AFFs tags on their first trip-Shanghai,Macau and KL.

[drron]

Well Thursday has arrived and off to MCY for the last JQ flight to SYD.Had to be JQ because of the timing.
JQ791.MCY-SYD.ETD-1945.ETA-2120.
Actual departure-1945.Actual arrival-2106.
Bags off numbers 3,5.Hey fantastic service and all you can expect.We had paid an extra $5 for upfront seats.Ended up with the whole of Row 2 to ourselves.So mrsdrron took C,I took D.
Walked out and the hotel shuttle was just about to leave.Ended up at the IBIS by 2130.Mrsdrron flashes her A card and we are on the top floor-all rooms basically the same though.But relatively cheap and convenient.
Up early and catch the 6am shuttle to the International Terminal.Arrive as they open up checkin for our flight to PVG.Straight out through the fast track-probably 30 waiting in that line to go through screening.No one in the general line so we go there.Soon on our way to the Flounge-a welcome return.
That and our flight next.

 

[Hvr]

Looking forward to hearing about Shanghai. I will be arriving there on Friday night (03 June). Will also visit Xi'an and the terracotta warriors.

 

[drron]

When we enter the Flounge we are shown straight to a seat for breakfast.i start with the Bircher muesli,mrsdrron the porridge.We both have eggs with bacon and i add the tomatoes and mushrooms.great service,a nice way to start a journey.
Move to a window seat and watch the A380 depart.But probably the most spectacular sight was when we first entered-an absolutely magnificent sunrise.
We leave early so mrsdrron can wander by some of the retail establishments and get to the gate as boarding commences-several interlopers are needed to be cleared from the business line before we proceed through.I get to our seats-5A,B and am nearly bowled over by a group of Chinese off down the back.then of course when seated ducking and weaving to miss the large carryons and backpacks on their journey past.Hey people just be mindful of where your luggage is.
QF129.SYD-PVG.A330-300.ETD-0915.ETA-1805.
Actual departure-0945.arrival-1815.
Now mrsdrron gets no acknowledgement of her status.I do get a first class amenities pack(notice those in the middle rows opposite get a business pack).Mrsdrron gets a female business class pack-sexism from the QF staff presuming I am the WP?
Our lunch was quite reasonable.We both ignored the wilted leaves.mrsdrron started with the Chinese broth with coriander and corn,I had the prosciutto and parmesan salad.Both quite nice.We both had the lamb fillet-really good-tender and just pink.I had started with a couple of glasses of the Charles Heisdck prelunch then switched to the St Henri shiraz.Mrsdrron had the Cape Mentelle semillion/sav blanc.Finished with a cheese plate and i had the Baileys muscat.Realised later that we weren't offered any choccies.
Our light dinner was also quite acceptable with a tea smoked duck.What wasnt acceptable was we were told that the Cape Mentelle and St Henri had run out.Then going to the loo up front find both wines on the trolley in the row 1-3 section.This doesnt really sit with WP recognition and on my last AA sector i got better recognition even though as ordinary plat there.
Next arrival into PVG and the Sheraton Pudong.

 

[Danger]

drron, if you're a sports fan and enjoy a decent bar, The Camel Sports Bar is worth a look. I was there for the soft opening on 26 February (a mate of mine manages it).

 

[drron]

HVR we are leaving Friday morning though we think it is the 4th.:shock:I did a TR of our stay in Shanghai 2 years ago,Shanghai starts at post 5.
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...p-photos/circle-asia-and-flounging-13125.html
I will try to keep up with posts but procrastination is my middle name.
Danger I dont mind Sports bars but mrsdrron is into retail therapy so I dont get inside one often.
Well back to the subject.After arriving at the gate at 1815 it is a long walk to Immigration but only 2 others beat us and only about 12 left from plane before us so through pretty quickly.Bags are coming out as we arrive at carousel but ours are in second half.Also one bag has been opened-the second time in a row this has happened checking in in SYD.No where else but the USA-but there you get a TSA leaflet inside.However nothing missing-not only my junk that no one wants.
Soon at the taxi rank.There is a dispatcher who speaks English but the SPG site has Chinese translations so we have our hotels name and address in Chinese so no problems-except for our kamikaze driver.overtakes everyone including the police.Weaving in and out of the traffic but in 35 minutes we are at the Sheraton Pudong.Though I am drenched in sweat through fear.
Now there are some poor reviews of the Sheraton Pudong but our first impressions are very good.Friendly greeting from doormen,straight to checkin and we are assigned an escort to take us to the Exec lounge on floor 37.Papers are ready when we walk in.Despite staying 8 nights we have been upgraded to a suite-has a great view over Pudong to the Jinmao tower etc.The lounge has a great view up the river to the Bund.Many critiscise its position but there is a subway station at the front door so you can be anywhere in little time.
Now I did have some photos of the AFF tag Flounging and having its first suite experience but it seems our picassaweb albums are blocked here.Will have to wait.
Next-more of the Sheraton and our first day in Shanghai.

