Chionggirl in Shanghai

Yes, so I have bought a heater from Tesco! (see previous entry)

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!

(This post was written during my stay in Hong Kong. )

This Chinese work visa process application seemed endless. Even after the previously mentioned visa application, my visa journey did not end there. The reason why I need to leave Shanghai for Hong Kong is because my temporary residence permit is up (yeah, 1 month passes so fast!). So in order for me to stay in Shanghai, I have to exit China, and return with a new permit application, the Z visa application (http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84245.htm), which is the employment/work visa for a period of 3 months, so that i can return to Shanghai to realise the 1-year permit (which my office admin lady has helped me to applied. More updates about that later). The following describes my 'passage' to obtain this visa.

To travel to Hong Kong from Shanghai, the popular mode of transport is Hong Kong Express, that shuttles you to Hong Kong in 2 hours. My company has paid for the air ticket, so pai seh, i wouldn't be able to let you know the price of the air ticket. But you can check out the prices at http://www.hongkongexpress.com

For accomodation, I settled with Largos Hotel, booked via http://www.Asiarooms.com. I chose it because of the rate, as well as its location and convenience, which is at Jordan Road and near Jordan MTR station. And of course, because it is near Women's Street, for my shopping purpose :)

Ok, on to the visa application... Upon arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport, I went to unit A04 at Block A after some asking around. The two guys manning the booth were friendly and helpful with my application.

 

Not much problem there as long as you have the right documents. Do note that if you collect the visa in 3 days, it cost HKD$800. As I was prepared to pay express fees to have the visa done, I have only applied for 2 days away from work (yeah, I am very eager to get back to work, haha!), so I have to pay HKD$1200. The application process was pretty painless with the two guys, so I soon made my way to go to my hotel.

As I was used to the friendly cab prices at Shanghai, I wasn't expecting to pay alot for the cab fare. I was so wrong. When I reach the hotel, the meter came up to HKD$473.50!! :( Yeah. So a word of advice, do your research before you decide to take the cab. The airport has friendly airport shuttle services and trains that will deliver you to your hotel. So do lookout for the City Flyer (https://www.nwstbus.com.hk/home/nwstbus.aspx?intLangID=2) brochure at the airport so that you can save yourself ALOT of money.

The bus stop where I board my CityFlyer Bus to the airport. It cost me HKD$33 compared to the exhorbitant taxi fare I paid...

Having been used to be alone for the past one month or so, I had no problem getting around. I had to adjust my money sense though, haha, cos being so used to the cost of living in Shanghai, Hong Kong is a different thing. But all in all, the cost of things are almost the same as Shanghai, only the cab cost MUCH more... :)

I can't really recall the rest of my experience in HK cos it's been a week and many things have kinda blurred my memory... Yeah, sorry to say, but i tend to have shorter memory nowadays... So here are some pics to whet your appetite...

Lunch at Char Chan Ting (Hong Kong style Cafe)

Yoshinoya localised - hot Ling Maart (Honey lemon)

Quarter Pounder in HK (they don't have it in Singapore nowadays). I went to McDonalds to have Big Breakfast... We don't have it here in Shanghai...

And finally, I am sad to announce that the location where Krispy Kreme used to be at the Hong Kong airport is now replaced by StarBucks Coffee..

The trip to HK was marred by the typhoon that struck on my 2nd day there. It's like what happened to me and my friend and our moms when we were in HK last year as well.  So no, i didn't do any serious shopping, except for 3 pairs of similar shoes I get for HKD$290 from Lady's Street (it's a challenge to find shoes my size in Shanghai).

Oh, and of course, the flight was delayed in HK by and hour due to the winds that was blowing and I arrived in Shanghai a little over midnight. The minute I stepped out of the arrival hall lift, a man came to me and asked me if i need a ride. Assuming that he is a taxi driver, I followed him. And when I saw that it's a private car, I was a little... stunned. But I took it anyway. Yep, i did. Haha... Cos there were not alot of cabs.

It was only when I was on that car that I realised how trusting I was. LOL. What if I were being sent to a place and beaten to death or worse, I wondered as the car zoomed passed the highway. The drier had a lady companion with him, so I thought, I guess I should trust them, and I was also praying very hard that I am not in a baddies car.

