Michael Phelps Making Olympic History up Close and Personal

With Michael Phelps looking to break the 2000 year old record for most Olympic gold medals, I wanted to share with you my brief glimpse of the Phelps magic during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where I watched history unfold from the front row, sitting next to Michael Phelps’ family.

The year was 2008 and I had just finished my freshman year in college. After closing the biggest sale in my relatively new college startup, I decided to spend my newly earned cash and fulfill a childhood dream of attending the Olympics.

Before heading to the Olympics, I had two bucket list items. I wanted to watch the world’s fastest race, the 100 meter final, and watch Michael Phelps go for gold at an event in the Water Cube.

For months I scoured Ebay for tickets, looking for the perfect ticket that would give me a prime vantage point of the action. After seeing bleacher seats in the Water Cube selling for over $400, I was ready to give up until I saw a rather inconspicuous Ebay listing around a week before my flight from a seller with zero feedback selling a single front row ticket for the last day of swimming at the Water Cube.

Naturally skeptical, I messaged the seller on how he obtained such a ticket and he claimed that he won the ticket through a Chinese food contest with a blurry picture of the ticket plus himself as proof.

Call it teenage bravado or just plain naivety, but I decided to ignore all the red flags, purchased the ticket, and received it via express mail just a few days before my flight to China.

Fast forward a couple weeks and Beijing was in full Olympic swing. Miraculously, Michael Phelps had won gold in his seven previous events and was aiming to break Mark Spitz’s record.

The swimming finals were held in the morning, presumably for American TV audiences back home, and security was tight.

After clearing security, tickets were being validated via RFID, with valid tickets giving a green light. My gut was wincing as I made to the front of the line, fully expecting to be pulled aside and sent to the nearest Chinese jail. The scanner beeped and miraculously the light went green. I was in and against all odds, the ticket I purchased on Ebay turned out to be legitimate after all!

The sky was covered in haze and the unlit translucent water cube blended into the skyline.

Walking around I marveled at the walls made of ETFE, a type of foam plastic that formed bubble like shapes around the entire perimeter.

 Water streamed from the outdoor walls as fans began trickling in.

I headed inside and made my way to my front row seat, situated right above where all the photographers were located. Conveniently there was a balcony located right in front, and I took the opportunity to fill the valuable estate with the Old Glory.

The seat was so close to the action that my flag would later be spotted on NBC’s actual live telecast.

As the stands started filling up, I noticed I was right in the VIP section, with the Phelps family directly behind me and the legendary Ian Thorpe a few seats over.

The mood was quite relaxed and entire family was extremely sweet and friendly to fans around them.  Phelps’ sister even took a video of me doing a cringe worthy version of the Macarena, with Phelps’ mom cheering me on.

Soon the first final event of the day began, the 50 meter freestyle, a dead heat sprint that covers one lap of the pool. Dana Torres, a 41 year old mom of two and the oldest ever US swimmer in the Olympics, ended up taking silver, a fantastic result, and the crowd rose up to applaud her historic achievement.

 After watching such a short race, it was only appropriate that next final was the 1500 meter freestyle, the marathon of swimming consisting of 30 laps. History was also made as Tunisia won its first gold medal in 48 years for his country.

The joyous mood in the mini American contingent took a more serious turn as the medley relay final drew closer, with everyone waiting to see if history could actually be made.

The atmosphere was quite ripe with anticipation as the teams were introduced and even the local Chinese fans cheered as team USA was announced. The medley relay soon started and I managed to take a video of the entire swim from a unique close up view.

As the relay came for the final turn, from our vantage point it looked like the race was going down to the wire. Nervousness quickly turned to hysteria as the scoreboard showed Team USA handily beating the Australians.

The Phelps family was naturally ecstatic and the water cube roared as over 10,000 people witnessed Olympic history being made.

Soon after the medal ceremony the US swimmers came over to our section for the traditional photo op.

