Yangshuo to Shanghai - a 3 hour drive, wait at the airport and flight of 2 hours+ to Shanghai and meeting my fourth guide, Sindy before transfer to my hotel.

This time in Guilin airport I managed to utilise my new-found knowledge re boarding announcements and also managed to remember that China Eastern have clearly being receiving lesson from BA on their Deli service and remembered to have lunch before I got on the plane. Having received apple rings and some very odd tasting pickled something from Xian to Guilin, I remembered this time and spent as much on a bowl of beef noodle soup as I did on a coffee in Guilin before boarding!

Much cooler in Shanghai at only 30C and first impressions of the city are that the roads are as busy as London and its buildings are similar too. Lots of high rise apartment blocks, new office blocks and hotels - most of which have been built in the last few years it seems.

Needless to say the Four Seasons in Shanghai in luxury incarnate! I have been upgraded to a Deluxe room and within 75 minutes of being shown to my room had had a pedicure, manicure and head/neck massage! Just what this girl needed! Bliss!

It's now about 6pm here so am going to go out exploring and find somewhere to have dinner - wish me luck ...

OK, so it had to happen sooner or later - I was "Lost in Shanghai"! With my trusty Rough Guide in hand I had started walking the streets of Shanghai (strangely enough for those of you who know me, I managed to find the Furla shop very easily!) to explore and find a couple of restaurant options for dinner and I became well and truly lost. At one point, walking over a raised pedestranised walkway, explaining that I didn't need a fake Rolex to a very nice chap, and with it starting to become dusk, my Girl Guide instincts kicked in. Found one of the hotels marked on the map and started again. Failed. Twice.

Third attempt ended up in a narrower street where a woman was doing her washing in the downpipe of a gutter, so decided that the main road was a much better idea - ended up on the main 4 lane dual carriageway in/out of Shanghai! Complete with elevated highways!!

Resorted to Plan B - a taxi, which took all of about 4 minutes and 15 RMB (about 1GBP) to take me back to the hotel. Comforted myself with a steak in one of the hotel restaurants (somehow california roll didn't have quite the same comforting impact!) and drank almost as much alcohol in one night as I've drunk in the whole holiday put together - TWO glasses of wine!!

Anyway to bed to soak my poor blistered (although beautifully manicured) feet and to sleep!

Bill Murray had it easy ....