PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
And you were right about the pinkness of the chicken as well. I came home and looked at the picture and couldn't believe that I ate it as well!!!
Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland March 17 – Day 7 Complete in Hong Kong Proper; 12/04
- Thread starter PrincessInOz
- Start date
And you were right about the pinkness of the chicken as well. I came home and looked at the picture and couldn't believe that I ate it as well!!!
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Last edited:
Aussie Wendy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
That was right by the side of the Houhai lake systems so I am presuming that this last lake forms the end of the canal in Beijing? I have to do some more research as at the time I hadn't read about the Grand Canal (coincidentally I just finished a fiction book - since getting back - in which it was mentioned) and yes the Antique Garden Cafe was in Sinan Rd.
Paula Sedley-Burke
Proud to believe in Rainbows and Unicorns...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
I can't get over the vibrant colours and neons in Shanghai. It looks almost like a movie set. Lovely photos of you. How nice to meet up with Aussie Wendy and DD.
The sights are just amazing. I can't stop looking at them!
Thanks for posting. Yummy hot chocolate. Still cheaper than a coke in Venice...
The sights are just amazing. I can't stop looking at them!
Thanks for posting. Yummy hot chocolate. Still cheaper than a coke in Venice...
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Unfortunately that is a little cumbersome. About halfway in the link, you will see [/img][/url]. If you delete everything behind it, it will just show the photo and not the name. When I copy and paste the link, it actually inserts a break after [/img][/url] so deleting it is nice and easy. It is just a pain to have to do with for every photo.
Corinna
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Thanks for confirming!
(And yes. If and when I head to Beijing, I'm going to need to go seek it out as well....now that I know it exists. And it looks like there are cruises that run down the Grand Canal.)
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Thanks for reading!
It was really nice to catch up with all the Aussie contingent that made the trek over.
Aussie Wendy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Thanks Corinna and Zanzibar. Now I know. Hmm Photobucket is quicker and easier - have to see what I have on there though as I know it was getting full at one stage.
WanderlustNZ
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
Another great update. The French part of town looks charming.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
I really enjoyed the night time meandering. It will be somewhere that I'd like to get back to during daylight hours.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Day 3 – Shanghai to Shanghai Disneyland
The Second Breakfast
We got up early again. Afterall, breakfast was calling our name! We grabbed our standard table.
This time, I was much more comfortable with the hotel and figured I was just going to take pictures of the buffet area.
There are a lot of buffet warmers. That’ll give you an idea that we did have the full Western style options as well as the Eastern options.
In the right-hand corner, you’ll find my La-la Mein master noodle maker.
There was also the percolated coffee and if you notice the container on the left of the picture, the Chinese seem to like warm/hot milk! I suspect it was a solution made from powdered milk. By my Aussie milk standards, it never really looked like the right milk colour to me.
There were also cold fruit and veg options.
I was surprised by the fruit selection. Maybe it was just the season and what was available in China, but there wasn’t the wide selection of fruit I would expect at a standard buffet.
What I found interesting about the buffet were the Asian condiments. You would grab a selection of these pickles to have with congee.
Likewise with the salted egg and preserved tofu.
The selection of breads and pastry was also diverse. Aside from the expected Western options….
….we also found the Eastern options to be ample.
Yes. I did notice them. I liked the quirky table decorations very much!
Once again, I went with the handmade noodle breakfast. I also got a some of the Asian condiments to go with my meal. I do like salted duck eggs but it is something of an acquired taste.
For those wondering how the eggs are made, I have made salted duck eggs myself at home. Soak the duck eggs in a brine solution (a 25% salt to hot water solution, boiled to dissolved and then cooled right down to room temperature), with some peppercorns, star anise and rice wine for at least 25 days.
I had looked at the fruit the morning before and passed up on it. Not so this morning.
Believe it or not….the kumquat was sweet! The skin was sweet and completely edible. It must be a completely different variety to the kumquat we get in Australia.
My mother also got some fruit this morning….and an egg, boiled in some soy sauce and water. If you do see this at an East/West buffet, it is worth trying. The water can be flavoured with various additions such as soy sauce, mirin or sake, brown sugar and ginger. When you peel the egg, the other bit of the eggwhite might be a little brown; but that’s what adds additional flavour to the hard boiled egg.