Phelps’ teammates could look on as the cameras turned around, as he went to the front row to give his family a hug. All I could hear were the sounds of a hundred cameras clicking, each photographer trying to capture a piece of the magical moment.

After the medal ceremony, the crowd quickly left as it came, with those spending upwards of $500 for bleacher seats getting their money’s worth. On a nearby seat, I noticed an Olympic bouquet held by the US team lying down by itself.

I gathered a few petals that dropped nearby, hoping to keep at least a little bit of the magic that I’d just witnessed.

Trip Report: Eva Airway’s Super Business class

A photo posted by Sam Huang (@intotheplane) on Jun 24, 2016 at 7:19am PDT

How to Book Hyatt Suites using Hyatt Gold Passport Points

Just like in the airline industry where you can use your miles for free flights, hotel chains also have their own loyalty programs that reward points each time you stay at their respective hotels.

Of all the major hotel chains, Hyatt’s Gold Passport program is one of most generous in terms of requiring the least amount of points for award stays.

For example, you could use 25,000 Hyatt points for one night at the $1000+ a night Park Hyatt Maldives.

In comparison, one night at the Conrad Maldives will run cost you 95,000 Hilton Honors points!

Hyatt is also unique in offering non-elites the opportunity to upgrade their paid reservations using points. The cost to upgrade a paid rate to a suite is 6000 Hyatt points per night. This can represent a fantastic value as this applies to any paid rate booked directly with Hyatt.

For example, a base room at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur costs around $160 a night. Instead you can upgrade into a gorgeous 1000 square foot Grand Suite that would retail over $600 a night for only 6000 Hyatt points.

To upgrade your reservation, simply call the Hyatt support line. It’s highly recommended that you call ahead to check for suite award availability before you book your reservation, as during peak times there may be no suite award space available.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to spend cash, you can book suite rooms directly using points. The number of points required depends on which hotel category a Hyatt property is classified as.

However, I find booking suites purely via points is generally a poor value, and only for those who are points rich.

How do I quickly earn Hyatt points?

If you’re not a frequent traveler, you’ll have to earn Hyatt points through the use of credit card points, notably through Hyatt’s financial partner, Chase.

Chase Ultimate Reward points can be converted to Hyatt Gold Passport points at a 1:1 ratio. So if you transfer 5,000 Chase points, you’ll receive 5,000 Hyatt points. Transfers are usually instantaneous.

Chase Ultimate Reward points can be earned primarily through the following cards:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the primary way for most customers to earn Chase Ultimate Reward points, with one UR point being awarded for each dollar spent. 

The Sapphire card earns two points per dollar spent on travel and dining expenses, and overall is one of my favorite cards to use for travel. The sign up bonus is usually significant enough to stay at least 1-2 nights at any top tier Hyatt property.

You may find the current offer for the Sapphire Preferred below

 View Personal Reward Card Offers Here

If you’re a small business owner, you can also earn Chase UR points through the Chase Ink Plus card, which earns 5 points per dollar spent at office supply stores and utilities, in addition to one point being awarded for each dollar spent. The sign up bonus is also quite significant.

You may find the current offer for the Ink Plus below

 View Business Card Offers Here

In addition, there is the Chase Freedom Unlimited card that earns 1.5 Chase points per dollar spent and the Chase Ink Cash card, which also earned 5 points per dollar spent similar to the Ink Plus card.

However you’ll need to possess either an Ink Plus or Chase Sapphire Preferred In order to earn Chase UR points.

Chase Hyatt Card

Unlike most credit cards that offer a points based signup offer, the Chase Hyatt card gives two free nights at any Hyatt property worldwide after completing minimum spend. In addition, each year you’ll receive a certificate good for one night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt property and you receive complimentary Hyatt Platinum status.

Hyatt on the Bund is a Category 4 Hotel

I recently redeemed my two free nights at the $1000 a night Park Hyatt Maldives and detailed step by step on how to use your free night certificates here.

Please note that award nights are not eligible for suite upgrades using points.

