Chionggirl in Shanghai

(This was written about my move about a month ago, so some contents maybe abit disconnected.)

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. :)

I was back at home over last week for a friend's wedding.

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.

I have heard that Qi Pu Lu is a marketplace like area that one can get bargains and have been wanting to go there. So today I did. Just hop on any taxi and tell the driver that you are going to Qi Pu Lu, and they will know where to take you.

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! :)

In Shanghai, you have literally access to food products that are comparable to Singapore.

However for many of us Singaporeans, none can be compared with the 'ang moh jiak' (westernised food products) we can get from conveniently from Singaporean supermarkets. There are just some food that the Chinese cannot replicate.

I am one such person, however, the desire for such products is lesser I guess, since I don't cook much at home. But I have to admit, having such food does bring some comfort.

I have been to two supermarkets that sells 'ang moh jia'. One of them is in the Jing An Si area, called the Jiu Guang Supermarket and the other one, which I went to yesterday, was called City Shop, located at the Shanghai Centre.

Ok, maybe some of these MAY BE found in the Carrefour and the Tesco here, but so far, I haven't seen them. Yet.

The price of the foodstuffs in City Shop are, I would say, comparable to the price back home, of course it would be slightly higher. It is still rare commodity, since only a minor group of the population here consumes them. I was just checking out, so I bought these sauces and canned food. Yes, Ayam brand canned salmon in mayonaise is important. So are beans in ketchup and Heinz ketchup sauce. I am a pretty much a soupy person, and Campbell of course, is my choice.

City Shop is a disappointment though. I can't find my Post Blueberry Morning cereal. Duh. I would probably have better luck in Jiu Guang. Hmm. I think I will probably try Pines Supermarket in my next supermarket post.

This post is about the kind of food mour eat when I am dining on my own. Just some convenient food I eat. First up, my attempt at making good frozen wonton.

1) First wonton soup trial

Yes, too much pepper. Cos I accidentally dropped too much pepper from the pepper packet. And it looks like a bowl of oily Shanghai soup cos I was over-enthusiastic about the sesame oil.

The taste was plain, because I thought Maggi Seasoning Sauce is good enough to replace salt (I didn't want to buy salt, cos I don't think I will use much of it). But the frozen wonton has its own taste (MSG, I reckon) so I was kinda happy that I didn't have salt. (Come to think of it, i should eat the leftover wontons sparingly... MSG = No Good..

2) Latte Drinking at the Government Affairs of Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai Public Security 上海市出入境管理局

While waiting for one of my missing documents to be couriered to me at the Bureau, I order a cup of Latte from the Cafe (a cafe that sells no warm food, but packets of dry food like potato chips, Kinder Bueno Chocolates and Oreo Cookies... No Bao包，no bread, no salad :( )

And while waiting, I wondered around and saw this. The latte was server in a mug that has paint that has worned off. I looked around and saw the mugs on the other tables. Theirs look fine. I am sure that the mug is clean and all, but serving from a mug with paint coming off from Henry Hippo and Hilda Hippo... I consoled myself. It could have been worse.

Oh, while waiting for my latte, I noticed the sign on my table.

Just spent RMB3 at the cafe and you can use the table. That is SGD$0.60. Yep. Easy peasy right?

3) Chinese Fast Food 心一代

That is Jian Jiao 煎饺，something like 锅贴 (RNB5). Oh, I like it because it smells of Fried Soon Kueh with sweet sauce when it was sitting on my lap on my way home (and I love Fried Soon Kueh/Bng Kueh with sweet sauce, and my regular is the one at Tiong Bahru Market).

The ones on the right are 小笼包 (RMB10). Instant 小笼包. For a foreigner, I think it's not too bad lah, though this set had some broken ones (the soup leaked out into the box), and some of the skins are not thoroughly cooked. But I told myself, it's fast food, be more forgiving.

4) Waffle Sandwich - Mr Waffle

Smoked Chicken Waffle Sandwich from Mr Waffle. A colleague of mine gave me the coupon to Mr Waffle and since I lived near to one, I decided to get dinner today (see what coupons do to you, Marketers, don't ignore coupons!). It looks nice, and it tastes better! It is really nice.  I also got muffins to bring to office tomorrow (they were on 1-for-1 offer). Will report on how they taste like.

As you can see, I am all for experimenting. But i wouldn't go so near to the really Chinese-Chinese food. I don't know how to appreciate it. Now I understand why the ang mohs in Singapore don't go to hawker centres. It's not a matter of them being atas and all... It's about getting adjusted to the taste, it's a cultural thing.

I am learning new things, it's a good thing.