Once again, we enjoyed the buffet breakfast at the hotel. Our second breakfast was also our last one at this hotel. So, I said my goodbyes to the master noodle maker and thanked him. I sure hope he understood how much I had enjoyed his food.
(Continued in Next Post)
The Second Breakfast
We got up early again. Afterall, breakfast was calling our name! We grabbed our standard table.
This time, I was much more comfortable with the hotel and figured I was just going to take pictures of the buffet area.
There are a lot of buffet warmers. That’ll give you an idea that we did have the full Western style options as well as the Eastern options.
In the right-hand corner, you’ll find my La-la Mein master noodle maker.
There was also the percolated coffee and if you notice the container on the left of the picture, the Chinese seem to like warm/hot milk! I suspect it was a solution made from powdered milk. By my Aussie milk standards, it never really looked like the right milk colour to me.
There were also cold fruit and veg options.
I was surprised by the fruit selection. Maybe it was just the season and what was available in China, but there wasn’t the wide selection of fruit I would expect at a standard buffet.
What I found interesting about the buffet were the Asian condiments. You would grab a selection of these pickles to have with congee.
Likewise with the salted egg and preserved tofu.
The selection of breads and pastry was also diverse. Aside from the expected Western options….
….we also found the Eastern options to be ample.
Yes. I did notice them. I liked the quirky table decorations very much!
Once again, I went with the handmade noodle breakfast. I also got a some of the Asian condiments to go with my meal. I do like salted duck eggs but it is something of an acquired taste.
For those wondering how the eggs are made, I have made salted duck eggs myself at home. Soak the duck eggs in a brine solution (a 25% salt to hot water solution, boiled to dissolved and then cooled right down to room temperature), with some peppercorns, star anise and rice wine for at least 25 days.
I had looked at the fruit the morning before and passed up on it. Not so this morning.
Believe it or not….the kumquat was sweet! The skin was sweet and completely edible. It must be a completely different variety to the kumquat we get in Australia.
My mother also got some fruit this morning….and an egg, boiled in some soy sauce and water. If you do see this at an East/West buffet, it is worth trying. The water can be flavoured with various additions such as soy sauce, mirin or sake, brown sugar and ginger. When you peel the egg, the other bit of the eggwhite might be a little brown; but that’s what adds additional flavour to the hard boiled egg.
Once again, we enjoyed the buffet breakfast at the hotel. Our second breakfast was also our last one at this hotel. So, I said my goodbyes to the master noodle maker and thanked him. I sure hope he understood how much I had enjoyed his food.
(Continued in Next Post)
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Not Fun Moment with the Credit Card
One of the things that any traveller thinks about before leaving for an overseas vacation…..will my credit card work in the country that I’m going to?
For us Aussies, the answer is invariably yes. Afterall, we live in an island continent and if we want to see anything of the world, we have to travel. Therefore, it is almost a given that our banks will have already worked out arrangements with any bank in the world for credit card, cash withdrawals etc for their travelling customers.
The only thing the banks require is for their customers to let them know that they are travelling so that they can update the information in their systems.
My bank has progressed this side of the transaction to the point where I no longer have to go into a branch and inform them over the counter. I can update the details via my online banking account. I had duly completed this exercise about a week beforehand.
I will admit that I had given a bit more thought about the combination of cash, credit and prepaid debit card for this trip than for any of my other vacations. Afterall, it was my first time in China. Still.....I figured that there are a lot of Australians that do travel to China every year and no one has ever complained about not having banking access. I reasoned that banking and the use of credit cards in China would be fairly standard.
In any event, what you would hear is the occasional story about credit card scam. Been there, done that. DH's card had been scammed on a previous vacay to Orlando and there was no way I wanted a repeat of having to deal with the changeover of cards again.
So I decided to carry a lot more cash than normal. I effectively carried enough cash for the daily expenses, small souvenir purchases and enough to cover all ground travel costs. I had only planned to use the credit card for larger purchases at departmental stores or at Disney. I also had prepaid for all my accommodation in China and prepaid for the SDL park tickets.
It actually works out well as China is predominantly a cash society anyway.
For the record and for security/peace of mind reasons – I did leave the bulk of the cash behind in the hotel safes as soon as I checked in. I only carried a daily allowance with me.
Anyhoo........