Review: Shanghai Disneyland – Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure

Hailed by quite a few travel experts as the best amusement park ride on the planet, I was excited to finally ride Pirates of The Caribbean: The Battle for Sunken Treasure.

Luckily the single rider line was open and extremely underutilized as the single rider entrance was actually roped off, and you had to ask a staff member to open the line for you.

Sadly, after my 2^nd ride through I was told the single rider line was closed for the rest of the day. Regardless, standby times are quite reasonable and I rarely saw a wait time over 45 minutes. However, waiting outdoors is not the most ideal way to spend a hot and humid Shanghai summer afternoon, so plan accordingly.

The ride consists of naturally a boat that you sit on along with 19 other passengers. I highly recommend sitting in the front row to be fully immersed.

Without revealing too much, you are quickly introduced to Jack Sparrow and pulled down via falling waterfall to an underground dome with a spectacular 180 underwater canvas view.

Afterwards, you’re lead to a glistening treasure cave, something that every kid inside of us who’s ever read any pirate novels has dreamed of.

This is followed by an epic battle with Davy Jones complete with canon fire and huge giant projection screens. Through the use of huge magnets underneath the boat, you feel like you’re being sucked up to the surface.

For a moment you could easily forget you’re on a ride, but instead on the set with Captain Sparrow himself.

If you’re curious to view the whole ride, here is my video below:

I can say without a doubt this is the best amusement park ride in terms of spectacular design and visuals. Let’s put it this way, if Disney wanted to charge $50 and only had this ride and TRON, I would gladly fork over my money.

Well done Disney for upping the bar and creating a new piece of Disney magic!

Previous Post: How I rode TRON LightCycle Six Times in One Hour

How to Skip the Long Lines at Shanghai Disneyland- Riding TRON LightCycle 6 times in 1 hour

The manager started laughing as I made my way down the line once again and said “Welcome Back Again”, while a staff member looked at me in astonishment. An hour had barely passed by and it was already my sixth time riding TRON LightCycle.

How did I manage to avoid waiting in line at one of newly opened Shanghai Disneyland’s hottest attractions? Was I a Disneyland VIP or Bob Iger’s son? The trick was actually much simpler: by using the vastly underutilized single rider line.

If you’ve ever been to a Disney theme park, you’re probably aware of the single rider line, which allows solo travelers or those who wish to skip the long standby line to fill in empty seats left by odd number groups.

Seeking a reprieve from the scorching Shanghai heat, I decided to try my luck with the single rider line at TRON. At a listed wait time of 30 minutes, the wait time seemed quite reasonable, and I scampered into the awaiting air conditioned building.

I started heading down the line and kept going.

And going, passing fast pass riders who were waiting their turn.

And going

I finally reached the end with miraculously no one in front of me.

Initially, I was a bit confused. Perhaps I must have mistakenly jumped the line at some point. A quick chat with a Disney employee confirmed I was in the right line. 30 seconds later, I was called to fill an empty seat, giving me barely anytime to view the mesmerizing waiting area.

Unlike most attraction rides where riders sit on a seat, TRON has a unique set up where you kneel down and assume a cycling riding position, similar to how the actual the actors rode in the movie.

We quickly entered the launch area and screeched to a halt, where a voice in Mandarin counted down 3, 2, 1.

I was instantly hit a gut punch as the coaster accelerated to 100 mph within two seconds and launched us outdoors to the delight of numerous photo snapping park goers.

 We then headed into the world of TRON and our wheels glowed as we sped through the grid.

The coaster accelerated slightly more each time we catapulted past each gate.

At the end a rival lightcycle pops up briefly and explodes onscreen in a grand climax.

