Thursday, October 24, 2019

Jewels of the Orient - Day 10, 25 Oct 2019 - Shanghai

Before making our way to Shanghai we had a lake to cruise on. West Lake and what a lake it is, massive! This place was busy, so busy we wondered how relaxing this cruise would be. After parking the bus with a million other buses we followed Hans to our boat, it was about a 20 minute walk through parklands and along busy roads within the park. Popular place.

The cruise was so lovely. We sat outside as it was a gorgeous day, nice and warm with a relatively clear sky. Being such a huge lake the cruise ended up being very peaceful and so scenic. Beautiful.

Next stop was a tea plantation. Like all of these types of tours there is always a sales element to it. This was nice in the sense that the lady given the talk was a 5th generation of the plantation so her genuine love for tea, the process and history really showed through. We also got to taste some of their green tea, I really liked it and felt that it did help with feeling lighter, not so bloaty unlike the tea bags I use. After he talk she then started the sales pitch. If I hadn't of bought my pills I probably would have got some of the tea but it was a bit exy. I few people did buy some.

One of the guys on our trip had a big old rant about being taken to places where they sales pitched to you. It was clear in our itinerary that this is what they were for but they also were informative. He said he wanted to see people actually picking the tea, how exciting would that be!

Anyway, after the tea plantation we were headed for Shangihai. As it was a bit of drive, a few hours, we made a stop at a service centre so we could all get something to eat, stretch our legs and go to the bathroom. Western toilets, yay!

I think we got to the hotel at about 6.30pm. It was another lovely hotel but still not in town. There was lots around where we were in terms of restaurants and convenience stores so we didn't have any trouble getting our milk or finding something to eat. Well, we always have trouble finding somewhere to eat but that's just because we don't speak or read Chinese! Another yummy dinner, beef noodles and fried rice and to finish yoghurt with sultanas. So good.

Tomorrow - Shanghai and the Bund!!

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