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Shanghai – Top 5 Places To Visit

Before arriving in Shanghai, you’re probably wondering what you should visit first or how you should plan your trip because of time limit. Well, I’ve come up with a “top 5″ that you any visitors to Shanghai should visit.

Nan Jing Road

The most popular and one of the most important street in Shanghai. Nan Jing Road is where you will find all the best shopping malls on the Pu Xi side. There’s also hundreds of boutiques through the street. You will find every single brand in the world on that street. Some of the most famous shopping malls such as the Plaza 66, Citic Plaza and the Westgate Mall are there. And the best thing is that all three of those malls are located just one beside each other! If you think you are a real shopper, try taking all 3 in one day.

Xin Tian Di

Located on Huang Pi Nan Road, this small section of the city known as Xin Tian Di is where the old meets the new. With its old and antique looks Xin Tian Di is a fashionable pedestrian street where you will find some of the most upscale boutiques, restaurants, bars and coffee houses in Shanghai. It is also where you will the most foreigner by the square meter.

Huang Pu River & The Bund

Another beautiful sight in Shanghai is the Bund, located on Zhong Shan. Probably one of the oldest one, the Bund is located on the east coast of the Huang Pu River and has some of the best views of Pu Dong. Not only do you get a great view of Pu Dong but also with the new lights installed, you will find that the Bund is an extremely beautiful sight at night. Since 2006 the Shanghai’s municipality has ordered the removal of all publicity on the Bund.

Oriental Pearl Tv

Located on the Pu Dong side of Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl Tv is the third tallest tower in the world and tallest tower in Asia. At the top is a nice sightseeing room and you can get a great view of the city and the Bund. The best time to see it would be at night when all the lights from the Bund are turned on.

Jin Mao Tower

Neighbour tower to the Oriental Pearl Tv and only a couple of meters shorter than the Tv station, the Jin Mao is completely different from the Oriental Pearl Tv. This 88 stories high building is mainly used for business purposes. Doesn’t seem appealing? It has an observatory deck on the 88th floor that will give you another view of Shanghai also, a nice restaurant on the 87th floor but most of all, this is where you will find the highest hotel in the world! The Regency Grand Hyatt hotel; located from floors 53 to 87 try spending a night at the top of the world, you’ll be amazed.

Shanghai – Top 5 Places To Visit / Louis Zhang

For more tips and details about visiting Shanghai, China, be sure to visit Louis Zhang’s Cool Shanghai Guide – a cool guide to planning and having a great time in Shanghai.

Travel Tips Before you Travel To a Foreign Country

There are many things that you can do to pre-prepare yourself and your family for travel. By being as prepared as you can be, you are setting yourself up for a great getaway that will minimize any unpleasant circumstances that sometimes arise with travel.

In order to have the best vacation possible, I’m going to share with you the must know tricks and travel tips before you travel.

The very first thing you must do is RESEARCH. You want to learn as much as you possibly can about your destination prior to arrival. Yes, this is going to require some time and effort on your part but it is going to be more than worth it. This is the only way to truly understand what it is you want from your vacation and what you want to do on your vacation.

Here are some things that you should always know about your destination.

Weather – You need to know what you should be packing and planning for.
Paperwork and Documentation – Know what is needed to travel to your particular destination.
Know if there are any diseases common to the area you will be traveling to – this way you are able to take preventative measures.
Costs of local items – You want to be able to properly plan your budget; remember to include taxes and tipping.
Holidays and festivals – check to see when these occur for your destination as you may find limited services on those days.

The best holidays are the ones we are most prepared for. Do yourself a favour; make it a habit to always know as much as you can about your destination before you travel. It’ll make all the difference in the world!

What are some other things that you can do to prepare yourself? Use these travel tips before you travel.

