Here’s my April 2018 blog round-up, and it’s quite eventful! As I mentioned in my last round-up, Jim’s parents were in Shanghai all the way from Sweden for almost 2 weeks, so we visited many tourist attractions with them. At the end of the April, we took a three-day trip to Hong Kong, where I accomplished my biggest goal – to buy a new laptop!
The technical problem that came with my laptops:
April wasn’t as fruitful as I wish in terms of blog updates. It all sounds like an excuse, but if you follow me on Instagram, you’d know that my last computer was giving me loads of trouble when I tried to do anything on it. I backed up all the files, got a new computer in Hong Kong and was so ready to do some major updates, but I couldn’t transfer images and video clips from my camera because my new MacBook Pro only allows a USB-C connector! I’m still working on the issue and hopefully will resolve it soon.
Places visited in Shanghai:
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
We visited the Aquarium on April 5th, and it was a bad idea.
Well, originally we thought it was perfect because it was raining that day, but it turned out that everyone had the same thought. April 5th was Tomb Sweeping Festival in China (aka Qingming Jie清明节, which is a Chinese national holiday), and with the number of visitors, it was not an enjoyable experience. Also, despite having the longest underwater tunnel in the world, the tunnel was narrow and packed with (inconsiderate) people.
Entrance Fee: 160RMB for adults; big discount for seniors – Was it worth it? No. The sharks were pretty awesome though.
Metro line: #2 (light green) Lujiazui (陆家嘴)
Shanghai Tower
We finally got to take the fastest elevator in the world to the observation deck of Shanghai Tower. In contrast to our experience at the Aquarium, the money was well spent, and the view of Shanghai was absolutely fabulous. I highly recommend everyone who plans to visit Shanghai to spare some time for the tallest skyscraper in China.
The best time to go? Get in line an hour before sunset, so you get to see the view in daylight and night!
Entrance fee: 180RMB
Metro line: #2 (light green) to Lujiazui (陆家嘴)
Shanghai Wild Animal Park
It wasn’t our first time visiting the Wild Animal Park, but it was our first time going on the safari ride! We got to see bears, lions, wolves, and some other animals “in the wild.” Although there were many things we didn’t like about the Wild Animal Park, we would still recommend you to go if you are in Shanghai for a longer period. You get to see some amazing wild animals up close.
Like this close.
The bus ticket for the safari ride is included in the ticket, but if you want to take the awesome bus – you need to pay an extra 40RMB at the bus station.
Entrance fee:130RMB
Metro line: #16 (baby green) to Wild Animal Park (野生动物园)
M50 Art District, Moganshan Road (莫干山路)
“M50” is an art district that features contemporary artworks. It’s the home to the studios of 100+ artists, and most of them are open to the public. It wasn’t a new discovery, but this is Shanghai – There’s always something new. I found many new shops and galleries at M50 this round. If you want to see some cool graffiti, this is your place to go.
Entrance fee: Free
Metro line: #13 (light pink) to Jiangning Road (江宁路)
We went to Hong Kong!
We spent 3 days in Hong Kong, and we got to explore as much as we could. I got to meet up with some old friends from high school and enjoyed delicious dim sum! My first time visiting Hong Kong was on the way to Greece in 2015, but that time I was mostly catching up with friends. We stayed at Camlux Hotel in Kowloon Bay – We love the quiet neighbourhood and the short walk to the MTR, so although it wasn’t the centre, Hong Kong’s public transportation is convenient enough for us to get around.
Here are some memorable things we did in Hong Kong:
- Ate, shop, and walked around Wan Chai (灣仔) and Causeway Bay (銅鑼灣)
- Took a cable car to Central (中環) and checked out the Mid-Levels Escalator (中環半山電扶梯) and the area.
- Strolled around Victoria Harbour (維多利亞港) and Central & Western District Promenade (and discovered Tamar Park!)
- Walked from Mong Kok (旺角) all the way to Shen Sui Po (深水埗) and discovered Women Street (crazy people shopping for medicines), Petshop street (cats, dogs, fish … etc.) and Flower Market!
- Took the Peak Tram all the way up to Victoria Peak for a night view of Hong Kong.
- Took Ngong Ping 360 Cable car (昂坪纜車) to Lantau Island (大嶼山)
I’m working on a post and video, of course! I’d love to have you subscribe to my YouTube!
I booked a flight to Seoul, 5 days before going.
Jim had to go to Seoul for business, so I booked a last-minute flight to Seoul when I was still in Hong Kong. It was my first time visiting South Korea, and it unexpectedly became my 32nd country!
I haven’t felt this spontaneous rush in a while – Although it was quite tiring to travel in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul all within a week, the trip certainly gave me a mental boost! I’m already back from Seoul as I’m writing this monthly round-up.
Coming up in May 2018
I am in the process of forming an official partnership with Backstreet Academy. I’m now their ambassador! Backstreet Academy is a peer-to-peer travel platform that connects travellers with locals who are devoted to their arts and crafts. The Academy brings travelling to another level where travellers get to sit down with a master and take time to learn like an apprentice.
To learn more about what they do, check out the previous experience I had with them in Cambodia.
I’m very behind on writing new posts and making videos due to all sorts of reasons, but I really hope I can catch up more in May – It’s all about setting my priority although things-to-do seem to pile up one after another.
We also decided to go to Bali, Indonesia and stop in Singapore on the way there. We haven’t booked the tickets yet, so we will be doing that in May. I went to Singapore 3 times when I was a kid – the first two times were with family, and the third time was with my elementary school orchestra. Therefore, it has been 18 years (!) since I last visited Singapore! I also went to Bali twice with my family 20 years ago, so I’m sure I will have brand new experiences this time!