Shanghai Weekend

It was a long weekend and it happened to coincide with my friend P's birthday. She lives in Shanghai and since I've never been there and it's her birthday and I have a long weekend, I decided to go.

It's really easy to jump to another city these days. You just go online and buy a ticket. Sometimes you have to apply for a visa too but getting a Chinese visa doesn't take much of an effort. You just pay for the visa fee and wait for 4 days.

I got an evening flight which was ideal so that I don't have to take a leave on the Friday that I left. I was in Shanghai the same night and P was nice enough to pick me up from the Pudong airport which was 40 minutes from downtown. That's not like an airport-Makati distance although it takes roughly the same time.

My first impression was that it was impressively clean! I had an idea that it would be a bit dirty but it wasn't. I'm not really a fan of urban sightseeing but it helped that I was with a "local" and P took me to some of the best places to hang out in the city.

It was also a good thing that we had a reason to celebrate so I had an excuse for splurging. Aside from the fact that it was P's birthday weekend, it was also my first time ever in China. Never been to Macau nor HK. Those should be next on my travel list.

I won't bore you with the details of my trip. Aside from an afternoon in Yu Garden, it was mostly eating, drinking and shopping. If you need tips on where to go, honestly don't ask me! Because I was just being whisked away from one place to another in a semi-permanent state of drunkenness. Or maybe I can tell you to go to Jean Georges! That place defines posh!

Gay travelers in Shanghai? Don't worry! Your choices will not be limited to the locals. Shanghai is probably one of those cities in the world where ever nationality is well-represented. I for example was moving around with the Filipino posse and the happy people who were lucky enough to be their friends! Pinoys really know how to have fun :)

I was back in Manila Tuesday morning and went straight to work. It was kinda tiring but my weekend felt longer that it actually was and I had a lot of fun! Thanks P for hosting me :)