Sunday, December 04, 2005
Shanghai Memories - Part 1
First 2 days at Shanghai was a guided tour. Touched down at PuDong International Airport and was met by our guide - Xiao Ma. And my eyes immediately sparkled and lit up. hehez... because he is really very cute! :Þ Hope my boy is not reading this. Anyway, we went for a KFC breakfast that consisted of porriage and one egg burger. EGG?!? Not scared of bird flu ah?? Not really, because he said that there's no bird flu in Shanghai (atm)!
Sat on the fastest train that travels like 30km in 7 mins. Not sure if the distance is accurate, but took a video to show how fast it was going. Will upload it when I figure a way to do it. The speed was like 430km/hr, in a matter of seconds. Kwel. Tickets cost about S$40 per person? Can't really remember. ok, Wikipedia says its called the magnetic levitation train, or maglev. Take it for the experience if you want. But there's nothing much to see to tell the truth.
Watching the train leave the station - that's my guide :)
On to a temple, and we saw a white jade buddha. Very serene, and looking at it made me feel really at ease. Photos were not allowed though. Went downstairs and saw another statue donated by Singapore. Pics were allowed this time.
Heard there's one in Singapore, any idea where?
They had different coloured joss sticks and Xiao Ma said that it represented various things people wish for.
Proceeded on to Cheng Huang Miao and I was thinking... what another temple?! Boring....
Surprisingly, its not really a temple for praying to the gods, can't really remember what it is for. The place has many ancient looking buildings, a stark contrast to the
rest of Shanghai. There's a lot of people there as well. Had our lunch
there. It wasn't that bad... but we found a cockroach underneath the
Xiao Long Baos and it sort of spoilt their want for more. BUT I
wouldn't mind though, how often do you get nice and yummy XLB in
Singapore. Cheap as well.
Candied Fruits, the Kiwi was really big!
But I made an stamp with my name engraved on it. Pretty pretty, because its made of crystal (according to the person)! I shall use it as a stamp of authority on my students' books.
Oriental looking Starbucks - it looks like any other inside though
Went to Xiang Yang Market next and got a jacket and some other stuff that I cannot remember. No pics because everyone who goes to Shanghai will visit this place. Didn't buy much because we only had an hour there.
Proceeded on to a boat on Huang Po River for dinner. Its docked. So no river cruise. :( Food was alright, but I liked their veges! Very fresh and tasty. Think my dad enjoyed the fish most. Yummy!
There's a dragon head at the front of the boat.
Proceeded to The Bund and it was really cold!!!! First night in Shanghai and was shivering throughout. But its a very nice place because it sort of symbolises Shanghai's amazing development within a few years.
Oriental Pearl Tower: Didn't want to go up, heard there's nothing much anyway
Went for a manicure recommended by Xiao Ma. And its soooooooooooooooo pretty that I cannot stop taking pictures of it. See and drool. Looks really very pro and its only $8! Heehee.. Ok, guys can skip this part.
Day 2 ! Went to this place called Zhu Jia Jiao, about 40 mins car ride away from the city area. Its a very nice and calm place, where people are not bothered about the busy bustle of city life. Heard some stories about the bridge about how a very rich man decided to donate money so that people do not have to walk or travel by boat between the two river banks .
Took a river cruise this time, and its rowed by a guy who is supposedly very skilled in this. Managed to sneak a shot of my very cute guide. heehee... I know you have been waiting for this. He really looks much cuter in person. No wonder I enjoyed my tour so much. :Þ
Had our lunch there and take a look at the smallest prawns ever! And its not xia mi.Fresh water prawns! I know... I just can't help taking pictures of my fingernail again.*Smirks*
Look at the long feelers!
Next we visited the grave of Sun Yat Sen's wife. The strange thing about the place is that the trees were all growing TOWARDS her direction. Normally trees grow tall, but the trees there were slanted towards her statue! Amazing.
Went for a acrobats show in the evening. Nice show, but I heard one of the ursher saying something like ' only rich people will come see the show. ' Ughz, that's like so not true. I'm probably one of the exceptions. haha.
Stuff about my loot will be posted some other days when I finally get the chance to pack my room. Hope to do it before I embark on my next shopping trip to Bangkok though. My nails are still in good condition, though half of the crystals have fallen off at time of blogging. Ughz.
I simply cannot resist. Show you my nails again.
Hee hee.
Stephy
is just simply too gorgeous 10:29 PM