Finally was able to realise that I can update this blog but not able to view it. Some problem with the Chinese Authorities I guess.
9 November 2006
Finally touched down in Shanghai after a 4 hour flight from Bangkok. It has been 139 Days since I last saw Sweetie! It has been too long!
First impression I got was, this place has a bigger haze problem than us. It took me 40 minutes to clear customs! Haiz. After boarding the Airport bus to the Longyang Road MRT station, Sweetie soon called and lamented that I did not take the Maglev. Ah well, I was hoping to save some cash. However, I soon made my first mistake. When the bus arrived at the Longyang Road station, I informed the ticket inspector that I needed to collect my Backpack from the luggage compartment but the moment I alighted, the bus just drove away! What the! Thankfully there was a nearby Police Post nearby and they helped me to track down my bag. Sweetie soon arrived and we quickly rushed by cab to the terminal station to retrieve my bag.
When we finally retrieved my bag, we headed over to the hotel to check in. The hotel is pretty well located but very expensive! Seems like all hotels in the city area are expensive! This happeneds to be the cheapest of them all. As there was no single room available, I had to settle for a twin sharing room. After we finally settled down in my hotel room, I handed Sweetie the food stuff she asked me to bring along. She must really miss the food back home.
We then went out for a walk and she brought me to this cantonese cusine place. It really is a joy to finally see her again after so long. I really missed her. For the first time in my life, I am overseas on my birthday and I am glad to have her company. Well, I did not tell her it is my birthday today but what difference does it make? I am just happy to have spent part of this day with a person who is important to me. In case you are wondering, no hanky panky happened, so please scrub your minds clean.
10 November 2006
As she has to work on weekdays and attend classes on Fridays, I had to find ways to keep myself entertained. Went down to Longhua Temple today. It is one of the older temple in the Shanghai area. Well, I ain't a Buddhist but I went there to have a look anyway. I liked the old style structure and was there more to see the building then to worship.
On my way to the next destinaition, I picked up some Pao along the way. They sure are cheap here. Only RMB1 for a Big Pao! Haha.
My next destination was to the Soong Ching Ling's Mausoleum. Places I go to are most probably the places that many will shun. However, I am more of a historical person and went there to read more about her history and her life.
As we had to leave early the next day for our train ride to Hangzhou, Sweetie came over to stay for the night at the hotel. Waited up for her as she was out with her boss and company's customer at a sending off dinner for her. She sure is popular here.
11 November 2006
Woke up early to take the MRT to the Shanghai South Train Station. Thankfully we had purchased sitting seats and had comfy seats for the 2 hour trip to Hangzhou. Apparently there is such a thing as standing room tickets. Luckily our coach was not packed in like sardines.
When we finally reached Hangzhou, the wind was gusting and the wind chill factor was at a high! We quickly went to check in at our hotel before heading out to the famous West Lake. However, on our way there, a local auntie heared that we were heading to West Lake and suggested we head over to Jiu Xi instead. She said that today the wind was gusting to heavily and thus not condusive for a boat ride on West Lake. Thus upon her adivce, we headed over to Jiu Xi after lunch. Had to eat first, we did not take any breakfast.
After a short bus ride, we soon arived at the path into Jiu Xi. As we walked in, you could feel the air being much cleaner and fresher! Ah! UNPOLLUTED AIR! Along the path, we passed a small farming community. You don't see such things back in Singapore.
While on our way to the Jiu Xi Scenic Park, a local uncle suddenly started to talk with us and introduced the area to us. The people of Hangzhou sure are friendly! He even recommended us to continue on after the Jiu Xi scenic spot along the road called Qian Long Road to the village of Long Jing.
After visiting the mini waterfall, we headed on to Qian Long Road. The road was named Qian Long Road because many many moons ago, the Chinese Emperor Qian Long had walked along that path. DUH! Haha. Along the way, another auntie suddenly started chatting with us! HWAH! 3rd person to speak with us out of the blue today! The people here are indeed very friendly! She told us that she is a villager here and today was one of the rare times she had left the village to go out to settle some stuff. We chatted about village life and she thought we were from the South. We are from the South but waaaaaaay South. Haha. When she heard we were from Singapore she was amazed that we could speak such fluent Mandarin. Heez. She even invited us to her place to try the local Long Jing tea. Authentic! Geniune Sutff! Cannot Bluff! Haha. Bought some back for Mum & Granny. Not cheap ah! Haha.
The auntie then showed us the place where she planted her Long Jing Tea plants. The way her plants were planted, it looked like terrace planting. Secodary 4 Geography! Haha! We soon bade farewell to the auntie and flagged down a minivan to fetch us to the nearby silk manufacturer's place. The driver uncle even told us what we can expect and mentioned to us the 3 "treasures" of Hangzhou. Freshwwater Pearls, Long Jing tea leaves and Hangzhou Silk. Well, we had the Long Jing tea, we are headed to the silk manufacturer's place for Hangzhou silk. We did not get any Freshwater Pearls as they were very expensive even though this year is the harvesting year and the pearls are supposedly cheap. Apparently, the people here are only allowed to harvest the pearls only once every 5 years and we were lucky to be here at this time. However the cost were not cheap even with discounts and we decided to give it a pass.
After we had purchased the silk stuff, the sky was turning dark and we quickly made our way to the Yue Fei Tomb. The wind was still going strong and it was a very chilly wait for the bus to arrive. By the time we reached Yue Fei tomb, we decided not to go in as there was an entrance fee involved and we did not want to be caught in another Tourist Trap. Haha. We then strolled along the North side of West Lake and headed to the restaurant Lou Wai Lou. There were a lot of people there and we had to take a queue. Since there was a wait of about 20 minutes, we headed out to take more pictures.