One of my main goals for this 8 day holiday is to do shopping. There are many well priced products (translated as CHEAP) in this city and I must get to know them one by one. And so today I did.

I went to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (the underground shopping at the metro station of the same name, on line 2) on Sunday and bought two fake bags, one Agnes B and one Tods, both seem like they will give way in a couple of months, especially the Tods one. Oh well, the positive side of this is that I can change my bags according to the seasons. Heh...

But they are bit pricey, I paid RMB300 for both. I consider it a price to pay to learn about cheap bargain purchases in Shanghai.

Today, I went to Taobao City 淘宝城 because my colleague recommended it to me. He told me it's the place you see alot of angmohs (Singaporean for 老外，Caucasians) carrying black carrier bags. Indeed it is. In my impression, and after some research, Taobao City is suppose to be the offline version of the famous tabao.com online shopping website. So with hopes that I can get things that I saw on taobao.com.

I proceeded to Nanjing Xi Lu (map and building picture: http://sh.city8.com/key_%E6%B7%98%E5%AE%9D%E5%9F%8E). There is a bus line that brings me directly to this road. You can also take Line 2 and alight at Nanjing Xi Road station and walk about 10 mins to reach there.

The place wasn't what I thought it would be. It's rather run down (the word 宝 has fallen off and no one has replaced the character) and was rather quiet. The centre reminds me of Bangkok's Marbukong Market (MBK is much busier) and some forgotten shopping centres in KL.

Because of my previous experience the day before, I wasn't interested in the bags that were sold there (lesser variety and everyone sells the same thing, almost). The only difference is that there are many shops here that sell Apple iPods. I didn't enquire because I am not very interested in buying them :) I was getting bored after the two floors (i was looking for boots but my big feet found none) and was going to leave, when i saw a lead in on the ground floor.

I stopped at a shop that sold nice looking sweater and I stepped in. I was sucked in there from that moment. After selecting a few nice sweaters, the young girl told me that all my intended purchases will cost RMB1580. As a fairly new shopper in Shanghai, I think its reasonable, but I was not willing to part with this amount of money for a load of sweaters.

The building has shut down its air con and it was getting stuffy. My mind was confused because of the lack of oxygen to the brain (it's true!). I had in mind to get a trenchcoat (i think it is) with a Burberry label on it and some sweaters.

The young girl told me that she had given me a wrong price for that coat and she is not willing to part with it. After some negotiation, I settled for that coat, 2 sweaters, a pair of suede gloves and a long knit top for RMB1100. I thought it's a good price, considering the Burberry lookalike has good workmanship on it (double lining!) and cost RMB460 originally (I went to Taobao.com to do a quick search later on and found that the coats of this nature cost about the same price online).

One thing I have learnt about shopping is that, you have to be firm in negotiating prices. Yours truly has always been the nice person and I seldom haggle with prices, sometimes, I think it is not necessary. The young girl who sold me my bargains today is a good businesswoman. I don't think any young girl her age in Singapore will be able to push a sale like that. They are good with words and will make you feel welcome. She even made me (okay 'made' is a little mean, 'asked' would be a better word) buy her and her colleague a drink when we left the building. Me being me, think its okay lah. Anyway, two cups of milk tea cost $10, won't kill me.

After the purchase, I felt rather troubled as I thought I could've got the tops at a much better price (H&M has similar designs at similar price). But after a few hours, the feeling went away. That's retail therapy for you. I even had a thought on the way home. I think women should be paid more because we help keep the world economy going with our shopping. Can I hear an Amen to that? :)

With this, I conclude my shopping post. I am sure I will be able to find new shopping haunts in the future. You will be the first to read about it here :)

Toodles!

... and after playing with it, it bit me :S

I hope it's a way of showing that it wants to be intimate with me, though I am still worried about the bite... Please pray that it will not be infectious...

It's a beautiful cat, but this is the 2nd time that it has tried to bit me... Hmm... I don't know if I should be close to it again...

Hmmph.

Since the day I arrived in Shanghai, I registered myself with the overseas singaporean portal (http://www.overseassingaporean.sg) to stay connected with other Singaporeans in Shanghai. The group organised a gathering yesterday at one of a Singaporean-themed restaurant at Kerry Centre.

It was nice to see and talk with your own people. Though it's the first time I meet them, it was not difficult to mingle around, though technically speaking, I didn't mingled, I sat at one table for the whole time, haha...

We talked about the new Miss Singapore Universe and her preference for Rat colour and her Hell Sign diploma, among staying in Shanghai, about The Bund... We even 'bao' our own 'popiah'... Nice right? :)

There was lucky draw and someone shared an announcement of her role with the expat wives in Shanghai organising a charity carnival. Overall, it's a very active community and some regulars actually know each other...

