Luminous Disks: Daniel Buren’s installation at Monumenta 2012 in Paris. (Image by HWL)
First impressions of Daniel Buren‘s Excentrique(s) Travail In Situ installation at the Grand Palais for the annual Monumenta show were ho-hum. The whole set up felt a little bit …well…crafty…and not in a good way. (We might define ‘bad crafty’ as, say, a pointless box given a decoupage make-over using left-over magazines from a doctor’s office, and not in an ironic way.)
Coloured spheres: Monumenta in Paris. (Image by HWL)
The artist who has, ahem, earned his stripes creating site specific art work, such as the Les Deux Plateaux in Palais-Royal, Paris, has created a false ceiling of transparent, umbrella-like disks that form a sub-level beneath the glass roof of the Grand Palais. The effect is immediately frustrating – the visitor is largely robbed of one of the venue’s best features – a superb sense of space, both vast and grandiose. The summer show is not called Monumenta for nothing – last year’s installation, Leviathan, by Anish Kapoor was a hella whopper and the better for it. In contrast, Buren’s work feels bitsy, fussy, and a little bit twee; and then the sun came out.
The cellophane effect: Daniel Buren at the Grand Palais, Paris. (Image by HWL)
With the lights on, so to speak, the show went from being pretty naff to being kind of fun.The 377 coloured disks create a kaleidoscope that reflect and play with the light pouring from the roof-top. In this case, Buren has created something of an Alice-in-Wonderland effect; we find ourselves to be miniature pieces inside the kaleidoscope. Moving through the work creates new vistas and interactions with forms, colour and shadow.
Light Dancers: coloured disks reminiscent of crazy casino carpet; there’s no clocks here either so you’ll have to tell the time by the sun. (Image by HWL)
In many ways, it’s a cheap trick. In other ways, it’s a reminder that simple ideas can be the best ones. Pity about those trademark stripey pillars – they feel clunky and out of place in this ballroom of light. Our tip: go when the sun is shining. Exhibition runs until June 21, 2012. For details see here.
Grand Palais: Daniel Buren’s coloured spheres mushroom below the vast canopy of the Grand Palais in Paris. (Image by HWL)
Beautiful yet slightly spooky lakes and birch tree forests form part of the natural setting in Henning Mankell’s Swedish detective series featuring Ystad detective Kurt Wallander. (Image by HWL)
Those who know us will know of our, admittedly tragic, fixation with the fictitious detective that is Henning Mankell‘s Kurt Wallander. What they may not know is that this fixation prompted a summer holiday in Skane, Sweden… Visitor’s attempting to undertake a similar pilgrimage can check out this (exhaustive) site dedicated to all things Wallander/Skane. We hope our photos might inspire your own travels…
It’s hard to say what makes Wallander such an endearing character: grumpy, isolated, impatient, sceptical, angry and hopeless… The characteristics that would make Wallander so unlikeable in person, also render him humane. In his weakness and pain we see ourselves, but for the grace of God go I… It’s Wallander’s humanity and the sense of melancholy imbued in the Swedish landscape rather than the convoluted plots and intrigues, that gives Mankell the crown of Scandanavian crime. (If you will permit us a side rant, the BBC TV production of Wallander totally missed the humanity in Kurt, concentrating only on dysfunction; we recommend the original Swedish version by Yellow Bird which is not only more faithful to the characters, it also acts as a compliment to the book series, the British series simply replicates them.) In the event you haven’t read them, other Swedish crime writers worth trying are: Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, Hakan Nesser and of course, the ubiquitous Stieg Larsson. (If you find those too cheerful, head north to Iceland’s Arnaldur Indridason. )
Mariagatan: the street where Wallander lives for all of Henning Mankell’s novels except for the final installment ‘The Troubled Man’. It is here that he lives in his dysfunctional bachelor flat, occasionally day dreaming about getting a dog and moving to a better life by the sea. (Image by HWL)
Would-be Wallanders should watch out for Polish ferries, there could be anything on board. Contraband, people smugglers, serial killers and duty free vodka; just about anything can be found in Ystad Harbour. (Image by HWL)
Check out this video documenting graffiti artist Tilt‘s recent installation in a Marseilles hotel room. To find out more about the project, there’s a nifty Q & A with Tilt in the New York Times…. To Book a room, contact Au Vieux Panier. Tilt’s ‘Panic Room’ will set you back €135. If bubble letters give you nightmares why not spend the night in purgatory in the ‘Mass Confusion’ room instead? Nuff said, the video speaks for itself.