Word’s cannot describe how awesome the ride is, so I made a quick video with multiple angles:

TIP: It’s better to sit in the middle rather than the front. With the lighting animations running at a specific timing, I found that sitting in row five of the ride gave me the best immersion possible as the explosions happened right in front of me. As an added bonus, you get to see the TRON LightCycle wheels change colors

Unfortunately, the ride is quite short at only 2 minutes long and before I knew it the ride was over. I quickly power walked and headed right back to the nonexistent line, repeating this same trick multiple times. Altogether, I rode TRON 8 times in a span of 90 minutes.

Why didn’t more people start using the single rider line?

Perhaps the reason why no one caught on was the concept single rider line doesn’t exist in China, so most local ride goers have no idea what that line means or entails.  I suspect the real reason why there was almost never a line was due to the single queue time constantly incorrectly displaying a queue time of 30 minutes.

However, I had a similar experience with the single rider line at Pirates of the Caribbean, which did show a correct queue time of 10 minutes.  Either way, it’s a great loophole and if you’re planning on visiting this summer, an option to use if you’re running short on time.

Overall, TRON is an excellent ride that is immersive and high tech. Along with the newly redone Pirates of the Caribbean, the two rides are innovative and game changing for future theme parks. Single rider lines are available for both rides and can easily save you hours if open.

Up Next: Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure

Previous Post: My One Crazy Day at Shanghai Disneyland

Disneyland Shanghai – My One Day of Magic & Madness in the New China

The day had come and I was excited to finally get a chance to visit Disney’s newest park in Shanghai.

I underestimated Shanghai traffic, and arrived at the park 30 minutes late, and eventually got in at 10 AM.

I briskly walked all the way to the Adventure Isle Fastpass area. An attendant was guiding guests through a roped off Fastpass line.

When I got to the front, the Fastpass ride times were changing every minute and it was like a scene out of World War Z as the locals were rushing the Fastpass machines. As I was still use to the Western style of queuing, I was jumped multiple times by different line cutters.

Just when I finally was about to get my first Fastpass of the day, the kiosk displayed that all the Fastpass tickets were sold out at 10:15 AM!

 Since I was planning on leaving in the late afternoon due to a prior commitment, I wasn’t upset as I was planning on giving away my fast pass to a lucky park goer, but I did see lots of angry faces, with some park goers yelling at the poor line attendants, who do need to a better job of controlling the line.

I headed to Roaring Rapids, which had already a 120 minute standby time and asked the line attendant where the single rider line was. Unfortunately, I was told that the single rider line was closed for the day! Major Bummer!

Undeterred, I then walked to Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure and tried my luck again and asked if the singer rider line was open. Surprisingly, the line attendant said yes and opened up another line for me to pass through. I briskly walked through the entire queue and boarded in a span of less than five minutes

You can read my full review of the ride here, but let me just say It is by far the best amusement park ride I’ve ever ridden on!

I decided to go on Pirates of the Caribbean again with a similar non-existent wait time. Sadly, they shut down the single rider line soon after, so I headed to the single rider line for Seven Dwarves Mine Train. While the ride was enjoyable, I couldn’t imagine people lining up 2 hours for this timid roller coaster. Blame it on the kids perhaps!

At this point it was almost already noon and the Shanghai summer humid heat was starting make its presence felt. I’d advice guests to make sure they bring lots of bottled water as I found myself getting a bit dehydrated during the afternoon.

I decided to trek all the way to TRON and grabbed my first Fastpass of the day and decided to take a break from walking in the heat and queue up for Disneyland Shanghai’s other flagship ride. I soon found the best kept secret in Shanghai Disneyland, and ended up riding TRON 8 times in 90 minutes.

Feeling like a VIP, single rider line vs Fastpass & general standby line

Afterwards, I decided to quickly take a look at the Star Wars exhibit.

Darth Vader, charming as always with the ladies

For the rest of the afternoon I explored the rest of the huge park and Storybook Castle, which was a bit of a disappointment compared to its other versions back home.

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I ended my brief visit with one more trip on Pirates, and climbing on Disney’s first obstacle course, Camp discovery.

Soon it was time to get back to downtown for my appointment and I headed back through the entrance and grabbed a Taxi back.