 

[drron]

On our first day we go down to the restaurant for brekkie-we are on an Expo package which includes brekkie,internet,expo tickets plus shuttle to expo.Not a bad selection with a few unusual selections such as a croissant and butter pudding.The place is jumping but service is good and certainly not as described in Trip Advisor reviews-though a new GM recently.
Then a little shopping in the small mall next door before catching the subway over the river to lujiabang road and a fabric market-mrsdrron's latest craft projects.A collection of tailors,fabric places and designer fake shops-though the labels are all genuine-just not the garment they are attached to.
From there we walk to the Bund-a fair hike but we need the exercise.Certainly a lot of effort has gone into beautifying the city and flowers everywhere.By the time we get there we need a drink so go to the top floor of the Signal tower-great views and reasonable prices.Sitting behind me is a CNN reporter-recognised the voice,and he kept talking of his time at CNN.One day I will remember the name.
Spend some time walking,looking in a few shops-mrsdrron even finds a pair of shoes that fit.:shock:.Next we go under the river via the sightseeing tunnel which was inoperative on our last visit-didn't really miss much.We then decide to get a taxi back to the hotel for an hour's nanny nap prior to happy hour.Only 15Y-really quite cheap.
Up to the lounge and we are greeted by name-interestingly I am known as rondr.Hmm,who reads AFF and FT.Asked what drinks we would like and they are bought to our seat.Great views down the river to the Bund plus all the large buildings on the Pudong side.Great as darkness falls and the lights come on.Also a reasonable selection of snacks with dim sum,pizza pieces,cheeses,wedges,veggies plus dips,fruit selection plus appetisers.Wines are Wolf Blass.
Very happy with our hotel selection.Tomorrow lunch with our son's inlaws and Nanjing street.

 

[drron]

A little out of sequence but I will talk about Expo if anyone is going to attend.
We had a package through our hotel.Bookings obviously weren't as good as expected.I had noticed the package disappeared a few weeks ago and those who had booked put onto a local tour group.Instead of 4 different departure times there is now only 1 per day to the expo site.And the Chinese are not organised.Today for example we had been told yesterday the bus was going at 0830.Checked at 0800 and told no-it is at 1030.At 1005 we were rung-Why aren't you on the bus?
One big advantage of the group is quaranteed access to the China pavilion.However that gets you in but reduces the wait time from ~ 3 hours to 2 hours.
Also it is a huge place-wear really comfortable shoes.Yesterday we walked 20km-even though took the free transport between zones.
Eating is dearer than on the outside and eating places tend to be crowded.The Starbucks on the third floor of the restaurant pavilion in zone C (next to Russia) is too expensive for the locals and so you can get a comfortable seat and give your feet a rest.The only other place we have been able to get a seat is at the Australian pavilion-lamb burgers aren't too bad-but seats are out in the sun.Really good smoothies at the Cambodia pavilion.
Be prepared to queue.If a pavilion has no queue it is for a reason-ie Phillipines(just a shop)Venezuela(banners promoting revolution).
Be prepared to be pushed,jostled and shoved.The Chinese have no experience of queuing.Personal space in a nation of 1.335 billion people is an alien concept.I have developed a wide based gait and with judicious use of elbows and a swing of the hips have persuaded most not to attempt to pass-1 repeat offender ended up nearly doing a somersault over a baricade with a well timed swing of the hips.The NZ policeman had a good giggle but pointed out it was a futile quest trying to teach the Chinese to queue.
Pavilions have been on the whole a little disappointing.A lot of Chinese walked out of the Australian video presentation.The China pavilion is good-though not spectacular.people say the Saudi one is good too but the wait there yesterday was 8 hours.Liked the Thai,Turkmenistan pavilions.Canada Ok.The African nations was worth a visit-no queue and mainly selling crafts but at least a few displays.Carribbean nations on the other hand not worth the time.Cuba is good if you want a rum coughtail-the mojito wasn't too bad.
Seeing we can go each day with the package we today went for 4 hours and just concentrated on the area around Australia.Tomorrow possibly Europe and Thursday the Theme pavilions.

 

[Hvr]

HVR we are leaving Friday morning though we think it is the 4th.:shock:I did a TR of our stay in Shanghai 2 years ago,Shanghai starts at post 5.
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...p-photos/circle-asia-and-flounging-13125.html
I

D' oh you are of course correct, I will be arriving in Shanghai on the evening of 04 June.

Thanks for the link to the TR.

Look forward to hearing more about your current trip.

