Moving house in Shanghai is actually not a difficult task. But there are alot of horror stories that I have heard about movers. The most commom story I have heard is that the agreed price before the move is drastically different from the price AFTER the move. They wil charge you fees for moving from the lobby to the road, from your apartment to your lobby; They drive a long distance to earn extra 'mileage' so that you wil pay them more.. So I did have hesitations when I finally decided to move house.

First of all, you need to find a reliable mover. I reckoned that I was a light mover, so I didin't thought of engaging a mover till the day I decided to move. In retrospect, it wasn't that bad. A friend had advised me to check with the security guard below my previous apartment if he knows of any 'freelance' mover. And a good advise it was. The security guard recommended a rag-and-bone man who worked around the neighbourhood, who delivered my stuffs (about 8 boxes, including luggages and knicknacks) to the new place so fast, he was faster than me taking a cab! He was also a very friendly man, though I think he is a middle age person, he was really strong, I guess due to the nature of his job.

For those of you who are would like to engage professional movers, I think the only reliable one is Da Zhong 上海大众搬场物流有限公司 (http://www.96811.net/800/default.asp). You have to call them a week in advance though. If you are a single person like me, and reckon that you do not have as much stuffs as the families who lived here, get a friend to help you move your stuffs as you call for a Volkswagon 大众 van. That worked for most of my friends, BUT, provided that your friends do not mind spending an afternoon being the good friend (which I have learned, some 'friends' you have here are entertainment-related friends and not help-friends...)

As an expat, it is better that you let the govenment know that you have changed your location of residence. Well, that is basic courtesy too. So after you have moved, do remember to check with the security guard on the police station 派出所 that is responsibile for your area. Report there with your work contract, passport, your landlord's ID and your rental contract, and let them know that you have moved. Do this as soon as possible. I can't tell you what may happen, but it is better to be a good guest and do what good guests do while in China :)

Will write about things to lookout in a new place next. :)

Before i set off, I had anticipated some strangeness in being back home. Interestingly, it never happened. I was at Vivo City, Holland V, Tiong Bahru market etc. It felt as if I had been on the island for the past 3 months, and visiting these places was not as unfamiliar as I thought it was.

Adding on to it, the weather at home was cooling, and I didn't felt the heat. Friend's wedding was good, none of us broke a sweat.

However, home seemed more home that the usual mention of 'home' when I was back home. It's where close friends and families are around. Now that I am back here in Shanghai, I can really feel the difference of not having close friends around to hang out with. You know, the kind that you can call at 4pm for a 7pm dinner... Laugh until you tear, gossip on common topics...

Absence does makes the heart grows fonder. Much fonder.

Being new to cold weather, I was warned by many of my friends here that it is essential to have a heater in the house to keep warm against the cold. I did to some research on my own and decided to buy one when I came back from my home trip.

There are quite a number of choices to choose from in Tesco, and I have a hard time deciding which is one that is for me. There are the flat ones, the fan-looking ones, those that rotate, those that turn etc..

Initially, the salesman at Tesco recommended me the fan kind, and I had thought maybe it would be better. But I realised that it is better that I have one that is handy to move around than one that looks like a fan, and so I bought this:

This is how the actual heater looks like

The back, where there is a handle and a switch to turn on the rotation.

The top, to select temperature and wind speed.

The front, where obviously the heat comes from.

The heater costs RMB169, and the brand is called SINGFUN 先锋， and it supposedly uses a cereamic heat-emitting device to conduct heat. The heater can be heated up to 1800W, but I did read somewher that a guy bought another heater, had it turn on till 1000W heat and it warms up the room. I am going to believe that it can happen to mine :)

So stay tune to this space as I update you with the effectiveness of the heater!

My original plan is to hop on a bus that brings me to the only mega supermarket I know, Carrefour. I had always wanted to check out Tesco, but the Chinese website doesn't seemed to provide me with alot of guidelines.

Anyways, so I hopped on to the same Carrefour-bus and was all prepared to alight at the Carrefour stop when I saw the big Tesco sign as the bus passed the stop. This is it, an opportunity for me to explore Tesco! So I alighted like everyone else and head on to Carrefour.