Overall I really enjoyed my visit to Shanghai Disneyland. The new rides are simply spectacular and the park is so spread out that even on a crowded day, the density of the crowd is quite manageable.

One of the biggest positive surprises about my visit was the relatively manageable standby times with a few notable exceptions. It seems like the Chinese visitors generally prefer rollercoaster type attractions, with the notable exception of TRON. Based off some of my interactions, quite a few guests were terrified of going at speeds of over 100 KM an hour, on what looks like a ride without any sort of harness.

This means almost all the must see attractions at Disneyland Shanghai had quite reasonable wait times of almost always under 60 minutes. On the flip side, as I left the park, the Seven Dwarves Mine Train showed a wait time of 120 minutes!

Also the single rider line queue at TRON and Pirates of the Caribbean consistently were under five minutes, so if it’s open make sure to take full advantage of the opportunity!

No queue at TRON

However, there are a few issues that popped up during my visit, mainly the lack of line etiquette exhibited by many of the locals.

Instead of an orderly line, what you have a general “keep pushing” mentality in which people are always trying to get ahead of you in line. If you leave a gap open for a second, someone will try and jump in. This can result in some rather uncomfortable queuing, especially in the sweltering humid afternoon.

The best way to combat this if you are a group is to block the entire line with no gaps that potential line cutters can squeeze through. An ideal strategy would be to interlock arms.

If you are alone or in a pair, there is nothing much you can do about this, except adapt like a local and start pushing yourself. It does get amusing after a while, but for the uninitiated it will be quite an experience to say the least.

Interestingly enough, I witnessed at least five times during my visit announcements in Chinese telling rowdy line pushers to not tarnish the image of the Chinese people and present a good face for the rest of the world. I could only imagine what kind of reaction that would get in the states.

The other major issue is the fact that quite a few tired Chinese tourists were keen on sitting in the shade, and lay out their packed lunch. This was pretty bad at Cinderella Castle, as I felt like I was walking through a neighborhood picnic!

However, don’t let these things deter you from visiting as the new rides are really on a different level. If you’re an amusement park or Disney fanatic, there is no doubt this park will thrill and entertain.

I have a feeling future amusement park designers will flock to Shanghai Disneyland to craft their own pieces of magic.

Next Up: How I rode TRON Six Times in One Hour

Previous Article: My guide on how to see Shanghai Disneyland in One Day 

How to see Shanghai Disneyland in One Day & Avoid the Crowds using Fastpass

Huge lines and massive crowd control problems in largest Disneyland ever built. Is it possible to see all of Disneyland Shanghai in one day? The answer is absolutely, as long as you are able to plan ahead.  

In fact I was able to ride TRON 8 times and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 times in just half a day! 

No line at TRON

The following is my recommended plan to maximize your one day at Shanghai Disneyland. Before you head off make sure you download the official Shanghai Disneyland App for Iphone or Android as it displays live standby times and has an offline map of the park.

If your hotel is in the downtown area, plan to leave by 7:15 AM at the very latest. At the taxi drop off, follow the crowds until you get to the main gate area. 

Upon entry at 9 AM, take a sharp right and power walk to the Fastpass station at Adventure Land and get your Fastpass for Roaring Rapids. 

Afterwards, line up for Soaring Over the Horizon as the standby time is a manageable 40-60 minutes. 

After Soaring Over the Horizon, head to Pirates of The Caribbean and watch what many theme park insiders call Disney’s most impressive ride yet. Make sure you sit in the front of the boat in order be fully immersed in the lands of Jack Sparrow. 

If you are lucky, the single rider line will be open in the morning. If it is, don’t hesitate to re-ride and catch things you have missed the first time around.

If you’ve never ridden the ride before in the US or want to re-experience Disney Magic ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The single rider line is also quite manageable at this time, if it is open. I waited around 25 minutes.

Depending on how early you got to the Fast Pass line, you may head back and ride Roaring Rapids.

