Chinese Diaries
Day 1 - Friday 14th July
After 16 hours of flying, I finally touched base at Pudong International Airport in the afternoon. Not even an hour into my trip here, exciting things started happening. Yes, the first thing to happen was the disappearance of my luggage. I had to lodge a report at the airport, hoping that the bag was misplaced during the transit at KLIA and that it would be located soon. My sis had arranged for a driver to pick me up from the airport. I see this little Chinese guy holding a sign with my name on it, as though I was someone important, hehehe. My sis was already waiting for me at her apartment when I got into the city. It was located at the corner of Beijing Rd and Shi Men 2 Rd. Wow, did she have a nice place! I'll spare you the details, but just know that it's luxurious for one person to live in. So there I was in Shanghai with no clothes, no underwear, no socks and no walking shoes. So what do I do? I go shopping! Yes, bought myself a new pair of sneakers, socks, boxers, a t-shirt and short pants, all for 200 Yuan. I had Shanghainese dinner with sis and Tomas at the famous Wu Jiang road. After dinner, we headed home to pack for the trip to Huang Shan, a supposedly famous mountain. The trip was organized by my sister's friend. The 13 of us met up at Zhongshan Park and departed from Shanghai at midnight.
Day 2 - Saturday 15th July
The 13 of us were Edison, Dikun, Cheng Xin, Christabel, Henry, Kelvin, Larry, Thomas, Tomas, Yee Tian, Yun, my sis and I. We were cramped into a mini van, and there were two drivers who took turns driving. Boy, was it the scariest road trip ever in my entire life!! The drivers were driving like maniacs, speeding and cutting in and out all the way to Huang Shan. Never have I prayed so much ever. One of the drivers was falling asleep and we had to keep talking to him to keep him awake. Thank god I’m still alive and blogging right now... Finally reached Huang Shan town in the morning, where we had breakfast and met our tour guide Jenny. Jenny looked like a twelve year old girl. She was small built, baby faced, and had a cute voice. I later found out that she was 23 years old, but she sure didn’t look like it. So up we went to the foot of the Huang Shan. From there, we took a cable car up the mountain. The mountain was around 1800 meters tall. Apparently, it rains 300 days per year at the mountain, and today was of those days. We were greeted at the top of the mountain with rain and fog, and lo behold, we couldn’t see a single thing, no scenery, nothing. Okay, at this moment, my first impression of Shanghai is that it’s polluted and wet, sort of worse than Melbourne. Anyway, we didn’t pay 1000 Yuan to see nothing, so Jenny took us hiking around the mountain, explaining the history and historical spots. There were about 6000 stone steps around the mountain and we climbed about 4000 of it that day. Ask me what I saw today at Huang Shan, I would say rain, fog, stairs and more stairs. We arrived at the mountain’s hotel in the afternoon, all drenched from the rain and tired from climbing step after step. We all conked out on our beds for the rest of the afternoon, eventually waking up for dinner. Played some poker with my roommates after dinner and won some money. Lights out at around 1am.
Day 3 - Sunday 16th July
Suppose to wake up at 4am to see the sunrise, a must see thing at Huang Shan. Kelvin answered the wake up call and asked the caller the chances of seeing the sun actually rise. Very little chance came the reply and Kelvin, on behalf of Henry and I, thank the caller and went back to sleep. The people who did wake up for the sunrise must have regretted in the end as the caller was right. We checked out the hotel at 9am. The day before, Tomas and I joked about wanting to hike up the mountain instead of taking the cable car. Well, our wish came true today. The cable car service was not running due to strong winds and rain. So imagine us climbing down hundreds and hundreds steps with hundreds of other people in the rain for about 2 hours, that became reality. So there you are hiking down the mountain, trying not to slip and cause a domino effect of people falling over one another, can be really scary man. Yet, here’s the amazing thing. You see, the only means of transporting food and goods up the mountain is people. I prefer to call them transport machines. You can see these Chinese men carrying a thick bamboo stick on their shoulders. On each ends of the stick hangs a basket containing food and goods (e.g. huge melons, vegetables, meat, toiletry, cooking items, etc). Each basket easily weighs more than 10kg. Carrying these things up the mountain is already such a difficult thing for the average person. Running up and down the mountain with it, I salute them. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of these transport machines. But I did have a run down the mountain with them. You see, hiking down the mountain can be real slow with the steps being really narrow and aunties and uncles blocking your way all the time. Halfway down the mountain, I decided to run down with a transport machine. These transport machines act like ambulances, where people move out of their way as they run up or down. I followed one of them closely, and man, it was challenging to keep up with him. I really had to climb the steps real quick, sometimes skipping steps in the process. Proudly to say, I managed to keep up with him till the end. The return trip on the bus was sleeping time for me. My sis took me to this Hong Kong restaurant for dinner, but I thought the food still wasn’t as good as Melbourne’s. Right now, I’m at home planning my trip to Suzhou tomorrow. Still no news on my lost luggage.