 

[drron]

Our second day in Shanghai was taken up with lunch with our son's in laws who live here.A taxi from the Sheraton Pudong to the Intercontinental was 35Y($A6.50).This is further than if you were going to Xintandi,the Bund or Old Town-shows that where you stay really isn't that important if you are a tourist.Also from the Sheraton you can use the Hanpu bridge and avoid the CBD and traffic snarls.
Great security at the IC as the Indian president was staying.Airport type security(though you could come in a side door and bypass it.:shock:Lunch was at a local restaurant.After this we walked down Nanjing road which is the major shopping street.From the Intercontinental heading east it is major upmarket shopping malls with all the leading brands.We passed 4 Rolex shops-they obviously having a major campaign on at the market because they also had hundreds of sales people out on the street.
For QF009 the boss of Louis Vuitton was recently here and for the first time in any city opened 3 stores in the one day.
Just before the mall section of Nanjing road we stopped at the Radisson as mrsdrron needed a rest stop.It appeared quite reasonable and the facilities met with her approval.We started out going into the number one department store which brought back memories of shopping in China in the eighties.Nothing that enticed us though.
At the end of the mall caught a taxi back to the Sheraton Pudong-24Y($A4.40).Alternatively there is a subway station there we could have used at slightly less cost.Once more to happy hour in the lounge and staff remember us and the drinks we have-quite impressed.

 

[markh]

A little out of sequence but I will talk about Expo if anyone is going to attend.

Hi drron,

We are going to Expo in September (staying at the new IC Expo) and would love to hear any tips/hints/advice on your experience ...

Cheers
Markh

 

[mvjs]

Do you know how readily Expo tickets are available for purchase in Shanghai? I'm just trying to weigh up the decision between purchasing it here (at an inflated price) or buying it directly there.

 

[drron]

Expo tickets are freely available in Shanghai.Basic cost-160Y($A30).Even in some convenience stores.Discount if over 60.See here-
Ticketing_Expo 2010 Shanghai China
However on one day it is worthwhile getting a group tour that has a quaranteed admission to the China pavilion.At the Sheraton Pudong this is run by Spring Tours and a cost of 200Y-but includes bus there and back as well.Unfortunately organisational skills in China are in short supply.For our tours the brochure says busses leave the Sheraton at 8,9,10 and 11am.when we went to book we were told only 1 bus per day and it would go at 0830.Well have used it 3 days as was part of our hotel package and the bus has left at 1030,1000 and 0830.
On top of that the bus has dropped us at a different spot each day so hard to plan a days visits.Today we had to walk 2.25km from the bus to get to the security entrance-you have no choice the officials tell you where you are parking.This is despite at gate 8 a designated area for bus unloading-have only used it once.
However if you want to go to the China pavilion without using a group tour you will almost certainly have to line up at the entrance before 0800 as all China tickets are gone by 0910.Today although we arrived outside the ticket gates at 0910 we were not inside until 1000.however as i said before if your tour group has a quaranteed time of say 1800-that means only that you are quaranteed to get into the queue at 1800.With us it was nearly 2 hours later getting into the pavilion.
There are machines inside for tickets to other pavilions.We have not found a machine for an individual countries pavilion that has not had an Out of Order sign on it apart from Taiwan who as well as the morning ticket issue do hand out more at 1800-however people queue up 2 hours before to get those tickets!
Tickets are available for Theme pavilions-but they basically have no lines so no point.
Just remember this Expo is for the Chinese.Well over 90% of the visitors are Chinese.millions of free tickets have been given out to those living in Shanghai and up to 2 hours travelling from Shanghai.And that is a lot of people.
Next I will try to review the pavilions we have been to.

 

[drron]

Well this is turning out to be the most disjointed TR ever but so what.Today is a time for what the China Daily today in their Better english tips would call to Recrap.The Chinese do put "r's"in funny places.
today we returned to an area we enjoyed last visit-we had had enough of Expo.Went to Xintiandi.A supposed recreation of Old Shanghai-but it no doubt is nothing like the past.There are the meeting hall of the First Congress of the Chinese Communist party,a recreation of an old Shanghai family apartment you can visit and what all the tour guides that passed proclaimed,the old family home of Jackie Chan's family.Hmm.
However there are some good gift shops including close by one by the Shanghai Museum that mrsdrron felt i should earn some more membership rewards points at.:shock:
Numerous restaurants of all cuisines and standards.We were torn between the set lunch at T8(168Y and which incidentally now has a single malt room with 2 for 1 on Thursday evenings) which would mean not having dinner or something less substantial so we could face another great Chinese meal at the hotel.So we ended up at Aniseed-a trendy Vietnam style restaurant and shared a mixed entree plate and a BBQ pork Vietnamese style roll.Both were very good but especially the fresh mango and shrimp summer rolls.Both had lemongrass juice which was very refreshing.
We then walked the surrounding area for a while.
Realised for a very good day you could do the walk from the Old China Hands bookshop i did last time(link in post 4) ending up at Fuxing park which is only a short walk to Xintiandi.Then it is not far from Xintiandi to the Peoples Park-would make a very good day in Shanghai.
Taxis are in plentiful supply at present and only 30Y($A5.50) from our hotel to Xintiandi.Back to pack as tomorrow off to Macau.

