The view of The Bund in Shanghai really never gets old, does it?
Back in December, I went on one of the best trips of my life. I took the somewhat scary decision to
spend Christmas in Shanghai with my boyfriend who I hadn’t seen for 5 months. Max had been spending a semester studying in Hong Kong and we missed each other a lot, so much to the heartbreak of my family, I flew across the world to spend the festive season in China.
Shanghai is somewhat of a culture shock. Coming from Scotland which has a population of around 5 million people, being in a city with over 24 million other people and buildings that seem structurally impossible was quite surreal. Shanghai is a buzzing modern city, even from the old part of town you can see where the past meets the future (like in the photo above).
During our time there, we mostly wandered around the city just taking everything in. We also ate Christmas dinner in a skyscraper where a nice Chinese lady dressed as Santa served us Turkey with the trimmings. I would really like to return, as we mostly spent time just catching up with each other and being so happy that we weren’t separated by thousands of miles anymore that we didn’t take a lot of time to see all the sights.
China is an experience that I would recommend to anyone – it is a total shock to the system but it is fascinating to see how life works over there. It’s also just incredibly beautiful. Why can’t we have a skyline like this in Glasgow? I’m writing this post in the midst of my exams (which is incredibly depressing) and dreaming of travelling and being impulsive again. Later this summer I’m going to New York which I can’t wait for – but it seems so far away just now.
What are your travel plans this summer/the near future?