Day 4 - Monday 17th July
Something interesting happened today. I tagged a ride with my sis to Suzhou in the morning, where she had to meet some suppliers. On the way there, my sister received a call from the airport, claiming they had found my luggage! Yippee! After getting dropped off at Suzhou’s train station, I took a taxi to Tiger Hill (Huqiu) Garden. Although recommended by my parents, I thought there wasn’t really much to see besides the leaning pagoda and the thousand people stand where a thousand people were massacred. There was this rock where it tells whether you will have a boy or girl as your first child. You had to stand 3 yards away from the rock and throw a tiny stone on it. If it stays on the rock, you will have a boy, and if it falls off, you will have a girl. So I obviously gave it a go, and the result was... Anyway, after spending about an hour at Tiger Hill, I took a cab to the more prominent Humble Administrators (Zhuosheng) Garden. This garden was definitely more beautiful than the previous one. Its five hectares featured streams, ponds with huge water lilies, bridges and islands. A water lily leaf was up to 10 times the size of my hand!! Then the most interesting event of the day occurred. You can call it what you want, whether it was out of sheer curiosity or out of sheer stupidity, I prefer to call it an interesting but risky experience. Some of you might be disgusted with my actions, but I’ve decided to share this with the readers as it will serve as a warning if you do travel to China. Anyway, I was taking a tricycle taxi down to the city centre when the driver stopped by this building. A girl came out and asked whether I wanted to have a look around for 10 Yuan, and if I didn’t like it I could leave anytime. In the back of my mind, I have heard of this places where a girl would come up to you (usually they would target foreigners) and ask whether you would like to have a drink with her. If you accept her offer, you’ll be conned a lot of your money at the end of the day. I was very reluctant at first, but curiosity got the better of me, I accepted her offer, very well knowing it would be costing me more than 10 Yuan. I only had 100 Yuan left on me at that time, and maybe I was a bit overconfident of not getting conned as well. I was taken to this small room upstairs, where inside contained a sofa, a table and a karaoke set. I sat alone in the dimly lit room, waiting for what seemed like eternity, when suddenly the door opened and entered a woman. She looked young and attractive, but a dark room always does wonders with a person’s true complexion. She sat down beside me, and we started talking...23 years old...living in this building with mom and dad...studying something...this is her part time job...sing karaoke...give massages...eat and drink...blah blah blah. As we talked, their next con took place. A woman came in with two drinks, placed them on a table and left. After 5 minutes, the same woman came in with tit bits. After another 5 minutes, the same woman came in with fruits. I did not touch a single drink or food. My mind was racing like formula one. Yes, I know I’m getting conned, but what were they going to do when they find out I only have 100 Yuan in my wallet? They could either let me go for a 100 Yuan or let me go after a bash up. It was up to me to convince them the right way I guess. I stayed there till my sis called, saying she was on her way to pick me up. As I left the room with the girl, a guy came up the stairs and ushered me back into the room. With a calculator in his hand, he started the exciting world of typing out whatever figures that popped out from his head, adding them up...738 Yuan...yes, 738 Yuan...are you gasping yet? I started panicking a bit, wondering why my sis hasn’t called back yet? I showed the guy the 100 Yuan on me and he kept telling me that I can’t leave until I pay the full amount. I started speaking in English to him, trying to stall time, and luckily he couldn’t understand a word I was saying. Another guy entered the room. Finally my sister rang again and I told her to come and help pay the cost for me. Knowing she was surprise with the news, I passed the phone to the guy, and he was clearly agitated when talking to her because she couldn’t speak Chinese that well. As I was about to tell her the place to come get me, the line cut off because I ran out of credits. Now was the time for the punch line. I told the men that my sister and her foreign friends are coming to get me now and the line worked to perfection. They got really nervous. You see, in most cases, this business is the only bread and butter for this type of people. Having a bunch of foreign people coming to the place other than to do business is never a good thing for them. They have no clue the influential power a foreigner could have in the area. A powerful person could ultimately shut their business down. In the end, the men reluctantly accepted my 100 Yuan and I left the building unscathed. I must admit it was a very close call, putting your own life in danger is something I do not recommend even if you have an escape route. However, I did appreciate the experience of being conned, and for a 100 Yuan, it was worth it. And yes, I did take a picture of the lady. I think if she smiled in the picture, she would have looked 23...hehe... If I have triggered an growing excitement in some of you guys instead, please do bring at least a thousand Yuan and pay the freaking cost if you want to try it out!! I don’t want to be attending your funeral so early... Finally jumping into the car, we headed to the pearl factory to buy some pearls. Here’s how to check for quality pearls: Shiny, Round, Rough, Unscratchable and Unburnable. Once back in Shanghai city, we went to Wu Jiang road to eat road side food, including lamb sticks, fish balls, chicken wings and xiao long baos. We had very good desert at a Chinese restaurant, including steam egg white, coconut jelly, and mango smoothie. It was by far the best mango smoothie I’ve ever had in my life! I’m definitely going to have another one there before I leave Shanghai. My luggage finally arrived at night. Tomorrow’s events: wet market, haircut.
