Having said that, any big city can be intimidating, grim, dull and grey. It's stressful, and sometimes you just gotta escape from it all - a break, all you need is a break. One thing I love about Shanghai is its relative ease and affordability if you ever need to go for an excursion just to take your mind off things.
It's a little harder to do that in Singapore because its orbital venues are either too dangerous, equally or even more dull or just too expensive.
Brekkie today.
I think I've become slightly obsessed with Earl Grey Milk Tea.
After that, I took the Shanghai Metro bound for Hongqiao railway station. Hongqiao is a real transport hub, offering long-distance buses, air and rail connections, and is the main hub for Shanghai's high speed rail lines. I literally had too many places to choose, from as far as Xiamen, Nanchang (where I can connect to trains bound for Guangzhou and Shenzhen) and Beijing to daytrip destinations such as Nanjing, Suzhou, Kunshan and Hangzhou. Based on frequency and fares (in that order), I decided on Hangzhou.
I quickly got my tickets and with half an hour to departure, I thought I had more than enough time to explore Hongqiao hub but who'd have known that walking to the escalator bound for the security checks would take 15 mins! Before long, people started queueing and when boarding was announced, boarding was already taking place.
My train.
I must say traveling by high speed rail is definitely becoming one of my preferred ways to travel, perhaps even better than air travel! I've ample legroom, and reclining is so much better! The whole acceleration was just absolutely smooth and magical. High speed rail is like riding a Mercedes while subway is like riding a motorcycle - the difference is that great!
If Shanghai's a showcase city, Hangzhou must be real China. This was the China that I knew - all our stereotypes proven but even then, I met some of the nicest people here.
My lunch. Surprisingly good actually, plus possibly THE BEST steamed egg/chawanmushi I've ever had.
Then, exploring West Lake.
After all that, it was time to go back to catch my 5:29pm train back to Shanghai Hongqiao.