We tried out the Beggar's Chicken here and it was pretty good. The price also not too cheap. Haha. After dinner, we took a stroll across the Su Causeway to the South side of the West Lake. Even at night, the West Lake still looks very beautiful. Apparently, there are plenty of tombs of war heroes and literary scholors around West Lake.
Getting back into town was difficult as the buses were few and far between at that time and there were hardly any taxis available. In the end we had to settle for a bus which brought us back close enough and we walked. Sweetie wanted to do some shopping and we stopped at Smith & Calvin! Alas, the staff there could not speak English and were having problems with a caucassian couple. Seeing the difficulty they were in, we stepped in to assist the shop assistants. Haha. After she had bought her jacket, we then strolled back to our hotel where she had to continue her work on her IA report which is due next week.
12 November 2006
We chose to wake up early as we had yet to do a proper tour of the West Lake and quickly washed up and headed there. On our way there, another auntie suddenly spoke to us and again she encouraged us to go visit Jiu Xi first. Hahaha! When we reached the West Lake, it looked really nice.
We took a boat ride to visit the various islets in the lake. There was a tablet there written by Qian Long which had the word Chong Er. I later then realised what it actually meant.
After we were done with the islets, we headed over to the Duan Qiao. This was the bridge, according to the Madam White Snake folklore, where Xu Xian met Bai Su Zhen. Or was it where they accepted each other's love? Hmm......
Soon it was time to head back to Shanghai and we rushed back to the hotel after lunch to get our stuff before checking out. This time, although we had comfy seats, the coach was packed in like sardines. Argg!
When we reached Shanghai, my next hotel is situated outside the city area and within a stone's throw of Sweetie's apartment. This hotel is somewhat like a budget hotel. Like a normal hotel, it only did not have any carpet flooring and a shower head instead of a bathtub. Else, at half the rate of a city hotel, this can be a pretty comfortable place to stay. After we checked in, I could see that she was very tired and I suggested that we have a quick dinner after which I walked her back.
13 November 2006
On my own again today, I went to get the tickets for the Shanghai Plant Sculpture Exhibition before heading to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Alas, it is closed on Mondays. Since I was in the vicinity, I took a walk around to see the parks there.
After a while, I headed over to the vicinity of the Oriental Pearl. Apparently it costs RMB100 just to go all the way to the top. Expensive. I then went over to the Grand Hyatt Shanghai to place my reservation for this coming Saturday. I had read how the staff treated those who can speak Mandarin differently from those who speak English, I stuck to English the entire time I was there. Haha. It sure was a test of resolve on my part not to break into Mandarin, seeing the difficulty the staff had at speaking staccato English. Although the buffet here ain't cheap, RMB298 per person, but the view is just as good as the Oriental Pearl and we got food. So why not? Haha.
While shopping at the Super Brands Mall there, I realised that not everything is cheap over there. Sweetie met me there after work and she looked really pretty. Looking at myself, dressed only in my jeans and jersey top, I felt under dressed and undeserving of her company. We headed over to a place called Chamate for dinner. The food there is so-so but the "bak-chor" is good. Maybe it is her company that I crave for. Anything else is just secondary. Haha.
14 November 2006
Went out looking for the Shanghai TV & Movie city but had mistaken the Shanghai Film City as my place of destination. Argg! Apparently the TV & Movie city is at the Songjiang district, which is outside of Shanghai City, whereas the Film City is just a cineplex. Waste my time. Hahaha.
I then headed over to the Shanghai Stadium to get my tickets for One-Day tour to Zhou Zhuang tomorrow and Suzhou the day after. The trips do not cost too much though.
Next stop for the day was to the old street of Shanghai. It is a bit like a run-down version of our Chinatown. Also, there is a market nearby where you could pick up stuff. You know what I mean. Haha.
Met Sweetie later that evening at Dong Chang Road area, where we had our dinner at Bi Feng Tang. When I laid my eyes on her, SHE WAS SO PRETTY! I am so HAPPY!
15 November 2006
Went on the One-Day tour of Zhou Zhuang today. I was almost late for the bus but made it just in time. Was feeling a bit fluish but nonetheless, just wanted to go visit a waterside town.
Alas, the place is a bloody tourist trap! No cheapo food anywhere. Had to settle for eating in the restaurant. Haiz. The bulding there were of the old designs and sure gave a feel of time past. One of the placed visited was the old home of Shen Wan San, the rich guy of days goneby.
The temple was a nice place to visit but they were very persistent in getting people to donate money or to "fang sheng". Haiz. It was so business like.
The tour even included a visit to the nearby silk manufacturer's store, with a fashion show to boot! BUT......the models all cannot make it, very stiff. However, have to give them the credit of doing the show. By the time we headed back to Shanghai, we got caught in the typical afterwork rush.
I felt so bad having to make Sweetie wait for me to return before going for dinner. In the end we settled at a nearby beef noodle place. Following that, we ended dinner with a visit to the nearby dim sum place for some hot Soya Bean milk and Xiao Long Bao. My verdict on the Xiao Long Bao? Cannot compare to those served at Crystal Jade back home.
16 November 2006
Woke up with a splitting headache and under the weather. It finally rained today while I was rushing to the stadium to catch my tour bus. Alas I was 1 minute late and the bus had driven off. Thankfully I could get at least 50% of my ticket refunded. I then slowly made my way back to the hotel to rest for the day. Damn! It sucks to fall ill on a holiday.
Spent the entire day in the hotel today recovering from my illness. Did not even get to meet her today. Also good, did not want to pass the germs on to her. Until I get back to Singapore, take care!
