Greetings from Shanghai on this our second day in port. We have several overnights this 24 day segment we chose to do this year and it has changed the way we plan our days. Generally on over nights we can do an excursion, go back out and explore independently, and then have an excursion the second day as we did this time again. I started my morning at the gym knocking out my daily workout. Then it was home to get ready for the day. I grabbed a quick breakfast from the Neptune Lounge and Megan skipped breakfast today. We met our tour group at the Main Stage at 8:45am this morning. We were all bundled up for another cold day. Today we started with a bus ride to the Maglev train station. There we caught the train to the Pudong Airport. Here is the excerpt from our excursion description for the day.
“Made with the help of cutting edge European technology, the Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Train is the new state-of-art mode of transportation in Shanghai. Using no wheels, the train floats on an electromagnetic cushion, propelled along a guideway at incredible speeds. Meandering for 20 miles from Long Yang Lu Station to Pudong International Airport, and built with a budget of more than US$1 billion, the train can reach a speed of 267mph—the highest ever for any operational transport on the ground.”
Since COVID times for some reason they no longer accelerate the train to its full capacity. We reached a maximum speed of 301 km/hr or 187 mph. It was definitely quick and it can take about 45 minutes to drive the distance that we covered in just 8 minutes of the magnetic train. After we left the train station we boarded back on the bus and headed to the Jinmao Hyatt Building in the heart of the city which stands 420 meters tall. At one time it was the tallest building in China. It was completed in 1998. We took the elevator to the 88th floor in 45 seconds at a speed of about 9 meters per second. The architects that built the Sears tower in New York are the same that designed and built this tower. The panoramic views from the top were amazing. It was a slightly foggy day, but we were able to take photos back towards where we took picture from yesterday along the Bund. The highlight was the center of the tower is “hollow” from the 53rd to the 88th floor. These are all the floors that make up the Hyatt hotel. There is glass on the 88th floor that allows you to look straight down to the 53rd floor below. It was incredibly creepy to look down that far. Megan and I had a brief amount of free time after we came back “down to earth” so we found a Starbucks and tried something old and something new. Then we were back to the bus for an hour long scenic drive back to the port. Our guide was so knowledgable. we learned so much about the history of Shanghai, the buildings we saw, her family and their challenges of living in Shanghai, and the war on Opium. She even taught us to speak some Chinese. We learned about the Pearl TV tower and it’s 11 “pearls”, we learned about the Shanghai World Financial Center affectionately called the “bottle opener”, and we learned about the Shanghai tower which stands 642 meters tall and is currently the second tallest building in the world. As we drove back along the Bund we saw all the British influence in the buildings that still stand there today. One of the most famous place in the Bund area is the Peace Hotel. As we arrived back to the port we decided we were very pleased with the time we had here. We saw so many wonderful sights and absorbed some wonderful history and cultural experiences that are unique to this area of China. We headed to the Dive In and had burgers for the first time this trip. Then Megan and I put on our swimsuits and spent time in the hot tub as the ship pulled out and sailed away from Shanghai. We had dinner together in the main dining room this evening as they had a “Chinatown” themed dinner this evening. I had roasted duck served over garlic rice and Megan had the beef lo mein. The food was very good. I headed home to write my blog and Megan went out to visit and spend time with friends. Tomorrow is a sea day and I am looking forward to a day of rest. We will do some tidying and enjoy our sea day activities. Please enjoy the photo dump I add below. I know it will be difficult choosing the best photos of the day but I want you to feel like you were along our journey with us today.
Live Vicariously Through Debra 
What an incredible day and a really cool place to be!!! ❤️
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