jah718

Great start, I work on Nanjing West Road just down from Dadong. Your pics made me really want some duck right about now. Can't wait for the rest!

Madone59

So jealous you are going to spa! Tony3021990. This season has been rotten for Lewis. I didn't know that he had a total engine failure during qualifying so when I was in the pit at the race and said "We didn't have wifi on the plane, did Lewis pole?" you could have heard a pin drop. Woops . Hope you enjoy the TR.

Definitely do it, it is a great time ^

I love the enthusiasm TOMFORD, I hope my TR lives up.

Thanks so much. Maybe it will be the movie poster for Up In The Air II

SANdEhGo moondog I hope you enjoy, and don't worry I won't tell that story about that stuff, and all that other stuff.

Thanks flyingeph12. We got home late but safe. I hope you enjoy.

Who's your man JohnRain? I'll make sure to thoroughly lambaste their team

I was at the Shell before The Masters, and have another MR this Saturday. It has been a busy month. I hope you enjoy SFO777 ^

Thanks roadwarrier, I hope you enjoy.

pbartp

Awesome beginning to your Trip Report. Can't wait to see more.

TOMFORD

Where's the rest of the report you lazy bum?

TheTakeOffRush

He ducked out of it.

farbster

Should be very interesting and I look forward to reading the rest. thanks!

Madone59

Gripevo touring the Mercedes garage is one of the coolest things I have ever done. Bring close close to those cars is like going inside the cages at the zoo. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Thanks for following ^

You work on Nanjing.....are you hiring? I won't be any good to you every day after lunch because I will be in serious need of a nap

Thanks buddy. Have a great trip to Vietnam ^

It's coming, it's coming

Thanks so much ^. It looks like you had a good trip to NYC, hopefully you didn't leave 18% on that bill.

United747

Awesome TR Madone59! Really looking forward to the rest. I'm trying to piece together a trip up to YUL for the Grand Prix.

Too bad that Lewis is off to a bad start this year. Although it could make for some nice points battles come the end of the season!

JohnRain

Well, I'll support anyone who can beat Lewis , but my teutonic origins of course make me favour Rosberg or Vettel.

BESVISOR

Great report! Looking forward to reading the rest.

Heading to Shanghai in June!

One friend that's going is solely going due to Peking Duck...has been begging to return for another taste since 2011!

We'll be staying at Ritz Carlon Pudong, and Park Hyatt, so I will do a report as well!

moondog

While I don't mean to disrespect the limited selection we have on offer down here (e.g as the OP has demonstrated, the Dadong in Reel is pretty solid), if your friend is really into Beijing Duck, he should consider going to Beijing.

TOMFORD

Please take some photos of the RC pool and the view from there! Many thanks!

Madone59

While checking into the hotel the night before I arranged for a 6:15am wake up call and 7:15 cab to Shanghai Circuit which was over an hour away. I had yet to tell Sean about the race or the suitcase of birthday gifts I had schlepped across the Pacific from his girlfriend. OK schlepped is the wrong word it was just a hat and a T-shirt...either way it was time to break the news. I will spare you the details of our bromance but needless to say Sean was ecstatic and hugs were shared.

Early wake up call. Good morning world.


We hopped in the cab, and I will spare you the details but this guy was clueless! We drove through both Mordor and Narnia on our way. After many, many excruciating miles, u-turns, stops for directions and a substantial piece of impressive off road rally driving we finally arrived.




Before leaving the states my contact at Mercedes gave me very simple instructions "9am, paddock gate." No problem right? We quickly figured out there was NO chance of getting close to the paddock gate as it was on the other side of the race track and between us and it were about 100 security guards who spoke no english and had zero interest in the E-mail on my blackberry. No paddock ticket, no chance and this wasn't even the gate. We were being denied at the walkway to the road to the tunnel to the other road to the gate. I was standing across from officer friendly-happy-times watching the hands on my watch jog towards 9:00am wondering if I was going to blow a chance to get into the pit. After putting what little brains we have together we decided to go into security with our passes, and see if there was a internal connector, something that could get us closer to the paddock gate than we currently were. All of the signs were in Chinese but people were in-line already so we got in-line too. At exactly 8:45 security opened and at exactly 8:46 it closed again. Literally only a handful of people, which included Sean, got into the race. Don't believe me? Here is a photo Sean took of me waiting with 1,000 of my closest friends, in silence waiting for security to re-open at 9:00am.

"So you wait and you wait and you wait and you wait......and you wait and you wait and you wait" - Chef


So Sean was inside of the metal detectors and I was on the other in what can only be described as creepy silence. I don't know why no one spoke or moved, but if this had been a Yankees game a riot if not at least a dance party would have broken out...you can't tease us with opening and closing security like that! We're sports fans, this isn't a book singing at Barnes and Noble son!

After clearing security Sean and I hit another dead end so it is time pull the parachute and turn on my phone *gulp*. I pop out of airplane mode, consent to extortion and E-mail my guy who mercifully immediately replied that he was going to be 30 minutes late and back to airplane mode I went! At 9:30 I gave AT&T another crack at my savings account, but it was worth it because we were able to wave each other down, exit through a side gate and hop into a Mercedes team van to the pit.