It was a good thing that I went, it was fun. I think I will join them again for the next gathering. It's good for networking as well...

Again, I have to say, that's all for now. Till next time....

I have been trying to send money over to Singapore and have met with much challenges.

Yes, challenges because in China, you can only remit up to USD$500 if you are an overseas passport holder, while the locals can remit up to USD$50,000. That is a very tight rein on money earned by foreigners here.

So when I got to know that I am unable to remit as much money as I need, i decided to open turn on the internet bank service with ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), cos the page on the website says I can do remittance online. Because of the size of the country and notable banking crimes in China, I was given a USB key to proceed with the online transaction, which I didn't use eventually, because... yes, the service is only reserved for Chinese. Oh well.

I finally tried to remit the money across using Western Union. The money was converted into USD (mandatory procedure in China when bringing/sending money out)P at the agent and then banked into the Singapore Western Union branch. I addressed the receipient to my brother, and he was able to collect the money from the Singaapore branch (any). If you would like to take this route, do note:

1) Money is remitted within 15 mins.

2) Ensure that you provide the EXACT name of the recipient, otherwise, it will be bounced back. THe receipient should also have an identification document to prove his identity.

3) If you wish to convert RMB to USD that is over USD$500, you must provide your employment  contract for verification. Don't ask me why. Otherwise, you can bring USD directly to the Western Union agent and they can deposit for you.

4) There are charges to the Western Union service is about 15%, which is relatively compared to remitting it through the banks, which will cost a few hundred dollars for each USD$500. (Speaking of which, in order to remit one lump sum, you can only put in USD$500 at a time and there are charges EACH TIME you put in the money. Not very worth it.)

So there you go. I am sure there are other more intelligent ways to send money home. But for now, this is, to me, the most hassle free method. I will post up any updates pertaining to this matter.

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IKEA membership here in Shanghai is FREE :) Yay! We only need to fill up a form, provide an identification paper, and voila, I was given a card! :) Unlike Singapore, you need to spend SGD$300 to qualify for a card (well, China has the numbers, Singapore doesn't, I reckon that's why).

There are nice privileges that comes with this card. Like a set of loungewear I bought at RMB49 (UP RMB199) :D oh, and of course, the free coffee. I didn't redeem that cos there were too many people at IKEA when I went there last Saturday.

But IKEA, like McDonalds and Burger King, really made me feel like home, cos the food taste pretty similar to those restaurants back home, ie, they stay true to their international standard taste (is that the right way to put it? Haha. ). I have tried KFC the same day I applied the IKEA card by the way  *Shakes head* Ur-uh. Not the same, KFC, no good.

Okay, report over :)

Sunday is now a regular church day for me. Being a Christian, it is wonderful to be able to find like-minded believers in Shanghai and knowing that there are people from my side of the world living in this side of it.

So, the same bunch of people that I met with are also my cell group mates. Hanging out with them so far has been fun, since they know that i am still new in town, they tend to show me around places. It just so happen that on Sunday, I met with someone new to the group who brought me to a wine tasting session at an unexpected place called the Hongmei Lu. This is their official website www.cavalier-village.com.cn.

It has a very nice mediterranean feel, and according to its owner Mr Zhang, who is an art director for movie sets, he designed it all on its own. It's rather quaint and nice, providing a cosy venue for lodging and events.

During the session, I also met new people, local and foreign. I was speaking Mandarin, English and Cantonese all in one session and listening to people speaking in French with one another... I guess this is the essence of soaking in the community life of a foreigner in Shanghai...

Overall, I think it is not difficult to make friends with people in Shanghai. Especially amongst Singaporeans and Malaysians. But the other nationalities are just as receptive, because I guess, the common language is English. But some expats do like to hang out with their own kind, as with any country. I guess I don't have my preferred list when it comes to making friends, it's not a bother when I see that happens.

After the wine tasting, I decided to do my manicure and pedicure, as they are looking pretty unsightly. No luck finding them at the Jingan Si area that my friend recommended. As it was still early, I decided to try my luck at the shopping centre near my place.

As I was walking towards my bus stop, texting my friend that I can't find the place, I hear the sound of velcro unlocking. So i turned around and hear nothing. The sound then came back again. This time, I realised that it was my bag that made that noise. And this is because the flap on my TRUNK bag is made of velcro. From the corner of my eye, i saw someone walking rather close to me. He was trying to pickpocket!