Last year the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan held an exhibition of Ai WeiWei’s work entitled ‘Absent’ referencing the artist’s detention by the Chinese authorities and his subsequent inability to attend his own show. ‘Ai Weiwei: Interlacing’ currently showing at the Jeu de Paume, in Paris, acts as a retrospective of the artist’s work which, in his continued absence, verges on a memorial. It creates a portrait of an artist as strong as he is fragile; as mischievous as he is serious; as alive as he is mortal.
Disobey!: Stencil art of the artist Ai Weiwei spotted in Lyon, France, during the artist’s detention. (Image by HWL)
A solo show at the Jeu de Paume is the highest accolade Paris can grant to a photographer. In this context, the show is a bit of a stretch, not only does this multi-faceted artist not fit in to the narrow category of the art form but photography – let’s face it – is not his strongest suite. As an artist, blogger and ‘Twitterer’ Ai is a prolific photographer; he uses the medium to document (and share) the ephemera of daily life (meals eaten, art works in creation, travels taken etc) and as a means of documenting the process or outcome of his work. Photography provides the ‘interlacing’ between his many projects and media; in this sense the show reminds us of the power of this medium to bear witness. Case in point: Ai was repeatedly invited by the authorities to construct a studio in Shanghai. Finally, he concedes but as soon as the building is completed, it is declared illegal. The building is torn down, all evidence of the site is removed and finally the field is ploughed-up and returned to farm land. The only evidence of this studio ever being part of reality (as opposed to a Kafkaesque nightmare) are Ai’s photographs.
When the sleepy city of Tunis kicked off the Arabic Spring, little did we know what was to come: both for the better and worse. Hence, we lead in with a video collaboration from El Seed, the Tunisian-born, calligraphy graffiti artist… from little things, big things grow. (See the end of this post for a video interview with El Seed on his work and the Tunisian uprising.)
Tunis: mural in the medina
The rather dusty city of Tunis sprawls along the coast encompassing the pretty seaside villages and suburbs of Carthage, Sidi Bou Saïd, La Marsa, La Gammarth and La Goulette. Navigating between them requires a reasonable amount of patience for traffic jams. (Taking the train is probably more fun…) We’ve listed a day’s worth of eating and drinking and a few arty spots, the rest is up to you. See here for Hotels We Love in Tunis.
EATING/DRINKING:
Brunch: We’re not for the international hotel chain, but let’s give credit where credit is due. Brunching outdoors beneath the sunshades and watching the sun sparkle on the bay is a delightful way to start the day. For this reason, we give the thumbs up toMövenpick Hotel Gammarth for its French-style brunch buffet.
Tough start to the day @ Mövenpick Hotel Gammarth, Tunisia
Istanbul: an east-meets-west mixed tape that splices the grandeur of Paris and the madness of NYC via a Bangkok traffic jam and a late night kebab. Click through to read about our Perfect Day in H’ipstanbul. (Image by HWL)
Wow, we’re not even sure how that happened. This blog started out as a way of writing about places we’d been, places we stayed and cool things we saw along the way…For our 100th post, we got to thinking about our art and travel highlights…Click on the pictures to go through to the original story. Thanks to everyone who has read this blog, followed this blog, contributed to this blog, befriended us on Facebook or just stumbled across it randomly while looking for something weird (to the person who – bizarrely – came to us after Googling ‘portable sex swing’, we hope you eventually found what you were looking for, albeit elsewhere).