When we checked into the Central Hotel, they requested a hold of about 1000 Yuan (about $200 in my money). I could have left cash or they would have put a transaction hold on my credit card for the amount. Given that it was the hotel and not some fly-by-night store, I chose to use the credit card. At point of check-in, there was no issue with the hotel completing the transaction at that point.
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. At point of check-out, the hotel tried to reverse the transaction and it failed!
It failed on two separate machines and with 3 hotel staff trying to complete the reversal.
The message they got on the machine was that the card holder should contact their bank.
Say what????
Yes, I had a minor meltdown at that point. With my bank!!!!
With only a local data SIM, it was impossible for me to call my bank. So, I contact my DH and got him to contact the bank. As he’s not the legal lessee of the account, they wouldn’t talk to him.
That left the hotel with $200 on my credit card that they couldn’t refund to me, a queue of rather impatient people behind me with grumpy looks on their faces and time ticking down on the clock where we had to meet up with Aussie Wendy.
As there was nothing I could do about the situation and the hotel staff being as helpful as they possibly could, I had to let it go. At best, the staff told me that when I sorted it out with my bank (which was looking like it would only happen when I got home), I could send them an email and they would then sort it out.
So, we left our bags with the hotel concierge and headed out.
( Continued in Next Post)
One of the things that any traveller thinks about before leaving for an overseas vacation…..will my credit card work in the country that I’m going to?
For us Aussies, the answer is invariably yes. Afterall, we live in an island continent and if we want to see anything of the world, we have to travel. Therefore, it is almost a given that our banks will have already worked out arrangements with any bank in the world for credit card, cash withdrawals etc for their travelling customers.
The only thing the banks require is for their customers to let them know that they are travelling so that they can update the information in their systems.
My bank has progressed this side of the transaction to the point where I no longer have to go into a branch and inform them over the counter. I can update the details via my online banking account. I had duly completed this exercise about a week beforehand.
I will admit that I had given a bit more thought about the combination of cash, credit and prepaid debit card for this trip than for any of my other vacations. Afterall, it was my first time in China. Still.....I figured that there are a lot of Australians that do travel to China every year and no one has ever complained about not having banking access. I reasoned that banking and the use of credit cards in China would be fairly standard.
In any event, what you would hear is the occasional story about credit card scam. Been there, done that. DH's card had been scammed on a previous vacay to Orlando and there was no way I wanted a repeat of having to deal with the changeover of cards again.
So I decided to carry a lot more cash than normal. I effectively carried enough cash for the daily expenses, small souvenir purchases and enough to cover all ground travel costs. I had only planned to use the credit card for larger purchases at departmental stores or at Disney. I also had prepaid for all my accommodation in China and prepaid for the SDL park tickets.
It actually works out well as China is predominantly a cash society anyway.
For the record and for security/peace of mind reasons – I did leave the bulk of the cash behind in the hotel safes as soon as I checked in. I only carried a daily allowance with me.
Anyhoo........
When we checked into the Central Hotel, they requested a hold of about 1000 Yuan (about $200 in my money). I could have left cash or they would have put a transaction hold on my credit card for the amount. Given that it was the hotel and not some fly-by-night store, I chose to use the credit card. At point of check-in, there was no issue with the hotel completing the transaction at that point.
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. At point of check-out, the hotel tried to reverse the transaction and it failed!
It failed on two separate machines and with 3 hotel staff trying to complete the reversal.
The message they got on the machine was that the card holder should contact their bank.
Say what????
Yes, I had a minor meltdown at that point. With my bank!!!!
With only a local data SIM, it was impossible for me to call my bank. So, I contact my DH and got him to contact the bank. As he’s not the legal lessee of the account, they wouldn’t talk to him.
That left the hotel with $200 on my credit card that they couldn’t refund to me, a queue of rather impatient people behind me with grumpy looks on their faces and time ticking down on the clock where we had to meet up with Aussie Wendy.
As there was nothing I could do about the situation and the hotel staff being as helpful as they possibly could, I had to let it go. At best, the staff told me that when I sorted it out with my bank (which was looking like it would only happen when I got home), I could send them an email and they would then sort it out.
So, we left our bags with the hotel concierge and headed out.
( Continued in Next Post)
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
That looks stunning.
I would not have expected this. I like the kumquats we can get here, but they are a mix of bitter and tangy.