We know that there isn't any Tesco in Singapore, so i am curious what has this supermarket brand got to offer. It is essentially similar to Carrefour, however, this one that I go is defintely going to be my default supermarket in Shanghai. Below is the evaluation between the both:

Transportation -
Carrefour 1 - Only one bus takes me to the one that I go to regularly.
Tesco 3 - There are 3 bus lines that takes me to and from Tesco

Variety -
Carrefour 1 - It has quite a number of offers
Tesco - 2 I dunno if it was my first time to the supermarket, but I feel that they have more to offer compared to Carrefour

Durians -
Carrefour - 0 Didn't really see them
Tesco - 1 Saw large ones on display, and they are void of the durian smell! Kinda weird huh... I doubt they are as good as the ones back home anyway

So it is clear that Tesco has my vote and I am so happy that I have found a mega supermarket that is so close to my place! Woohoo! I am looking forward to supermarket shopping!

"Cough. Cough. Camomile Tea. Sandwich. Cough. Camomile Tea. Sandwich. Sandwich. Cough. Cough. Cough. Sandwich. Cough. Cough. Sandwich. Cough. Camomile Tea. Cough......"

Oh, with a little bit reading of Shanghai Daily in between.

2) Bought fruits and a fruit peeler RMB 12.50
Bananas, pears, apples. I noticed I have been sick because I haven't been taking in fresh fruits. My body resistance is really low *Cough. Cough*

So far so good. Fresh produce here so far has not been disappointing.

3) Went for cell group.
Nobody knew it was Special Day. Everything went on per normal. We got a new member from UK. She was a bit tight-lipped at first, but after prayer, she was more comfortable.

4) Went for 1 1/2 hour massage. RMB120
Asked for a female masseuse this time. Not shiok. I think I will get the male one again next time round.

5) Bought DVDs.
Decided that those 'deep thinking' DVDs that I bought from the lady below my block are too heavy fo rme to watch after a tiring work day/week. Grabbed some comedies and a Milan Fashion Show music CD.

6) Painted my fingernails in lavender
Decided that I want to have a dark shade for my fingernails. Asked the girl if she could do my toes too, but we don't have much time.

I also made friends with the girl and have decided that I will frequent her stall for nail painting next time.

7) Bought slices of cakes.
After waiting for a while for the bus, I decided to get myself some cakes at the famous cake store just behind the bus-stop. I think I should end the day with some cakes.

There you go. 7 items. Very biblical. Oh, it was also 7th yesterday as well. What a coincidence! :)

Yes, it was kinda weird to do it all alone on my own... But it's ok, it's not like I have not done it since I have been here. But it does have it's edge over the other Special Days that used to have... It's uniquely different. :) Spiritually, I think I have been edified in some ways... I felt it today.

It is good to be reminded that with a new age, I am not moving on with life on my own. I have a Helper, a Father, a Friend by my side. I am not alone.

And that is good to hear. :)

Mentioned earlier that a friend's husband brought over some stuffs for me, and in it was a laksa mixture from Prima Taste. You know, the kind that comes in a box. I realised later that you can find that here, but anyway, thats not what I am writing about...

After church today, I came home to cook food... i reckon since I have some ingredients in the fridge, I might as well use them. But I didn't use much anyway.. Hahaha...

So anyway, with the laksa paste, I cooked Bee Hoon Laksa with Toufu and dumplings. And you know what, after testing this new method of cooking, i realised toufu actually tastes really nice in laksa! They actualy complement each other.

Yep, that is my laksa bee hoon. Those are spoon and chopsticks brought from home (I had to have something to eat with when I first arrive in Shanghai!) Yep, laksa tastes closely to one back home. MMmm... so I want to say thank you to Prima Taste. Good thinking!

Oh, by the way, I have signed up for Sunday School teaching today. I sat through a class of 1st graders and boy did I felt good. I really missed hanging out with kids. I miss Sunday School. It has been my mind since I arrived and saw the announcement during church service. However, I held back because of my work. I am concern that work may get in the way, and that I may not be able to serve.

But then, I received what I believe is an impression from God. I was reminded sometime back by a preacher who went to where God led him, with practically nothing, no preparation, no knowledge, no money. He obeyed and was rewarded beyond his imagination.

So I did it. "Here I am God, use me." I believe so long as I honour God with my actions, he will work out the rest for me. I am confident about that.

I missed Sunday School. I really do.

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Oh, I went to Tai Kang Lu again yesterday. Unfortunately, both of my phones ran out of battery. Otherwise, you would have seen really nice pictures of Tai Kang Lu. I think I really need to go again before it turns colder. And definitely go with a camera, it has so many interesting places to take pictures with. I saw many photographers came with their high end cameras to take pictures all over Tai Kang Lu.

If you know me and will be visiting me in the future, please bug me to bring you to Tai Kang Lu. You will love it there.

