On a hot and stormy afternoon we landed in Shanghai. The monsoon season had set in and it was characteristically wet and humid. But it was wonderful to be back in this lovely city; our base all for all our overseas trips and a city which for such a long time has signified the excitement of our outgoing adventures and our home coming peace, rest and recreation.

And it was fabulous to be "back home" at the very salubrious Sofitel Hyland Shanghai Hotel located in the shopping heart of Shanghai, right on the famous Nanjing Dong Lu Mall. We always stay at the Sofitel Hyland. It is a lovely comfortable hotel with which we are now very familiar - and at the end of our travels, all we need is some rest and pure indulgence. It may only be rated at a four star hotel but for us it provides all we need in terms of location, service and comfort.



But we were absolutely exhausted and must have looked dreadful (we always do when we return from our tough travels), especially me as I had been violently sick all the way back from Urumqi. Unlike several very sophisticated people who checked into the hotel's Club Floor ahead of us, we had no Gucci travel luggage nor even any clean good clothing. In two consecutive emails to my good friend Sue I wrote:

"We have just arrived at our (Sofitel Hyland Shanghai) hotel. Everyone here is looking very pucker and we look like people who have been dragged in from Islamabad. Worse than my usual Bride of Frankenstein appearance after a such a long, long trip, this time I kind of look like a dinosaur with all my wrinkles, and deadly black sunken eyes...".

Obviously the shower did me a world of good. My following email reads: 

"...We are thoroughly enjoying the Sofitel Hotel - oh bliss to have a hot shower! And to sit in our Club Lounge overlooking central Shanghai, the lovely Oriental Pearl Tower, and Shanghai Harbour, enjoying a good cup of real coffee and some little French tarts, fresh homemade French bread with real BUTTER!!!!"

Our Lovely Sofitel Hyland Shanghai Hotel Room

View From Our Hotel Room

The Iconic Pearl Tower From Our Hotel Room

 
After six weeks pretty rough and tough travel, I cannot tell you just how much we enjoyed the hotel's hospitality that evening. The Club Lounge puts on a Happy Hour (actually two hours) each evening, providing drinks of any kind and a wonderful array of yum cha snacks and hot finger foods, as well as a fantastic selection of French cheeses, smoked salmon, sashimi and caviar and....Oh, I could go on forever - I have often said I could live at the Sofitel Shanghai. And I probably could!

It is amazing what a few drinks can do and in no time we were feeling a lot better. But it was a very early night. 

The next morning I was still queasy and suffering from a horrible gastric problem. But I was absolutely determined to front up for breakfast.

Breakfast is always such a treat at the Sofitel. It is not amazingly elaborate but the selection and quality of food is exceptional. Being a French company, the Sofitel always has the very best freshly baked baguettes, French pastries and a superb array of cheeses. Somehow I managed to eat a good breakfast, thoroughly enjoying the whole experience. It was just such a shame we had to leave that day for our outgoing flight to Sydney.

We usually visit the Taobao markets in Shanghai - the very best, fun place to buy fake watches and other "designer" goods but neither of us was feeling up to it. A short shopping trip to nearby Giordanos clothing store was quite enough for both of us. We bought some gifts and few clothes for ourselves before heading back to our hotel for a very quiet afternoon before we left for Pudong International Airport for our flights to Sydney via Hong Kong that evening.

 

Our journey had come to an end and we were both more than ready to go home. Well, a typhoon was predicted and another day in Shanghai would have been nice. But it was all just wishful thinking....