Otherwise, head straight to TRON and either use the single rider line or queue up. If you are fortunate enough, you may be able to re-ride TRON multiple times via the single rider line.

Afterwards, grab a Fastpass for TRON. It should be mid day at this point as the sweltering heat takes hold. If you are a Star Wars Fan, visit the Star Wars pavilion next to TRON (also air conditioned). 

You can relax your pace a bit, take lunch, and pick from the remaining attractions and shows. If you want a true authentic local Disneyland experience, watch the show Frozen, completely dubbed in Chinese.

If you have trouble deciding the following attractions are unique to Shanghai Disneyland:

Once Upon A Time Adventure

Walk around the new Storybook Castle, with new stunning special effects, and a respite from the afternoon heat.

Camp Discovery

Disney’s first obstacle course comes complete with a swing bridge over a waterfall and some great elevated views of the park. 

Explorer Canoes

Guests are asked to work together and row a canoe around the first Disneyland Treasure Cove. From what I could see ashore, you should probably skip this ride.

Siren’s Revenge

Once you’re eligible for another Fastpass, head back to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and grab your third Fastpass of the day.

When the sun sets and the heat finally dies down, go onboard the Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, a Disneyland Shanghai exclusive ride that features numerous sculpture gardens and takes you underneath Storybook castle. 

As a grand finale, stay and watch Disneyland Shanghai’s daily fireworks show titled Ignite the Dream at 8:30 PM. Take a cab back to your hotel and enjoy Pudong’s skyline to wrap up your short but memorable trip to Shanghai Disneyland.

Shanghai Disneyland Essentials: How to get there & What to Bring

Shanghai Disneyland opened with a grand affair, with the worldwide media descending on the newly built $5.5 Billion amusement park last month. However, amidst all the pomp and flair, most of the stories written skipped over what the average park goer would experience. I was curious to see how a typical day at the park would entail and whether it was truly possible to recreate the Disney magic in China.

Where is Shanghai Disneyland located?

Shanghai Disneyland is located on the eastern part of Pudong, which means it’s actually closer to the airport then the downtown area of Shanghai.

Google Maps is actually blocked in China, which is why if you’ve tried searching for Shanghai Disneyland it actually points to a completely different amusement park.

Instead enter in the following: 31.1440°N 121.6570°E or click here.

To get to Shanghai, you’ll need to apply for a Chinese visa beforehand which costs around $130. However, if you don’t feel like applying for a visa, you can stay up to 72 hour visa free as long as you are connecting to another region outside China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.  

How do I get to Shanghai Disneyland?

A taxi ride from the downtown area will cost you between 100-150 RMB, which is around $20. 

You can alternatively take the Metro, as there is a Disneyland station at the end of Line 11. Be aware Line 11 doesn’t go through downtown Shanghai, and you’ll have to transfer at least once if not twice. This can add a considerable amount of time to your commute and I’d budget in two hours.

It’s also important to note that during rush hour the metro can become quite literally packed and you may not have much personal space. You can purchase a one day metro pass at any service counter for 18 RMB.

If you are arriving from the airport, a Taxi should cost no more than 100 RMB.

Essential Items to Bring

Shanghai Disneyland allows sealed water bottles and pre-packaged food to be brought in. The summers in Shanghai are notoriously hot and humid, so I’d suggest bringing lots of water. I also highly suggest downloading the Shanghai Disneyland App for Android or Iphone, which has current standby times and an interactive map of the park.

How much are tickets?

Prices for the one day tickets during the peak summer season and weekends are 499 RMB, around $75. Non Holiday off peak tickets will cost 350 RMB.

Where to Stay?

If you rather not commute, there are two on site hotels that provide direct complimentary shuttle service. The luxurious Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, starting at a eye popping 1650 RMB (around $240) a night, and the more reasonable priced Toy Story Hotel which starts at 900 RMB (around $134).