   1. Make 2 photocopies of your passport. Take one and put it in a safe place or leave it with a friend. Take the other one with you and keep it in a separate place from your passport, this way should your passport become lost or stolen, you can use the copy to exit the country and it will also facilitate the replacement process.
   2. Email yourself important information such as: airline numbers and flight information, credit card numbers, passport and driver’s licence numbers and anything else that may be of importance to you. This way if anything is lost or stolen, you are just and internet connection away.
   3. Know your banking information. For your credit card, make sure that the valid dates will remain valid while you’re traveling, know your available spending amount and don’t forget to leave some room on it for emergencies. Check your ATM and debit cards’ daily and total limits.
   4. Learn some local phrases. If you are traveling to a country with a foreign language, it’s always nice to know some of the local phrases. Knowing the “polite words” and just a few local phrases will be a huge help. You will find that natives really appreciate this and will tend to be more receptive to your questions. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend while you’re at it!
   5. Be aware of the voltage that’s used for the country you’re traveling to. If you are taking anything that requires an outlet; cell phone, computer, video camera, etc. make sure to purchase plug adapters. For things such as hairdryers, curling irons, electric razors, etc to purchase an actual voltage converter unless your appliance has multiple voltage currencies.

When traveling to a foreign country it’s always best to be as prepared as you can be. Do as much research as you possibly can, remember these travel tips before you travel and your trip abroad is sure to be a success.

Here’s your final checklist: Passport, tickets, car rental and hotel reservation receipts/agreements, credit cards, medications or prescriptions, if required, addresses, password and any other important information that you may need. Don’t forget the most important thing: your adventurous travel mind, see and learn as much as you can and have the time of your life!

Travel Tips Before you Travel To a Foreign Country / Sarah W

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Alicante – a Jewel in Spain’s Crown

Alicante or Alicant (Valencian Catalan) is the largest city in the Costa Blanca region of Spain and is one of the most beautiful places you could wish to travel to if you take the time and the effort to explore the region and some of it’s sheer beauty.

Located between Murcia and Valencia, Alicante has some of the best beaches in Spain with San Juan, Muchavista and Campello beaches being real gems with beautiful, clean sea and sand which appeal to both families, couples and surfers alike with calm days and days when the waves can be quite high due to strong winds of late.

Amongst the many varied and more popular attractions are the Castillo de Santa Barbara (Alicante City), Terra Natura (Benidorm), Terra Mitica (Benidorm) and Mundomar (Benidorm). There are also areas of outstanding beauty such as the mountains of Busot village situated just outside of Campello (also known as El Campello). Not only does Busot have it’s popular attraction Cuevas de Canelobre (Canelobre Caves) but it also has vast amounts of stunning scenery in complete tranquillity. To get to these spots you need to do some investigating, but it is well worth it because you will find yourself all alone on some breath-taking trails overlooking Campello and surrounding villages.

To see all that is on offer, you have to arrange car hire in Alicante from either the airport or from a local town or city and prices start at €10 per day for a small car and reserving before your visit is essential in busy periods of the year.

Where else but Alicante can you find such a diverse amount of activities, places of interest and things to do. In the morning you could travel to the Sierra Nevadas (Grenada) and be snowboarding and in the afternoon soaking up the sun, sea and sand on a beautiful, spacious beach. Not only this, but you can also get ferries to Majorca, Ibiza and Tabarca Island from Alicante harbour, so you will never have a lack of options available to you.

Real estate property in Alicante is another reason for visitors to come and like the rest of Costa Blanca, is a popular place where expats come to invest or to emigrate to. Property prices have rapidly increased over the years due to demand and the Euro being introduced, but if you are prepared to move inland slightly, or away from popular areas such as Benidorm and Javea, you can find some real bargains in comparison to the UK property market. Purchasing property in Spain is more expensive tax and legal-wise but it is still worthwhile as long as the Euro is weaker than the Pound.

Alicante’s hotels are varied and you have a wide variety of choice when coming to this region of Spain and if you do some research you will get a hotel to suit your budget and requirements, just remember to book early in high-seasons to ensure a beach-side location.
Getting cheap flights to Alicante has never been easier thanks to Alicante airport being such a popular international destination and it is expanding continuously with new airlines operating from there.

You can view this and more articles at: Alicante

Alicante – a Jewel in Spain’s Crown / Lee Smith

Lee Smith writes articles for many businesses and websites and has a passion for the hotels, travel, flight and the holiday industry.
You can view this and more articles at: Alicante