WOW Shanghai 2010 - 1st Sept (Arrival)

Our AirAsia flight to Hangzhou was at 8:10am, so both my husband & I were up by 5am and ready for the taxi when it came to pick us up at 5:30am. We had bought our tickets in December last year, and now 9 months later, we're finally going!

I'd like to record my thanks to the following people:

1. Margaret Lee, for the FunStompers event where I met the Lim sisters and got to know about WOW Shanghai
2. The Lim sisters for the platform to show Judy my dances & for introducing us.
3. Judy Chen, for inviting me to her prestigious & FUN event
4. and last, but never the least, to my husband for his full support & encouragement on taking up Judy's invite..... & for footing the bill :)

.....and to everyone who has encouraged me towards this moment. Thank you!

The trip to LCCT (low cost carrier terminal) took about 45-50 mins and as we had earlier checked-in online, we only needed to deposit our check-in baggage. The plane took off as scheduled and we were on our way!

The flight was as comfortable as it could possibly get on AirAsia. Those who have flown AirAsia would know by now that the seats do not recline. The bottom slides forward just a little....and I suppose AirAsia figures that that's mighty comfortable already. Thank goodness it was just a 5-hour flight. I can't imagine flying to the UK on AirAsia X. It would be a torturous 13 hours! Having said that, I would still fly AirAsia to nearby destinations as it has the cheapest fare available (when booked early of course).

We arrived Hangzhou as scheduled and upon collecting our luggage, quickly went to the AirAsia bus shuttle counter to purchase our tickets to Shanghai. The tickets cost RMB100 per person and is a 3-hour journey.

Hangzhou International Airport, arrival hall.

Collected our luggage & headed straight for the bus shuttle counter (below)

A long queue but thank goodness we managed to get ourselves seats.

Carpark outside Hangzhou International Airport

At a stopover for toilet break & snacks

Hmmmm.....should I get some??

Shanghai skyline

We passed Ikea, which is just around the corner from our service apartment, but the bus doesn't do individual stops, so we had to double back in a cab from the bus terminal.

Entrance to the serviced apartment

The view from our balcony (right side)

The view from our balcony (left side)

Our 'home' for the next 7 days :)

We arrived at the serviced apartment that Judy Chen had arranged for us at around 6:30-7pm. The apartment is located along East Tianlin Rd. I liked the place as we could find a cafe, a spa, a massage place, 2 convenient stores, Ikea, a pharmacy & shopping areas nearby. There is a restaurant (Hong Kong styled food) that my husband & I frequented almost every time we needed lunch or dinner. We recommended it to the other Malaysians and they liked the food too, as we saw them there more than once! :)

There were 2 rooms in our apartment unit & we had no idea who our apartment mates were as they had gone out for a Japanese dinner arranged by Judy. We had not signed up for that as we knew we'd be late arriving in Shanghai. True enough, we were, & we were dead beat too.

Just before we retired for the night, we heard our apartment mates come in & I went out to say 'Hi'. To my surprise & delight, we were sharing the unit with.......the Kinsers! Over the next few days, we got to know them better & I must say I would share a unit with them again anytime! They're really nice. :)