Hey Bartman69, which part of Oz you from? I am from the GC. I had an interesting Shanghai trip myself 2 weeks ago. Next time we should plan a trip with several like minded individuals together. Was originally planned a trip of absolute debauchery but it fell apart: had to do the Expo and sight seeing during the day time with "relatives" and "family" and my wingman piked out on me in Oz.
Anyway one night after suffering allergic reaction to river prawns during the day time and under the affect of antihistamine I went to a place called Judy's on Tong Ren Road. Had dinner and a few drinks there and watching the world cup, was approached by a mamasan of mid 20s from Chongqing offering Thai/Viet/Phil girls for 1000 to 1500RMB for overnight, indicating to a few WG across the bar. I asked her whether she was available (she was a 7-8 herself) as I was more into the flavors closer to home. She politely declined but instead suggested for a fee of RMB300 she can be my Shanghai escort for the night, take me to a few different places etc. I thought its not too bad an idea and accepted.
So we left the first joint and walked to the next one, Malones but it was pretty dead so we didnt stay long. Next was Manhattan, it was crazy: Id say at least 500 inside half westerners half WGs from Thai/Viet/Phil...the place was going off. We were probably the only 10 or 20 occidentals in the joint not counting the staff and she was probably the only female...lolz. So went to get the drinks and less than 5-10min later I am walking back to the table I left her and there was at least 2-3 guys chatting her up lol...she was actually happy to see me back, lol.
So I asked her where to next and she suggested a place called 88, its a chain type nightclub catering to the middle tier income crowd, ie. the place where typical Shanghai office workers and long term expat on a budget and backpackers go. I have to say if you are not looking for a certainty and was simply looking for a fun night this is the place: its packed to the rafters with a good mix of locals and tourists. I actually met a few people there from Shanghai and is now friends with them.
Now what happened with the hot Chinese mamasan and the rest of the night? Well some point around 3-4am I got totally wasted, lost my table and friends I made, lost my glasses, got into a taxi and somehow ended back at my hotel intact. Next morning I checked my wallet, still had my Visa card, my bank card and 2000RMB left out of a 3500RMB at the start of the night. The taxi driver even put the change in my shirt pocket. I didnt get to see whether I could have gotten the Chongqing girl back but man it was a good night and even though I was wasted I didnt get robbed. The only thing Id lost was a pair of glasses and a good chunk of my short term memory for the next 12 hours lolz.
So if you still in Shanghai check out Judy's its on TongRen road, something tells me you probably would run into the Chongqing mamasan there.
I also did go to Bar Rouge but didnt stay long enough to talk to the WGs I spotted there. Thanks for the price info though, will try it out next time.
Now about a few things you mentioned, namely taxis: in China lots of taxi drivers are not locals, even if they have lived in the city for a few years they are migrant workers...you need to tell them the address and how to get there most of the time. GPS is none existent, and most of the GPS have outdated maps.
For hotels and flights, book through
www.ctrip.com I have been a member for 3 plus years, 5/5 star for service and quality. All of their agent speak fluent english on the phone.