The flight left early, boarding the plane at just after 8:30. So naturally we thought that breakfast would be served (along with lunch and dinner), but as the hours clicked over and we got closer to our destination, it was evident we would have rumbling tummies until lunch.
The flight from Sydney to Shanghai is around 10 1/2 hours. It's not too bad of a flight, as far as flights go. Just enough time to churn through a few movies and a couple of TV episodes.
We arrived in Shanghai, happy to be off the plane and stretch our legs. Our friend who we were traveling with, Jarreth, was meeting with one of his friends who lived in Shanghai, Emma. This was perfect! After a long flight, we had someone who could point us in the right direction and translate our crucial first few hours.
We took the Maglev bullet train to the city centre (this is super fast - we clocked 301kmph and apparently this train will clock a max of 400-450 during peak transit hours.) There are cheaper options to get into the city centre - but this is fast and fun. Standard fare is 50RMB (about $8.50 AUD) but if you present you boarding pass you can ride for 40RMB (about $6.50AUD).
Finding our hostel shouldn't be too hard, we were giving clear instructions at the time of booking... Well, it wasn't that hard...but we did go on small adventure - walking the wrong way down the street for a good 1km. Pointed in the right direction by a tuk tuk driving, we finally found the Blue Mountain Bund hostel.
It's a small hostel, but it is super clean. The rooms are a decent size (we were in a 4 room dorm) and the price is reasonable. For 3 nights 2pax we paid 351RMB (that's about $10AUD per night per person!) not bad!!!
I'm am quickly learning that my Aussie 'she'll be right' attitude to finding vegetarian food I can eat is just silly... Well at 10pm at night it is anyway. On a chipper note, the street food looks amazing. So many different meats on offer all served on convenient sticks - the ultimate fast food!
