SHANGHAI - Should I go alone?
 

Hello. Last year I made my first trip to the East by going to Hong Kong. I love it and had no problems but of course Hong Kong is very easy for English speaking people. Now I am thinking of going to Shanghai next April. My wife refuses to go so I am going alone. I am fairly healthy and not afraid of foreign places or challenging situations but I don't want to get too far over my head. I understand Shanghai will be more challenging than Hong Kong. I speak no Chinese and yes I know I'm weird but I do not eat any Chinese food or even fish.

The readers here helped me immensely last year by recommending the YMCA Salisbury Hotel in Hong Kong. I would welcome any suggestions for Shanghai. Right now I am leaning towards the Astor House Hotel. I will get the guidebooks and do my research as far as what to see and do but my main question is will I have a hard time there? Can I get by with just English? Can I survive on Subway sandwiches and pizza? Will I have a hard time with the metro? Or just getting around and understanding the bus system? I prefer not to take any tours so will I be able to take day trips to Hangzhou for example without any problems? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.

Yup, you can easily do all of this on your own.

Have fun!

The only thing I would worry about in Shanghai is pollution.

Shanghai will be a breeze and you will have no problem communicating. Hangzhou is wonderful and easy to get to by train. That being said, the highlight of our trip there was the water show at west lake. If you are only going for a day trip, you will likely have great difficulty finding a taxi back to the train station and I do not know what time the last train returns to Shanghai. We did see some bus tours that left before the show was over, which was a pity, but if you can't stay overnight and that is your only alternative, I would still go. The show is amazing. Walking around the lake took up most of a day and was lovely.

Trains are a breeze - great signage. You will be able to find plenty of food to eat.

You will have no problem with getting around or food. You may consider also some of the grocery stores like Carefour for places to pick up drinks, food, fruit...

You can check out my blog with plenty of info on China and feel free to send me a note with specific questions.

The blog is http://travel.china-finds.com

You will find it very easy, especially in and around the French concession and along the bund.
Lots of expats live in this city and many people speak English. You will be able to eat very well too, there is a very big dining scene in shanghai.
Getting around is very easy also
Went I stayed there last week I rented a room from a French and Hungarian couple who could not only tell me all the cool things to do, but they even took us out one night :-). It was a great alternative to a lonely hotel room.
Have a fab time.

I was just there in late March, tagging along on a work trip (arts-related) with Mr. Crosscheck. There were over 150 people in our group, and when they were working, I often went out and about on my own via foot, cab and metro to museums, markets, galleries, shops and just wandering through neighborhoods.

There was less English than in HK, but it was still very easy to get around and communicate. Plenty of Western food everywhere, although I didn't try any. Smog level was fine for the whole five days we were there.

My one caveat is that several men (of all ages and races) in our group had incidents with taxis. A few drivers ignored the destinations written out for them and wanted to take their male passengers to 'lady bars' instead. One guy had to climb out of a cab window at a red light.

I would recommend using Ubers instead. You also should download a translation app, which I found very useful when bargaining at the markets.

You should have no problem being in Shanghai by yourself. I was there myself in 2007, and easily took the bus to one of the water towns for a day trip. The most annoying thing for me was constantly being approached in the evenings around the Budong area for "massages"; I don't know if people still do that anymore though.