Corinna
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
In Search Of......Zen
I left the hotel feeling very grumpy and flustered. DH was still texting me with updates on his lack of progress with the bank. They kept insisting that there should be no reason why the transaction would not be working. According to the person he spoke with, they only block charges....they NEVER block refunds.
He also told me that the person had relented enough to check my account details and had confirmed that I had updated the account with all the right information.
There really wasn't much more we could do. But I was definitely in need of some zen.
And there….on Central Square, with the hotel in the background….I found the balance.
It took a few minutes, but the grumpiness did flutter away.
My mother had taught to me ask if it was okay to take photos in Mandarin.
The ladies were obliging!
There were also some Tai Chi practitioners in the square.
This one was mesmerising.
His moves were slow, deliberate and extremely fluid.
The graceful movements fanned away all my grumpiness. I definitely left the square in a much better frame of mind.
(Continued in Next Post)
I left the hotel feeling very grumpy and flustered. DH was still texting me with updates on his lack of progress with the bank. They kept insisting that there should be no reason why the transaction would not be working. According to the person he spoke with, they only block charges....they NEVER block refunds.
He also told me that the person had relented enough to check my account details and had confirmed that I had updated the account with all the right information.
There really wasn't much more we could do. But I was definitely in need of some zen.
And there….on Central Square, with the hotel in the background….I found the balance.
It took a few minutes, but the grumpiness did flutter away.
My mother had taught to me ask if it was okay to take photos in Mandarin.
The ladies were obliging!
There were also some Tai Chi practitioners in the square.
This one was mesmerising.
His moves were slow, deliberate and extremely fluid.
The graceful movements fanned away all my grumpiness. I definitely left the square in a much better frame of mind.
(Continued in Next Post)
Last edited:
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
In Search Of….Old Town
Our destination today was the Old Nanshi area or Old City.
Old City is the area inside the the ancient walled city of Shanghai, the city walls ringed the city around what is today Renmin & Zhonghua streets. During the era of foreign concessions, the old city remained exclusively Chinese, and foreigners seldom ventured there. These days there are more foreigners. Afterall, it is a very touristy part of Shanghai.
Aussie Wendy and I had arranged to meet up at the Yu Garden train station. From our hotel, we walked up to the Nanjing East Road Station. The Yu Garden station was one stop down and caught up with Wendy and her DD.
From the station, it was a short walk to the Yuyuan Bazaar. We passed by one of the four gates into this area.
There was a jewellery shop down this street. It was guarded by a pair of Guardian Lions.
The lions are always in pairs – one male and one female – representing ying and yang; power and supremacy, and compassion and support. The guardians are placed outside a building to protect against negative energy. They are meant to attract happy and satisfied customers and keep trouble makers away. It is said these guardian lions will stop anyone with malicious intentions from entering the establishment. As a result, many offices, shops, hotels and restaurants may place these Chinese guardian lions outside on either side of the entrance. You'll find them to be quite common in Asian areas everywhere around the world.
This is the Yuyuan Bazaar complex. It’s what I would call “fake old”. It might look the part but it’s really not that old. It contains a jumble of touristy shops, selling silk fans, bamboo articles, shell carvings, paintings, jade and anything else you might want to get as a souvenir of your Shanghai visit. It is one of the areas that tourists would head to when in Shanghai.
It was a maze of long alleys filled wall to wall with shops…..
….that occasionally expanded out into open spaces.
We kept going in the one direction and basically stuck to the one alley. It turned out to be a good strategy on how to navigate our way through the Bazaar section of YuYuan. We saw lots to admire and be interested in. The thing that I liked about this place was that the storekeepers weren't that pushy about pulling you inside their shops. They were (mostly) happy to let you browse.
We eventually came out to the ‘genuine old’ part of Yuyuan. That’s the Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse building in the middle, which you get to by the 9 zig-zag bridge. The zigzag bridge is a common feature in classical Chinese gardens. According to local lore (and tourist guides!) zigzag bridges and paths are said to confound evil spirits that can only walk straight lines.
Yeah. I really don't know why the guides tell you that. I've watched enough Chinese ghost stories in my youth to know that this one doesn't make sense. All the ghosts in those Chinese movies were very capable of floating through walls and chasing people in straight lines. And we all know that movies always portray the truth!