I am glad to say that I arrived safely to home, thank God. The trip cost me $200, and after that when I told my colleagues, they told me it shouldn't be that expensive. Oh well. So much for experience. And seriously, I was really bold enough to get on a car in that kind of situation.

Don't go tell my mother. She will kill me if she find out what I did. Hahaha...

Well folks, so much for the HK trip. My life will be very busy in the next few weeks, so I might not be doing as much blog posts. But I will drop snippets whenever I can. The next 'comprehensive' blog post will probably be posted during the 8 days Chinese National Day holiday (Woohoo!). I will document what I do, I try (which most probably will be dvd watching and massaging and shopping! LOL).

Till then! :)

I had my first drinking session with the folks of my division last night.

I have been pre-warned in my previous trips to Shanghai, and was part of it on one occasion. I was witnessing it all as a guest with my other colleagues, hence we were spared. But this time, I was there as part of the team, and the tradition kicked in.

It was an innocent round of Qingdao beer for everyone initially, and it was a very normal thing for someone to toast to anyone who is new to the team. There were 4 of us then, so each of us were given a toast. Then, people start to find reasons to toast to one another, and the drinking began.

My superior got the most, since he is pretty beloved in the team, and one of the guys kept asking him to drink. All this was ok, until my boss decided to let us try the 白酒, white wine. I don't know exactly what it is, but it was served in small glasses, like shots. I wasn't spared of being asked to take a shot of it, as with the new colleagues.

I have always had the habit of visiiting the toilet soon after drinking any kind of beverages, and I had to excuse myself in one of the session. When i return, I took a sip of my beer and realised that it had the white wine added to it. I don't know how much they had put in there, but it taste ... ewww. And it is said that when beer is mixed with the white wine, it is volatile, and the effect will comes on slowly.

I think I managed well with the amount of alchohol dunked so far. I have problem with beer because alot of time, it fills up the stomach and I can't take it in further. Thankfully, the amount was manageable... in the restaurant.

When I reached home, I was pretty floaty and had to empty the remnants into the toilet bowl. Yeah, that's right, I threw up. The potent mix was really something and if you have a chance to try it, or are invited to try it in Shanghai, be ready.

Actually our session was a rather mild one compared to the regular drinking sessions in China. I am just thankful that I didn't make a fool of myself in the restaurant. Haha :) The hangover though, was pretty bad. And I had to run some errands and I went around with a pretty groggy head. The effect is really... something.

Well, I am sure this will not be the last of it. If there are more interesting future sessions, I will be sure to update!

Massages is a one of the many things that Singaporeans enjoy doing in Shanghai. i went to one yesterday and totally enjoyed it.

The name of the shop is Congen Massage Healthcare Club 康骏会馆推拿足道. It is located at No. 436 Dagu Road 436号大沽路 （Tel: 021-6340 1161) Website www.shkangjun.cn

The centre offers services such as Full Body Massage, Foot Massage, Thai Massage and other wellness services. It is popular with my colleagues and they often go there for massages. Since I am with two of them, i decided that I should really try it.

We took the Foot Massage, and I simply love it! The masseuse are experienced and they allow you to enjoy the massage without talking you into buying the packages (unlike the salons, spas, massage places in Singapore), so it was a totally relaxing experience. I actually fell asleep during the massage, so you can imagine how enjoyable the experience it was. Ok, I can still remember the pre-massage foot soaking, the shoulder and back massage, and POMP! I was in dreamland... :D Definitely a must-go again. (Regular Foot Massage cost RMB80, while Foot Massage with Aroma Oils cost RMB110.)

I would also like to mention that before the massage, we had dinner at a pizza place at the quieter, not as touristy side of Xintiandi (I only recall it is opposit a box office of UME Cinema, I think), and try 3 glasses of wine between us for 98RMB at Just Grapes, a few doors away from Congen. There are also DVD shops littered around the area, so you can get your DVD fix too.

Dagu Road will become one of my haunting places because it's a fabulous place to chill out without too many people. It's a refreshing change to the very congested human traffic in the city. I like! :)

Next, money changing in Shanghai...