With love from us,
X
An icon of modernist architecture, the Hotel Le Corbusier is just one of the drawcards for Marseille…other lures being the calanques, French rap, bouillabaisse and a sense of underlying anarchy… Our review of one of the world’s great hotels. (Image by HWL)
For reasons obscure & too lengthy to go into, we ended up at the graffiti event Meeting of Styles in Chicago. We love the windy city for its unique combination of great architecture and very, very friendly folk. (Image by HWL)
We will Rock You: Our room at The Ace in New York City had its own guitar & record player. Click through for more pics of this hipster hotel of the moment. (Drawing by HWL)
We got along to the FAME graffiti festival in Grottaglie, a working town in Puglia, Italy that lures the Graffiti A-List with the promise of blank walls. Our suggested itinerary combines stumbling around in abandoned semi-industrial zones and swanning around the coast in search of fine eats. Mural by Nunca. (Image by HWL)
The Urbn Hotel in Shanghai was our favourite hotel of 2011; in a city of dystopian skyscrapers it offers a slice of life on a human scale. Click through for our review.(Image by HWL)
We’ve seen a lot of great art over the last few years…but this recent show by Danish & French yarn bombing types was a highlight. The Knitted Stag is by French artists Art Oriente Objet. (Image by HWL)
The Krafft Hotel in Basel, Switzerland, must be one of the loveliest places we’ve ever stayed: warm, elegant, cosy, classic. Help yourself to a cup of tea and watch the green watery folds of the Rhine wash by. (Drawing by HWL)
We were lucky enough to score an invite to a show of revolutionary artists organised by the French Embassy in Tunis. Tunisia kicked-started the then- Arab Spring & was the first to hold democratic elections. Being there we sensed two conflicting emotions: hope and resignation. The Made in Tunisia series by photographer Hichem Driss’ hints at a complex populace…Click through to read the story.
A pocket of Moorish-flavoured wonder that is Seville, Spain. When the mercury hit 40 degrees (that’s 104 to the luddites), the traditional ice-creams at Heladeria Artesana La Fiorentina really came into their own.
Arles! A small Roman town in the South of France, beloved by bullfighters, Hemingway and Christian Lacroix… Every summer it hosts Les Rencontres d’Arles, a veritable Kir Royale that combines the biggest names in photography and delightfully relaxed sightseeing…(providing you don’t visit in the opening week!). The Real Story of Superheros by Mexican-born, NYC-based photographer Paulino Cardozo, featured in 2011. Click through to our review.
Napoli: While Rome burns, Naples crumbles. We loved its fading beauty, pert volcanoes, fantastic food and lovely, lovely people. Happily, we don’t live there given their sporadic garbage collection problem. (Image by HWL)
We can dream, can’t we? In our future lives when we morph, butterfly-like, into fully-fledged artists, we’ll be applying here… The Fogo Island Artist Residency, in the Shipping News territory of Newfoundland, Canada. The artist studios were designed by Canadian-born, Norway-based architect Todd Saunders; a hotel is on its way.
…and there’s nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound? If an artist makes a work of graffiti, and the work doesn’t appear on Google image search, does it exist? Spotted at Broadway Market in London Fields and published for posterity…
I want to be seen on a Street Art Blog: graffiti, Broadway Market, London (Image by HWL)
No shame in being bookish @ the Zetter Townhouse (Image by Jefferson Smith)
The hotel: The 13-room Zetter Townhouse offers cosy digs with a ‘my great aunt lived in India’ club-house feel; it opens onto the pleasing St John’s Square in Clerkenwell, just across from the original Zetter Hotel.
Rm. 4 suggests you lie back & think of Cool Britannia: but its stumpy four-poster is not recommended for long-legged lovers. (Image by Jefferson Smith)
The neighbourhood: The ye olde neighbourhood of Clerkenwell could be described as ‘hidden in plain view’. While even Londoners struggle to locate it, it could hardly be more central; it is walking distance to Shoreditch, Barbican, Convent Garden, Soho, and Islington. Nearby cultural institutions include the Tate Modern, the Barbican and Sadler’s Wells dance theatre. The closest tube (Farringdon) is just one station from Kings Cross St Pancras. The neighbourhood is peppered with creative businesses, the odd residential loft conversion and the remains of the old city walls. It has more than its fair share of tasty eating options nearby in Exmouth Market and the historic meat market at Smithfields.
Hello Kitty: Yes, it seems the in-house cat is quite stuffed (Image by HWL)
The vibe: Club house meets country house in a distinctly English (read eccentric) vein. The fit-out is the product of months of trawling through action houses and estate sales for club lounges, bric-a-brac, circus off-casts and oddities, such as a stuffed kangaroo for the dining room. (Begetting the question: why doesn’t everybody have one?) Continue reading →
Our perfect day in Shanghai revolves around a couple of great coffee stops, an arty jaunt, a local quirk or two and a place to debrief over drinks and perhaps carry on into the night. Join the dots…
COFFEE: What looks like a short stroll on a Shanghai street map often turns out to be a long and charmless polluted slog punctuated by construction sites …for this reason; we suggest that all outings should encompass a coffee stop either for refuelling or as a goal of its own right.