Unfortunately, both hotels were both sold out during my visit. However, I’d recommend staying at a hotel in downtown, as the commute by taxi is manageable and there isn’t much to do in the surrounding area.

I only have time to visit Shanghai Disneyland for one day, how should I plan my visit?

Click here for my guide on how to plan your one day trip in order to experience all the unique attractions that Disneyland Shanghai has to offer.

Up Next: My Trip to Shanghai Disneyland

Previous Post: Hyatt on the Bund – Postcard Views of Shanghai

Review: Hyatt on the Bund – Bund Suite – Postcard views of Shanghai & Bund Club

After checking out at the Grand Hyatt, I took a short taxi ride to Hyatt on Bund located in the Puxi district. After spending five days in the western, yet sterile Pudong district it was a nice refreshing change of pace to head over the river and into the more local district of Shanghai. Gone were the modern skyscrapers and elevated pathways, instead the Hyatt on the Bund is surrounded by old low rise houses.

The Hyatt on the Bund opened in 2007, and is the newer of the two Grand Hyatts in Shanghai. The views are said to be unparalleled, as the hotel overlooks the Bund and the entire Pudong skyline.

The cash price for the first night was relatively expensive at $250, so I decided to use Hyatt Points + Cash, which allowed me to book a standard room for 7,500 points + $100. For the second night, I paid $170 out of pocket.

I then used a Diamond Suite Upgrade to upgrade to the Bund Suite, which typically retails over $500 a night after taxes.

I was warmly greeted by the concierge who proceeded to take my bags and store them in the lobby close to the main door. I was a bit perplexed, since almost all western hotel chains tend to store guest luggage behind the counter or in a secure area, but the concierge assured me that the bags were safe. Nonetheless, I decided to take a few of my valuables with me, as leaving my luggage unattended in a public area is not ideal.

During my check in at the lounge, I asked to be put on a higher floor, as I’ve read that the lower level suites have an obstructed view of the Bund due to the neighboring buildings.

View from the 5^th floor Bund Suite

I was offered an upgrade to the 26^th floor for a surcharge of 1000 RMB ($150) per night, which I thought was a bit excessive. I asked if I could see the suite myself and for the most part the suite has pretty much the same layout as a regular Bund View suite. The only real difference is a marbled bathtub that has a direct view of Puxi and a couple extra pieces of furniture.

Personally, I wouldn’t splurge the cash for an upgrade.

However, I would highly recommend emailing the hotel before your stay, asking for a suite located on the 8^th floor or higher.

It’s also important to note that the Hyatt on the Bund compromises of two separate towers. The best postcard views of the Bund are located on the East Tower.

I asked to be put on the highest non-surcharge floor, which was the 11^th, and was lead to my room.

As you enter walk into living room area with a beautiful view of the old colonial buildings lining the Bund.

There’s a lounging sofa to facing the Bund and a small work desk on the side, with a unique vantage point on a neighboring office building.

Parallel to the living room is a walkway that connects with the vanity area and comfort room.

Welcome amenity: a platter of fruit and bottle of Bordeux.

Both the vanity area and separate comfort room are pretty standard for a Grand Hyatt.

The bath area consists of a shower and bath tub with a great partial view of the Pudong district. The bathtub also comes with a TV monitor, although with such a picture perfect view I never got the chance to try it out.

Best of all there is an outdoor balcony that you can access, a rarity among hotels in Shanghai.

Between the bath area and the living room is the bedroom with a standard king sized bed along with a lounge chair. I’ve stayed at many hotels in my life, but this by far is the best view from a hotel bed I’ve ever seen.

Even if the bed was made of plastic and cardboard, I’d still pick this room over most as the view becomes even more grandiose during the night.

The lounge chair was perfectly set up and I spent most of time in the bedroom relaxing and watching the countless ships go by.

Overall, postcard views make this hotel an amazing use of a diamond suite upgrade. The views at night are absolutely breathtaking, especially from the balcony.

However, the room location can make the world’s difference and I highly recommend contacting the hotel ahead of time so you can reserve a good room.