So instinctively, I turned my bag to the front (it was sling on the side) and look back. The man made a quick U-turn and walk off. 100 points for me and 0 points to him!

Well, this lesson has given me a good lesson and you should learn it too. Shanghai is overall a pretty safe place, but petty crimes such as these are not uncommon. So do be on your alert if you are moving around on your own. You will find these strange things you don't see in Singapore, such as people coming to you, telling you that they are new in town and need money to eat, or trying to sell you cheap copycat perfumes on the street, especially when you are standing at the traffic light or waiting for a bus.

If you are not confident of your Mandarin, do not speak, because once you start, they know you are not local, they will stick to you and follow you. So refrain from speaking, either you ignore them (yeah, it's not a Singaporean nature to do this, but I had to do it), or motion a "I don't want" sign with your hand and walk away from them as soon as possible.

All in all, Shanghai is still a safe place to stay and work. Being alert helps, and not looking blur and lost help as well. Be streetwise, don't be gullible (and I do mean it) when people on the street try to sell you a story, and you should be fine.

That's all for now from the adventures of Chionggirl. See you later!

So, I had this massage, and then realised that I am running short on cash before my paycheck. I had some Singapore dollars with me, and thought it would be good that I could change them for some RMB.

So after the massage, i researched through the night for money changing service so that I can do it today (Saturday). Yeah, so much for a sleepy massage, haha! :)

So while doing my research, I came across these articles:

http://shanghai.asiaxpat.com/forums/living-in-shanghai/threads/85665/money-changer/
http://www.shanghaiguide.com/faq/index.php?page=index_v2&id=61&c=2
http://www.shanghaiguide.com/faq/index.php?page=index_v2&id=61&c=2

The last one is absolutely a very enticing suggestion. I am without my passport currently, as it is being sent for work permit application, so I need to get money with little hassle. I decided to try my luck.

I will try the legal means first, of course. I woke up today to to go to Huaihai Lu Bank of China (BOC) branch to see if I could change the currency without my passport. The security guard told me, no way, not possible. I was disappointed, so I went to my next bank to try again. Took the subway to People's Square 人民广场 station and went to look for the Bank of China branch there (at Park Hotel).

I can't find the BOC bank Chinese Merchant Bank nor Park Hotel, but I spotted a Chinese Merchant Bank with an money exchange sign. Ah! Finally some help, I thought. Yeah, i thought.

Went in to enquire with the information counter, and again, no passport, no money exchange, and even worse, they don't take Singapore dollars (and you think they like us so much...). I was about to leave when a very interesting thing happened.

A Chinese man in his 40s came to me and ask if I would like to change money, and that he can do the changing for me. Well, of course I am prepared for these situations after reading the articles, so I was interested to find out more. Yes, as they wrote, this actually can happen within the premises of the bank!

He said he will give me RMB for my SGD in accordance to the current rate. He brought me to the bank's machine that shows the current Forex rate and showed me the current bank buying rate, and motioned me to the ATM within the bank. Before I know it, he was putting in his atm card and cashing in the amount for my SGD! Well, he seems to trust me alot, I must say... You would think we are the ones who would have trust issues, but what do you know? They are more eager to do us a service than for us to trust our cash with them...

So, the transaction was completed. I had a thought and wondered if the cash are fake or real, but I guess I could trust money that comes out of an ATM machine right? And so far, I haven't had any issues using the notes I have, which really hasn't been much. But I am pretty sure that I will not have much or any problems at all using the remaining notes.

I am glad that I decided to go ahead with my decision to check the legal means first before I do the illegal ones. But it wasn't that bad, and the money changer was not trying to make me part more money for less. Would you dare try it?

If you are keen to have some safety precautions in case you are in a similiar situatio like myself (no cash, no passport) and is interested to do the above process, take note of the following:

1) Even though at the station, it says it will bring you to the BOC branch at Park Hotel 国际饭店, Exit 8 actually takes you to the abovementioned bank. The bank is just diagonally opposite this exit， below the  sign of the Pacific Hote 金门大酒店. The currency exchange sign is very prominently displayed outside the bank. Unless you want to go to the BOC branch at Park Hotel, which you shall come out from exit 9, do take this exit.

2) The money changers carry a slingback bag with them. They will not walk too close to you to give you a nasty shock, but will approach you and ask you politely if you would like to change your cash with them. Do note that they speak in Mandarin. And I guess speaking in Mandarin puts me at a friendlier position.

3) Getting them to withdraw the money from the atm is the safest way to ensure that you do not get fake notes. Do insist that you want the same rate that the bank offers, I did not do so cos I guess the rate I got based on the machine is trustworthy and I need not pay any admin fee.