Stormy Cafe: An indie slice of counter-Shanghai this tiny joint is possibly our favourite cafe-slash-bar in the city. We chilled out to Bob Marley, met a friendly dog and observed an interesting series of people coming in and out with intriguing props. (Or maybe that’s just the absinthe talking?) A laid-back, if grungy, port in the storm. (Lane 229, No 1 Danshui Rd, nr Fuxing Rd.)
Indie port in a storm, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Q’s Coffee: Yunnan coffee, sweet treats and Wi-Fi situated in a tiny wooden cabin with a big glass front in the old school maze that is the trendy shopping zone of Taikang Lu’s Tianzifang. If you’re no good at map reading, just walk around and around in circles until you stumble onto it. (15, Lane 155, Jian Guo Zhong Lu.)
Amokka Cafe: This French Concession cafe knows its way around a coffee machine and offers decent lunch bits – sandwiches, soup, risotto etc – at reasonable prices. The more atmospheric second floor has a very chilled Scandi-Asiatic vibe. Take advantage of the free Wi-Fi. (Next door you’ll find bread and assorted take-out baked treats at the Antipodeon style Baker & Spice, 195 Anfu Lu.)
Running Amok(kka) in Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Citizen Cafe: Judging by the crowd this French Concession cafe strikes a chord with foreign freelance types who come to hunker down over lattes and laptops, dreams and schemes. We like the Citizen Cafe for its good coffee, cheerful service, cosy ambiance and Euro-friendly edibles. The small yet more-ish pesto pasta is a fail-safe choice if you’ve overdosed on dumplings.
Embrace comrades in arms at the Citizen Cafe, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
ART:
Rockbund Art Museum (RAM): Shanghai’s first private art museum in a historic building on the Bund was recently given a revamp by British architect David Chipperfield. In our view, the museum is the most likely of the city’s institutions to put on a reliably good show. While you’re in the hood, you may like to check out the high calibre commercial galleries nearby such as Shanghai Gallery of Art (at 3 on the Bund) and 18 Gallery at Bund 18.
"At 70 I could follow my heart's desire without overstepping the line," an older, wiser (and more hairy) Confucius as imagined by artist Zhang Huan, at Rock Bund Museum (Image by HWL)
M50 (50 Moganshan Rd, Shanghai) is Shanghai’s response to Beijing’s more famous Factory 798, it is comprised of dozens of galleries and artist studios scattered around a series of dimly lit and circuitous warehouses in a disused mill that, so far, has escaped development. (Digression: While bad art is not exclusive to Shanghai, it must be said that with so much material to work with, it seems especially easy to create bad art work in this city… If you want to DIY your own crappy art follow this simple recipe: take a handful of Mao and a dash of cash, add pop colours, and stir. If you are feeling adventurous, whack in a military theme as well. All this to say that, the quality of the art on display can be hit and miss.)
Party of One: M50 art enclave Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Brighten up: cool lights, warehouse ambiance at M50 Shanghai (Image by HWL)
On a positive note, galleries we liked include: Gallery55s and the oddly named Brut Cake specialising in ceramics, recycled homewares and gifts; the rather obscure Dearco, OV Gallery, the photography gallery M97 the Island 6 Collective and M50 veteran Eastlink. It’s also worth browsing the M50 In Out Shop (105-1, Blg 3, 50 Moganshan Rd) for arty tomes, including souvenir-friendly publications like Wrinkles of the City: Shanghai by French street artist J.R (see video at top of post) and Phantom Shanghai by photographer Greg Girard (see below).
MoCA: Situated in Renmim Park, the programming here can be hit and miss, but it’s worth seeing what’s on, if only to gauge the temperature of Shanghai’s art scene. Plus it’ll give you an excuse to meander around the park where you are likely to be amused by various people doing unusual things. (The average Shanghai apartment is on the small side so locals head to the parks to do tai chi, practise a loud brass musical instrument, work through a new ballroom dancing step, fly a kite or cast a rod into an ornamental water feature. On weekends parents with unmarried kids set up impromptu stalls where they advertise their offspring in a sort of marriage market.) After a dose of art and some good old-fashioned people watching in the park, take a coffee stop at Barbarossa. This cafe has lovely views onto ponds and landscaped greenery and an eclectic menu; light dishes we enjoyed here include the Hainanese chicken rice and the Moroccan-style orange cake. Note: the Shanghai Art Museum is free and also within the park’s confines, however, we struggle to really recommend it…but the gallery cafe Kathleen’s 5 does offer an amazing view over the city.
