My first couple of days in Shanghai have been extremely rocky. In preparing for this trip, there was so many questions that I wasn’t able to answer until I was on the ground. I am hoping that I am just experiencing a very normal learning curve!
I decided to come to Shanghai two days earlier than my study abroad program started in order to adjust to the 12 hour time difference, explore the city before school started, and to save a significant amount of money on the flight. I booked a hotel through Expedia that was about 7 miles away from the airport. I thought that this would make things easy and the pictures of the hotel looked pretty decent. The hotel was only $15 US dollars a night, which was a little on the low end relative to Shanghai prices, but I was feeling adventurous and most of all: cheap.
My plane landed at 10:30am on Saturday after about 18 hours of traveling. There ended up not being any available WiFi at the airport so I was unable to tell my family that I landed safely, which made me on edge and anxious. I was lucky enough to meet a Chinese NYU student named Grace on the plane, who become my saving grace once we landed. I was extremely nervous to go through immigration because I had so many irrational fears about something going wrong with my visa etc. Navigating through the airport and getting my baggage wasn’t difficult at all, plus I had Grace with me which just made everything easier.
Grace helped me find a cab and told the driver where I needed to go. Some of the drivers didn’t know the road my hotel was on, which should have been the first red flag for me. In the end, Grace found a driver that was able to take me there. When we pulled up to the hotel, I was surprised by the lack of businesses, shops, or frankly anything surrounding the hotel. I walked into the “hotel” to find that the receptionist didn’t speak any English. We were able to make it work and I got the key to my room. My room was on the third floor and of course the establishment didn’t have an elevator where I could easily bring all my luggage up to my room.
When I got to my room, the door was open. I went in to see that the toilet was in the middle of the room along with a stand-alone shower that was basically a cubicle with a drain. The bed was so hard it could have doubled as a hardwood floor. The air-conditioning didn’t work and the window didn’t open as well. After 18 hours of traveling, language barrier frustrations regarding transportation, and the fact that I felt like my face was going to melt off, I was done. I went to the lobby to use the WiFi to book another hotel.
After about an hour of searching, I found a Radisson hotel that was in the city. It was on the pricy side, but I knew it was safe, clean, and would help me rest before I started my program. The receptionist was very angry that I was leaving and refused to help me find a cab that would take me to the new hotel. I didn’t ask for a refund and I tried to be as delicate as possible. At this point, I just went on to the street with all my luggage and hoped for the best. A taxi pulled up not too long after and I showed him the address and a picture.
When I got to the Radisson, I felt like I was in absolute heaven. I was able to speak to someone who spoke English and my room was perfect! I stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World. It’s in the heart of the shopping district with lots of fun things to do. My first goal now that I was settled into my hotel was to not fall asleep that way I could start adjusting to the time difference. I took the best shower of my life and rearranged all my belongings now that I wasn’t limited by the airline restrictions.
By this time it was 5:00pm and I was just ready for dinner. Feeling tired, frustrated, and unadventurous, I decided to pay a little more to eat at the hotel restaurant. It was an amazing dinner that had a great view of the entire city because of the revolving restaurant. After dinner, I went straight to bed.
Overall, the first day was exciting to say the least. I’m thankful for arriving safely, having the means to leave a bad situation, and for having wonderful family and friends that have supported me every step of the way.
Here’s to better days and crazy adventures! Cheers 🙂
Rachel's Foreign Adventures 