4) If you really feel safer doing the currency exchange through the legal means, please note that BOC assures you of changing SGD to RMB, the other banks do not offer that. These banks are opened till  5pm everyday.

5) Remember to bring your passport. Only oiginal passports are allowed, no photocopies.

6) If you don't mind paying administration fee, there are visa/mastercard atms machinese littered all over town, so you will have no problems withdrawing cash from your credit card.

7) Don't ask me about travellers cheques; I don't think Singaporeans carry that with us when we go overseas.

Now you will be more equipped to do your shopping in Shanghai! :)

Any foreigner (or alien, as we are normally known as in in China) are required to go through a medical checkup procedure if he/she wishes to stay in China for an extended period (visitor's permit, work permit, etc).

Our admin girl kindly arranged for me and another intern to do our health checkup today. Our appointment was for 1pm one.

First up, the address of the centre. Apparently this is the only one that foreigners go to in Shanghai, and it is located in a very obscure part of Shanghai, near the Shanghai Zoo. The address is

Since I have been working very hard for the past one week, I have decided to be a tourist for a day.

Well, partly, or a big part of why this happened was because I have to go to Pudong to do extend my visitor's visa. And since I have to go to Pudong, I decided to stopover to Lujiazui to see the Jin Mao Tower.

I do have to comment on the customer servoce of the Shanghai Immigration department. I took my queue number and went to the counter to be serviced. The 'policewoman' was nowhere to be seen at the counter, so I waited. For like 15 mins or so. When she finally came out of the office, I told her my request to extend my visa and showed her my documents. She took a look at them and told me ' go there to take a form and fill it up, then go to there to make a copy of this (temporary residence permit)'. I am appalled. Why don't have the form at the counter, and why can't she do the photocopy at her office?! Well, anyway, being the good 'alien', as they refer people like us, I did as was told. Before I did that, I asked her if there are anything that needs to be done, she said no.

So I did what was told and went back to her. She then said, where is your photograph? I know I need a photograph, but thought I should try my luck to see if I can get away with it. Well, I can't. But why can't she just tell me to do both at one go? So now I have to go down to the ground floor ot have my picture taken. Hmmph.

When I return, she was no longer there, and I was served by a male colleague of hers. After he showed me the printed records of my recommendation, there was no mention on where I should collect the visa. I mean, c'mon lor... What is so difficult to just point to the receipt and show me the details and tell me when is the date of collection? Hmmmph.

I rest my case. At least something was done. Now on to my tourist venture.

Because of the massive construction in and around Shanghai, getting to Jin Mao Plaza and The Bund took a lot of walking. So be warned that you should wear something comfortable for walking.

Jin Mao Plaza is magnificent in its outlook, and the speed to that took tourist up to the 88th floor is pretty amazing. 9 seconds and we are at the 88th floor. By the way, the entrance fee is RMB88 to visit the viewing gallery.

I took some pictures from the glass viewing panel. It is truly amazing to see the 360 degree view of Shanghai. But it has been cloudy, so didn't manage to see much. It wasn't as fantastic as I imagined it to be though. I would give it a 7 out of 10.

I decided to go home because I have accidentally dropped my purse (or so I thought) after alighting from a cab at the metro station. It is yet to established if I have dropped it or it was pickpocketed. I have distinctlvely remember paying special attention to my purse because I realised I did not bring enough money for my adventure when I wanted to pay the cab driver. After alighting for the cab, I remember putting it back into my bag. When I was going to pull it out to buy the transport card, I realised the purse has gone missing :( Had to withdraw some cash with my credit card to do that.

For a moment, I felt helpless cos I do not have money with me and there are no money changer in sight (I still have some SGD with me). Fortunately, there are many atm machines around, and my credit card managed to save the day. And double fortunately, is that there isn't alot of money in the purse, and my important documents were not in there. Oh well, we learn...

After taking some rest at home, The Bund was the next place that i decided to go. Thought I should have a proper visit of the place since I am in Shanghai. It was easy to go there via bus and train from where I am putting up.

However, there are constructions in that area, and the area is very dusty. Do be prepared for noisy traffic and people trying to get you to buy ferry tickets. The Shanghai Time Tunnel (direct translation) sound interested to me and I paid RMB50 for a return trip to check it out. It was nothing spectacular and I was sorely disappointed.

Nonethless, it was a fantastic and eventful day for me because I have explored all 3 public transport options of Shanghai. I am more confident moving around in them and I am most sure i will discover more things in the days to come.

Will write more and post some pictures of the area I have been maybe in the next post. Now I need to sleep, eyes are drawing curtains... :)