Barabossa cafe: mean cuppa coffee, lovely water view (Image by HWL)
Who goes there? Renmin Park: beware of pyjama-wearing tai-chi-ers popping out from behind the bushes (Image by HWL)
SHANGHAI-IST DRIFT:
The French Concession evokes images of colonial buildings, faded grandeur and avenues lined with plane trees…but the reality is a little more prosaic. Still, this is certainly the best enclave for eating, drinking and shopping on a more human scale. Shops we quite liked included: the eco-aware Urban Tribe – their sweet pleated scarves and interesting ceramics make for reasonably priced souvenirs/gifts; Mayumi Sato for quirky girl cashmere sweaters and Japanese tailored lovelies and the rather more upmarket Initial Fashion for their interesting, artsy collection. For a custom cobbler, locals recommend Yanye Handmade Shoes, but note that an order takes 2-4 weeks to complete (1363 Fuxing Zhong Lu, by Baoqing Lu 复兴中路1363号，近宝庆路 Tel: 131 6270 5506). Reading materials: you’ll find foreign language books at the rather ordinary Garden Books but we suggest 1984 for coffee, overall underground ambiance and lazing cats (the black gate is always closed, so don’t panic, you will be let in).
Yu (hoo) gardens.... (Image by HWL)
TOURISTIC VENTURES:
Yu Gardens: Shanghai is a city of 23 million people and zero touristic blockbusters – there, we’ve said it. If you’d like to dip into some ye olde worlde Shanghai try the 16th century Yu Gardens. (Here we score zero points for originality.) It is less of a garden and more a complex of pavilions and temples cunningly formed around rockeries, water features and bridges designed to replicate mountains, lakes etc. Carp abound. The whole get-up seems made for the amateur photographer and if you are so foolish to visit on the weekend, you will need to battle it out with thousands for a viewpoint. Nb: claustrophobes should avoid the surrounding (and somewhat ghastly) Yu Bazaar as much as poss. – it is packed. Afterwards, reflect on the inter-balance of the elements (light and shadow, water and stone), over tea on the top floor of the Old Shanghai Teahouse (385 Middle Fangbang Rd), which is charming despite its overt touristyness.
This photo is of no consequence: we just like it. Somewhere near West Fangbang Rd. (Image by HWL)
Bird & Insect Market: Is there anything better than standing around comparing the size and thrust of one’s own cricket? If you’re ever dreamt of owning your own stable here’s your chance to collect a collection of fighting grasshoppers and all the necessary accoutrements. Afterwards, meander around the surrounding laneways and sniff out some fragments of old Shanghai. (South Xizang Rd, nr West Fangbang Rd.)
Hutong & bike near the bird & insect market, Shanghai
Taikang Lu’s Tianzifang: a self-consciously preserved enclave of laneway shop houses that nonetheless make for enjoyable exploration. A kind of one stop shop for eating/drinking/shopping and last minute snaffling of souvenirs. In addition to Q’s Coffee mentioned above, we like Cafe Dan for coffee and basic Japanese food in atmospheric digs at the top of a long rickety set of stairs.
DRINK?: Don’t mind if we do…
Mint: Glam and lofty It bar Mint is has an amazing view over Shanghai and is popular with the usual suspects. Dress hot for the bouncers and, assuming you get in, keep your eyes peeled for faux bi-curious models dancing on the bar, but steer clear of disillusioned ex-pat architects washed up from Dubai.
A crappy day can't hide the overall weirdness of Shanghai's skyline, best enjoyed over drinks & up high... (Image by HWL)
Cloud Nine: We’re not fans of the chain hotel, but Cloud Nine bar on the 87th floor at the Hyatt offers a brilliant view of the Bund skyline. Mix it with a (pretty reasonably priced) cocktail and drink it in, but don’t come for the crowd. Note that Andreas Gursky aficionados may recognise the atrium.