In actual fact, these zigzag bridges are mainly decorative features based on the Zen principle of mindfulness. It’s meant to slow your walking pace down to take pleasure of the landscape around.
We weren’t in the mood to stop for tea. We were in search of Old Shanghai!
Our destination today was the Old Nanshi area or Old City.
Old City is the area inside the the ancient walled city of Shanghai, the city walls ringed the city around what is today Renmin & Zhonghua streets. During the era of foreign concessions, the old city remained exclusively Chinese, and foreigners seldom ventured there. These days there are more foreigners. Afterall, it is a very touristy part of Shanghai.
Aussie Wendy and I had arranged to meet up at the Yu Garden train station. From our hotel, we walked up to the Nanjing East Road Station. The Yu Garden station was one stop down and caught up with Wendy and her DD.
From the station, it was a short walk to the Yuyuan Bazaar. We passed by one of the four gates into this area.
There was a jewellery shop down this street. It was guarded by a pair of Guardian Lions.
The lions are always in pairs – one male and one female – representing ying and yang; power and supremacy, and compassion and support. The guardians are placed outside a building to protect against negative energy. They are meant to attract happy and satisfied customers and keep trouble makers away. It is said these guardian lions will stop anyone with malicious intentions from entering the establishment. As a result, many offices, shops, hotels and restaurants may place these Chinese guardian lions outside on either side of the entrance. You'll find them to be quite common in Asian areas everywhere around the world.
This is the Yuyuan Bazaar complex. It’s what I would call “fake old”. It might look the part but it’s really not that old. It contains a jumble of touristy shops, selling silk fans, bamboo articles, shell carvings, paintings, jade and anything else you might want to get as a souvenir of your Shanghai visit. It is one of the areas that tourists would head to when in Shanghai.
It was a maze of long alleys filled wall to wall with shops…..
….that occasionally expanded out into open spaces.
We kept going in the one direction and basically stuck to the one alley. It turned out to be a good strategy on how to navigate our way through the Bazaar section of YuYuan. We saw lots to admire and be interested in. The thing that I liked about this place was that the storekeepers weren't that pushy about pulling you inside their shops. They were (mostly) happy to let you browse.
We eventually came out to the ‘genuine old’ part of Yuyuan. That’s the Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse building in the middle, which you get to by the 9 zig-zag bridge. The zigzag bridge is a common feature in classical Chinese gardens. According to local lore (and tourist guides!) zigzag bridges and paths are said to confound evil spirits that can only walk straight lines.
Yeah. I really don't know why the guides tell you that. I've watched enough Chinese ghost stories in my youth to know that this one doesn't make sense. All the ghosts in those Chinese movies were very capable of floating through walls and chasing people in straight lines. And we all know that movies always portray the truth!
In actual fact, these zigzag bridges are mainly decorative features based on the Zen principle of mindfulness. It’s meant to slow your walking pace down to take pleasure of the landscape around.
We weren’t in the mood to stop for tea. We were in search of Old Shanghai!
shushh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2009
Ok I've finally caught up!
So nice to see a photo of yourself and Aussie Wendy! Another long time favourite DIS member of mine. I think it's wonderful that you're doing this trip together. Nothing like exploring a Disney park with other fans.
Re: zig zag bridges. Yes I too confirm from childhood tv that Chinese ghosts definitely don't have problems overcoming those!
So nice to see a photo of yourself and Aussie Wendy! Another long time favourite DIS member of mine. I think it's wonderful that you're doing this trip together. Nothing like exploring a Disney park with other fans.
Re: zig zag bridges. Yes I too confirm from childhood tv that Chinese ghosts definitely don't have problems overcoming those!
OrangeBirdGirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2014
PrincessinOz - Great posts, well the ones I've read. We are heading there next month so some of the posts I've breezed over as I want to be surprised. Yuyuan is something we were hoping to hit up but not sure so I checked out that segment. Looks pretty neat! How long did you spend there? We are thinking we might be there when the gardens open at 8:30 and then stay until 10:30 and get back to our hotel for check out then head over to Disney. Were the shops open before 8:30 so we could start a little earlier?
I'm glad to see how much you liked the location of your hotel. We are staying right across the street from where you are.
I'm glad to see how much you liked the location of your hotel. We are staying right across the street from where you are.
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