Silversea also has a good variety of other add-on land options on many of its itineraries. In Asia, passengers can spend three or more days before or after their cruise in cities such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, and Ho Chi Minh City. Silversea even has a 7-night post cruise package for travel on the Eastern & Oriental Express train from Singapore to Bangkok. Wouldn't that be an exciting add-on to a Far East cruise!
The Silver Shadow in Shanghai
After we boarded, the Silver Shadow was staying two nights in Shanghai, so we ate the first of many delicious lunches on the ship and then took the shuttle to the Bund near the Peace Hotel and grabbed a taxi to the Yu Yuan Gardens and Bazaar.
Yu Yuan Gardens and Bazaar
The Yu Yuan Gardens were first developed by the Pan family of the Ming dynasty from 1559 to 1577. The gardens were destroyed during the Opium War in the mid-1800s, but have been restored. The gardens were very picturesque and an excellent example of Oriental gardens. The gardens and surrounding bazaar area are fascinating and certainly worth a visit. Shoppers will love the more than 100 shops and restaurants, and everyone will enjoy the gardens. After spending the afternoon taking in the sights and marveling at all we could buy if only we had an easy way to get it home, we boarded a taxi for the ride back to the Silver Shadow.
Mother and I enjoyed a leisurely dinner and began getting to know our fellow cruisers. Given the high number of repeat cruisers on Silversea, I wasn't surprised to find dinner companions throughout the cruise who had sailed with Silversea before. A large number of repeat cruisers is a good measure of the quality of this cruise line.
Pudong Area of Shanghai
Shanghai is divided by the Huangpu River into two areas--the Puxi and the Pudong. The Puxi is west of the river and is the site of many areas familiar to Shanghai visitors--the Bund, Nanjing Lu shopping area, and the former International Settlement. The Pudong area east of the Huangpu River was not even developed until the 1990's. Today it is a new city filled with tall skyscrapers and its own tourist attractions.
After spending four days in Puxi, we decided to cross the river to Pudong for our last day in Shanghai. We had heard about a passenger shuttle that went through a tunnel under the river, so we decided to ride it instead of taking a water taxi. The free Silver Shadow shuttle dropped us less than two blocks from the tunnel, where we boarded a cable car for the trip under the river. What we didn't know was that riders are bombarded with an entertaining psychedelic laser light show during the short ride from Puxi to Pudong. It was fun and an unexpected treat.
When we exited the passenger tunnel, we immediately crossed the street to the Oriental Pearl Tower. This 1535-foot TV tower is the tallest in Asia and the third tallest in the world, after Toronto and Moscow. The tower dominates the Shanghai skyline, and elevators whisk passengers to one of two "pearl" sphere-like viewing platforms. We bought our tickets (100 yuan for the top sphere) and stood in line with many other tourists of all nationalities. The view from the top was amazing and gave us a good idea of exactly how big Shanghai is. We had good views of the 88-story Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Centre, which will be the world's tallest building when it is completed in 2007. The river traffic below was fascinating, and we were not surprised to see that the Silver Shadow was by far the best-looking ship on the river. Of course, we had to tell everyone we saw admiring the Silver Shadow that we were lucky enough to be passengers on this beautiful ship. The ground floor of the Oriental Pearl Tower has the interesting Shanghai History Museum. It uses mannequins and models to tell the story of the settlement and development of Shanghai. Signs are in English, and I found the Chinese interpretation of Western imperialism to be particularly interesting. Much like the news today, olden history can also have a "spin". The museum was educational and also included the original bronze lions that once guarded the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank (Shanghai Pudong Development Bank) on the Bund. The lions outside the bank now are replicas, but visitors still rub them for luck. The museum also had a magnificent screen made of jade that showed the history of China. It was quite a piece of art, and we didn't realize that jade came in so many colors.
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