And now for something a little bit different: Also check out the chilled Japanese sochu bar Mokkos; Southern Cross for a quiet cocktail – BYO crowd; or the French wine bar Le Cafe des Stagiaires for a cosy verre de rouge.
'You Should Have Loved Me', Tracey Enim's emotional plea on display at the Waterhouse Hotel in the unsentimental city of Shanghai. (Image by HWL)
The writers Franz Kafka and Italo Calvino were capable of imagining some pretty odd sh*t, but even they might be surprised to see extracts of their work being exploited by a boutique hotel in Shanghai. Quotes from the writers appear randomly stencilled throughout the building. (E.g: Memory is redundant: it repeats signs so that the city can begin to exist – from Calvino’s Invisible Cities). Not that we hold it against them. Our cynical side rolls over and plays dead in the face of ‘onwards-and-upwards’ Shanghai. A spot of esoteric quotation, however gimmicky, is welcome in this robot city where memories are butterflies quickly crushed …
The lobby's stained concrete and soaring ceilings provide a backdrop to an ironic paper chandelier by Mooi (Image by HWL)
The Waterhouse on the South Bund in Shanghai is a boutique hotel development by Singaporean hotelier and restaurateur Loh Lik Peng who is also behind other faves including Hotel 1929 in Singapore and Viajante restaurant in London. Designed by NHDRO, the 19 room establishment is strung across three interconnected 1930′s warehouses situated along the docks of Huangpu River. With its rough, dilapidated exterior and clever re-use of low-rise industrial spaces the hotel gives the big finger to shiny, high-rise Shanghai.
Industrial exterior of Waterhouse Hotel, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Throughout the hotel are hints – both natural and contrived – of the building’s former life as docks warehouse and interestingly, if more ominously, as a former Japanese Army HQ. Rust, concrete stains, crumbling concrete pillars (augmented by new, structurally sound posts) and aging bricks imprinted with their original manufacturing stamps…all this whispers of the historic hustle and bustle of a trading port city.
'As long as you don't stop climbing, the stairs won't end' a quote by Franz Kafka is used to tease guests at the Waterhouse Hotel in Shanghai. (Image by HWL)
Navigation and viewpoints within the hotel reference the interplay between public and private space in China’s maze-like hutong neighbourhoods: a narrow staircase may take you somewhere…or nowhere…while windows enable stolen glimpses on walkways and public spaces. The rooms and communal spaces are decked out in a spare industrial palette of concrete, stainless steel and glass, but the effect is softened with an eclectic collection of iconic chairs (a trick used to effect in previous projects like Hotel 1929) and contemporary art works that give a splash and dash of colour.
Money, that's what I want. Art bling at the Waterhouse Hotel, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Staff quip that the suites here boast Shanghai’s only, ahem, ‘beach views’ – a manmade strip of sand, a volleyball net and other faux seaside hi-jinx lining the river. (It cries out for Martin Parr.) We like the rough luxe mix of lovely linens and spacious digs with utilitarian details, like enamel drinking mugs. The smaller rooms are generous in size with all the usual requirements – desk, reading chair etc and while there is no ‘seaside view’, they are bright, light and cosy.
One of the sizeable smaller rooms at the Waterhouse Hotel, Shanghai (image by HWL)
Pros: Cool design, great rooms. Additionally, the rooftop affords a fabulous view of Shanghai’s sky-scraping skyline (notably the Shanghai Financial Center designed by Kohn Pederson Fox) without having to battle it out with the crowds jostling for a commemorative photograph – subsequently immortalised on a souvenir mug or mouse pad (although this too has a certain eccentric appeal). We also like the bar area where the industrial feel of the space is cut up into convivial sitting areas with lots of interesting chairs.
Start dictating: desk in a standard room at the Waterhouse Hotel, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Cons: While central, the isolated location means you will have to cab everywhere. Tips: Before setting out for the hotel, do print out an address and map with characters in Mandarin or your cab will not understand where to deliver you, this is true of any taxi travel in Shanghai, but particularly in this case where the address is a little odd. There are a few eateries nearby in the self-consciously historic Cool Docks development, it does feel a little bit naff, but it’ll certainly serve you for a quick bite or an evening’s tipple.
The lobby-slash-bar at the Waterhouse Hotel in Shanghai doubles as a sort of designer chair showroom. (Image by HWL)