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I had been sick for the whole of last week. I have eaten medication brought from home, but soon ran out of them (the standard ones). I have forgotten about the other medicine I brought over before I flew in, anti-histamine for a uticaria outbreak I had 4 hours before my flight.

So while I have forgotten my meds, I ran out of the standard ones. Desperate (I was sneezing, coughing and having really a runny nose), I went to the nearest Chinese pharmacy at my place.

Nice display right? Haha. The 2 bottles are from the 双黄连口服液 box. They are for sore throat. The box on top are cold medication which you see on the right. The bottle on the right is Multi Amino, supposedly for body resistance (I later researched and read that it is a protein supplement, some sort. Not something that i am looking for..). The bottled sore throat medication was good, it restored my lost voice within a day. How do they taste? Hmm.. If I recall correctly, they are are not too difficult to swallow, tasted a bit chinese herbal.

Yeah, I had no choice but to buy these meds because I can't keep sneezing away. I took a risk, and thank God, the meds are ok. I am still having a little bit of runny nose, but now I have switched back to my Singapore meds.

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It has been a really really busy couple of weeks for me, that's why I didn't update my Facebook, nor my blog. Anyway, getting on FB can be a pain (the connection of the gateway keeps dropping), so I have done less FB-king these days.

We are in November, and Shanghai is undergoing a huge temperature change. Weather is expected to dropped to about 5 degrees tomorrow. I will probably document about it. Today, in fact, I have to wear double layer. The Shanghai wind tends to be really strong during autumn.

Alrighty... I will write again from Shanghai! :)

Street Lamps along Nanjing Xi Road (taken after shopping at CIty Shop)

Giant cooking pot behing Jing An Si, supposedly a promotion for a new series of cooking pot.

The famous Jing An Si

85 Degrees... A very popular bakery in Shanghai. More famous than Breadtalk.

One of the many street lightings along Jing An area.

There are many, many places to explore and see in Shanghai, more so now that we are less than 300 days away from the Expo. So watch this space for more pictures of Shanghai :)

There are a few buildings along Qi Pu Lu. Don't go to the old Qi Pu Lu building. It is now a unpopular place, and I nearly had a case of pickpocket again. Some men saw me coming their way and one of them decided to follow me. My alert radar picked up when he i saw him from the corner of my eye. So I quickly turned my trusty postman bag to the front (the same one that alerted me of the pickpocket when I was at JIng An Si). After I did that, the man walked ahead of me.

So where do you go if you want to check out the marketplace? You can go to Xin Qi Pu Lu (1st picture above) and Xing Wang Shopping Centre (no picture, cos I don't want to look too much like a tourist).  Simple rule of thumb is go where the young girls go, you can't go wrong with that.

Fortunate for me (haha!) the things that are sold there are either too small (I was looking for cheap boots, but... haiz... They don't have my size... WHY DON'T THE CHINESE PEOPLE SPARE A THOUGHT FOR US FOREIGNERS?!) , or they are too 'kawaii' (cute in Japanese) for me, as they are imported from Korea. So those of you who do not have the above, do be prepared to bleed if you go to Qi Pu Lu, cos you will really buy alot of things. THe prices are low (just keep quiet when you are browsing and hear how the owner negotiate with locals on prices and manage your expectations on the prices), and it will definitely interest the typical young Singaporean girl (for the rest of us, I think we have been Zara-fied, Mangon-ised, and Uniqlo-nised).

If not, they are selling some winter clothes which I am not sure if I need to buy as yet, since I am still learning how to be ready for the cold. I am pretty sure I will return to buy the coats and jackets cos they are quite nice, if you do not include the aunty-ish over-bling shops that are favoured by the 'buyers' of the other towns. There are also quite a number of shops that sell UGG boots and Dr Martens lookalike boots. I didn't bother to ask cos I am afraid of dissapointment :(

I did however, bought nice gifts to bring back home :D Heh. For those of you ladies who know me personally, you will get one from me when I am back home. :) I also bought 2 pcs of blankets from a roadside stall at RMB20 each. The same thing costs me RMB50 at Carrefour.

Qi Pu Lu is pretty crowded (just like what I always say, it's like Chinese New Year in Singapore). Look at the bridge above, it is packed with people, and its only 1pm! It is a very interesting marketplace, something like a few Bangkok MBK lined together in one area. I am surprised that there are no Caucasians found here, unlke Tao Bao Cheng, I wonder why. Maybe the guidebooks told them to stay away.

Well, at least now I felt kinda proud of myself. I have braved Qi Pu Lu! :)