There are no photos allowed in the garage. No touching or sneezing either for that matter. To the hard-core F1 fans some of this may be redundant, and some of this I may just get wrong but I am going to do my best to describe the incredible experience of touring a Formula 1 garage.

Our guide stopped two steps short of the entry door and said "No photos until we are out of the garage, no touching, this is not the normal tour people get and I will let you know when it is OK to take pictures." The first thing that hits you is that this is the cleanest place you have ever been where you weren't having surgery. I am not talking about having blood drawn for a test or something I mean surgery; this place is immaculate. As you weave through the hallway past the Petronas lab, where they do molecular and chemical analysis on the engine oil, the second thing that hits you is that none of this is real. Yes it is really there but without the team it does not exist and will disassembled and shipped off to the next race long before the last empty beer can has been removed from the grand stands. Mercedes has six of these garages, all identical, spread throughout the world moving around to cover the whole F1 season. I run my fingers against the wall as we start to turn the next corner, the smooth cold wall reminds me that this is not a dream as I lay eyes on the cars. Right in front of me are numbers 6 and 44.........and they are naked! No floor, no wheels, no body panels just a skeleton some suspension, breaks, and a heart. I believe you'd call it an engine . They look different without their painted armor adorn with flashy silver paint and sponsors logos on. They look frail. Because the two cars are running we now need to be shouted at to be explained that each car has it's own team of mechanics, and they never touch the other car....ever! "If it was up to them they wouldn't share information with each other either" we're told "they even try to talk in code about parts of the car." On the way back to the wheel area and carbon fiber repair center we stop and take a look at Lewis's steering wheel. The photo below is curtsy of the internet, and I think does more for explaining the complexity of the thing that my words ever can. One thing I can tell you is the red "X" by the left thumb is the confirm button which must be pressed between every command the driver enters which would be as follows: To change from setting 61 to 61.5 it would be 6X1X.5X. Quite a bit of thinking considering the speed at which this is being done.


We take a look at the tire "lab" where the tires are meticulously warmed for hours before the race so when they are put on the car the temperature is perfect than wondered out of the garage and onto pit-lane where we could finally take photos.





Car Number 6



Things we're a lot busier on Lewis's side as his car blew an engine the day before and was receiving a new one.

Car Number 44



Number 6's rear body




Spare wing




Teams are ordered based in their finish in the previous years season. Mercedes was number one, some guys in red were number two....not sure who they were....and than a whole bunch of slowpokes were further down the way




Photo with Sean. I don't know why I put my hand on his waist like a prom date, but I did, it's over, let's not dwell


After walking back through the garage and to the gates we bid our guide farewell and started our walk back to the grandstands. After a ticketing snafu, which we really brought on our selves by not exiting correctly the first time we were heading back through security again, and there were a few more people this time.


I think we're in the right line




Another Hamilton fan, all right!


We took a stroll through the venue which included many many gift shops and displays









We posed for another photo


Fantastic people watching walking around the pavilions












After a long walk and a quick lunch we made the climb to the top of the grandstands and found out seats, than found better seats and sat in those.




The car left the pit one by one to a roar of cheers, than took their place where the got fresh tires and final adjustments




We were seated next to 4 of the biggest Kimi Räikkönen fans I have ever seen, hopefully the little boy was the DD for his group because dad uncle and uncle were pounding beers all day. Talking about Kimi, I can not believe the number of fans he has in China - swear every Chinese person knows two words in Finnish and they are Kimi Räikkönen!!


After the cars are set and go out for their parade lap the mechanics all flee the track and get out of the way. It is a sight.


Ready, Set, GO!

Racing is underway


After two seat shaking, ear splitting hours of watching Nico put on a driving clinic it was time to head out. We had decided to take the train back to the city, there was a small wait.


We had been up for almost twelve hours, and at the venue for nearly 10 of them; it was time for a shower. Also, because I know Sean is reading this.....yes it is my fault we took the wrong subway and added 45 minutes to our trip back to Yu Garden. After a quick change, we were heading back out to meet the Flyertalk Ambassador to China Moondog.

Whether you have been to Shanghai before or not you need to connect with Moondog. He is the epitome of the kind of person you hope to meet through FT and I hope I can be as knowledgeable and friendly to people visiting San Diego as he was to me. Before our trip I mentioned Sean and I were looking for Xiaolongbao or soup dumplings so we were instructed to meet at Din Tai Fung Xintiandi which was a short subway ride from our hotel at Yu Garden.







We sat down and were given a instruction card on how to properly eat a soup dumpling without burning your face off. How kind.




There they are. Little bundles of perfection, holding in their scorching delicious perfect soup. There may be better places to eat these, the law of averages say it's true, probably down some alley in a stall that has been there for 50 years but would they be significantly better? No. These are worth the trip which is why four of us went through five baskets of them.


After dinner we wondered out into an extension of the Xintiandi shopping complex, a little shopping area with some great bars and street cafes for a drink




Though we could have sat all night neither of us was long for this world, and it was time to part ways and head to bed. What a day.

farbster

DTF is the way to go. My cousin introduced us to them in HK.

As to the 18% tip in NYC from my recent TR, I don't mind that as much as the fact that 18% was the starting tip. Mostly, I would think it would be 15/18/20.

TOMFORD

DTF is a good place to start your xialongbao journey. Don't get their noodles though, I had them in a few stores in Shanghai (because I love noodles) and they all sucked.