Review: Hyatt Bund Club

As a Hyatt Diamond member, I was granted access to the club lounge, which serves complimentary alcohol & food from 5:00-8:00 PM.

In terms of food selection, the Hyatt on The Bund has wide variety of hot and cold dishes, with a semi-open kitchen concept.

Most of the hot entrees were Chinese dishes, but all of them were quite traditional dishes that you’d expect at a local Chinese restaurant back home. I found all the hot entrees extremely savory, and you can easily have dinner at the lounge.

If you prefer something cold, there are also a few canapes, a salad bar, and even sushi.

There is a huge separate desert area stocked with all kinds of sweets and pastries including all you can eat macaroons.

The lounge has a main seating area right next to the buffet area, but I’d recommend heading all the way to the end of the lounge, which features spectacular views of the Pudong district.

However, seating is limited, so I’d suggest getting there early to snag space on one of the two couches lining the windows.

Overall, the lounge has an excellent food and alcohol spread, along with a view of the shining Pudong district. The staff was top notch and their English levels much better than the Park & Grand Hyatt across the river.   

Breakfast is served at the restaurant and the grand club. The spread at the restaurant was quite vast.

However, I found the service to be quite slow and while quantity was quite vast, I found most of the food to be of moderate quality but not great, as quite a few items were too well cooked.

Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at the Hyatt on the Bund. In fact, I’d rate it superior to its much taller Grand Hyatt Shanghai counterpart due to its location

Next Up: Disneyland Shanghai – Introduction

Previous Post: Grand Hyatt Shanghai

My Experience with a Shanghai Taxi Scammer & How to Avoid Being Ripped Off

As a Taiwanese American, I blend in quite easily whenever I visit an Asian country. Thus, I’ve fortunate enough to rarely be taken advantage of, especially when it comes to taxi rides. I read beforehand of the possibility of riding with a unscrupulous driver at the Shanghai maglev station, but I was fairly confident that speaking somewhat broken mandarin would minimize any chance of being scammed. The taxi driver who picked me up from the official taxi line looked decent enough, and once I got into the car he “started” the ride by dropping the lever. It was an uneventful thirty minute drive through moderate traffic before we got to the Park Hyatt Hotel.

I knew something fishy was up when the driver tried to drop me off on the main street instead of the Park Hyatt entrance. When the taxi driver showed me the “meter price” of 206 RMB or $30, I was completely shocked.

Clearly this was incorrect and I told him in Mandarin that the price was supposed to be around 40 RMB and demanded the driver to drop me off at the entrance of the Park Hyatt. If you are in a situation like this, make sure to tell the taxi driver to drop you off at the hotel driveway. Surprisingly, the driver drove me to the Park Hyatt entrance without much fuss.

Once I arrived at the lobby, I rolled down my window and explained to the concierge that I thought I was being overcharged. At this point my taxi driver quickly went from his initial 206 RMB price to 100 RMB, which was still way too high. In the end I gave him 50 RMB, as I had no small bills, while the concierge sternly lectured the taxi driver.

Thankfully, I only was overcharged around 10 RMB, but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

Always take a picture of the offending Taxi’s license to use as leverage

Here are some tips that I recommend you follow to avoid being scammed in Shanghai:

When grabbing a Taxi, tell the driver to use the taxi meter in Mandarin: Da Biao Ma. Make sure the meter is actually turned on, you’ll know if this is the case as red numbers are displayed quite prominently. 

Always make sure to carry a few small bills, in case a situation like this arises. If you can’t speak mandarin and arguing with the driver is getting you nowhere, an easy trick is to say you only have 50 RMB and tell him that you won’t negotiate.

Finally, if your hotel driver is hesitant on dropping you off in the lobby, just come up with an excuse, like you have to meet your friend there who has enough cash to pay the driver.

This could all have been avoided if I’d use Uber, but for some reason the app payment system did not work while I was traveling.