 

[drron]

Some pics from Expo-

The China pavilion.
AFF tag lines up in the China pavilion-

The China pavilion at night.

AFF tag in awe of a 3000 bus parking lot.

Change of security detail.

The cattle pens to get into Expo.

 

[drron]

My AFF tag has its first Flounge experience in SYD 28/5.In company with its new friends.Watching the A380 being pushed back.

 

[drron]

Well a review of Expo pavilions we visited-
Argentina-nothing of note.
South Africa-Great wine bar-but only open 1 hour a day and only by invitation.Not worth the time.

The Africa pavilion.A collection of smaller African countries.No queue.Some interesting displays.And many craft markets.Some interesting comments such as Brazzaville-city of peace and harmony!

Carribean nations-waste of time.
Cuba-go if you like rum coughtails.I enjoyed my mojito.

Canada.Interesting visuals.I didnt think Mounties looked like this-

Venezuela-very forgettable.
Nepal-queue probably not worth it.Though the restaurant served classic Nepalese fare of KFC and Budweiser.:shock:
Turkmenistan.Couldn't complain here as we were taken out of the line and entered by the VIP gate.At least the display was about the country.
China pavilion ended our first day and already reported.
Next Day 2.

 

[Hvr]

Do you know how readily Expo tickets are available for purchase in Shanghai? I'm just trying to weigh up the decision between purchasing it here (at an inflated price) or buying it directly there.

I went to Expo today and purchased a ticket near the entrance. None of the Expo volunteers could find anywhere to sell me a ticket yesterday.

Do not enter via gate 6, near the China pavilion. Over an hour to get through the cattle gates as shown in the photo from drron.

Will start the TR very soon, I promise. My favourite pavilion was the Danish one, got to see the little mermaid on her first ever trip from Copenhagen.

 

[drron]

Hvr i know at least post offices and Lawson's convenience stores sell expo tickets.I think any of the gates on Pudong side are busy.we ended up going later~1100 and no queues to get in.
On with the pavilions and day 2.
Thailand-queue moves quickly and I thought an enjoyable show.Pity the Shop didn't have shirts in my favourite colour!
Next of course was-

The Chinese didn't seem to enjoy the show.fortunately we were supplied headsets that translated everything into australian.The shearer looked familiar-

The takeaway restaurant here did do a good lamb burger.
Malaysia-no line,for good reason.
Croatia.Ditto.Not sure why they even bothered.Their gift shop was full of ties.
Cambodia-nice little montage of angkor wat and their cafe did some very good smoothies-the mango/coconut one was great.
At this point we had enough.So back to the Sheraton.Next morning my tag surveyed part of the breakfast buffet at the lounge-I'm sure the staff knew I was mad!

And for those that get their kicks shopping some of those on Nanjing road near the ritz carlton-

Of course i got my shopping kicks by going to Walmart-just a 1.6km walk from the Sheraton.First walmart i have been in that i could buy Durian.Did buy some Mangosteens and really large lychees-yum.
Next.Even more expo.

 

[drron]

Our third day started early.Got to the gates at 9am and it was pandemonium.Over an hour from getting to the gate and finally being inside the grounds.So we decided we wouldn't come the fourth day.Outside the gate-

Yes all those people on the other side of the road are lining up just to get to the gate area to be herded into cattle pens to finally get inside through security.
Russia-long queues but moved reasonably quickly.Chinese seemed to love it but i totally missed the point.Some lovely Russian dolls in the gift shop though!
Norway.First pavilion to stop stamping expo passports which meant a shorter queue and less shoving in line.Really good staff who sought us out(so we really do look different?)and explained the displays to us.So I liked it.
Finland-good display.Line moved reasonably quickly.Nearly hip tossed a local into ther pool!
The Pacific pavilion-no queues and reasonable displays.
We then got the shuttle up to the Japan pavilion-but advertised wait of 4-5 hours discouraged us.The queue-

And that line was 10-12 deep.
So we left.
A couple more night shots-definitely the best time to go.

 

[drron]

Again couldn't bring up my Picassa web photos via my google account but with their search engine Voila.So a few shots of shanghai before we leave for Macau.First a great place for a drink-the Signal tower on the Bund.

With a great view-

After this did some shopping and found a discount massage parlour-

The peace hotel-not quite reopened-

Xintiandi-