Day 5 - Tuesday 18th July
I had good 7 hours rest last night. I didn’t really know what to do today besides getting a haircut and visiting the wet market. A Shanghainese friend of mine from Australia had suggested I meet up with her friend, Sherry, in Shanghai. I finally got through to her this morning. She sounded really friendly and suggested we meet up for lunch. Ah well, I guess I had to get my haircut another day. We met up at Shimen Yi Lu station. My first impression when I saw her was that she wasn’t from Shanghai. She looked like she came from the middle part of China. I later found out that she is from Xin Jiang, which is located west of China, bordering Turkey. We took the subway to People’s Square, the heart of Shanghai, where shopping centers, and the old and new collide. Even on a weekday at a working hour, the area was packed with people walking in and out of shops. It was as though today was a public holiday. I walked around the area with Sherry as my tour guide. Lunch was interesting as there were dishes which I haven’t tried before in my life. I will list out the dish names once I get them off Sherry later. Lunch went very slow as we talked about Shanghai, our backgrounds, etc. After lunch, we walked around Nanjing Rd for little while more before heading to the wet market to buy groceries for dinner. Sherry was suppose to join me and my sis for dinner, but just I was preparing to cook in the kitchen, Sherry had to excuse herself as she had to attend an interview which was put forward to very early next morning. However, she did say she’ll take me for more sightseeing tomorrow afternoon. For tonight’s dinner, I made curry chicken, mince pork and egg plant with spicy bean sauce, winter melon soup and stir fry bak choy. I was suppose to go out with my friend, Ying San, later tonight for the opening of a night club but it was postponed as it was a bit too far away. I didn’t really do much today compared to the past 4 days, but I’m feeling more sleepy than usual. It could be the beer I drank for dinner. Currently looking forward to drinks with Ying San at the Bun, Black Eyed Peas concert on Thursday, Brazil Steak House BBQ buffet on Friday, Hangzhou trip on Monday.
Day 6 - Wednesday 19th July
I finally had my haircut today. For 30 Yuan, I received a hair wash with scalp massage, blow dry, cut, wash, blow dry and style. I thought it was funny when I asked the young girl who was shampooing my hair her age, she replied that her fake age was 18 and her real age was 17. Why not just choose one? Later, I met up with Sherry in the city, and we took a cab down to the Dong Jia Bu fabric market on Lujiabang Rd. I had a cashmere coat tailored made over there for 400 Yuan. Super cheap!! Then we headed to Qipu Rd Shopping Center where we could buy fake goods...hehe. After shopping, we walked to the Bund (Wai Tan), the riverside of Huang Pu River, which overlooks Shanghai West, where you see the two tallest towers in Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl Tower and JinMao Tower. We took a ferry across the river to the west bank and headed up to the 55th floor of the JinMao Tower. We could only see very little of Shanghai East because of the pollution. We had dinner and yummy desert (durian pancake and sago with sea coconut) at LuJia Zui shopping center. The Oriental Pearl Tower with its color-changing lights at night looked really interesting, with its two big globes glowing in multiple colors. After, snapping off a few shots, we headed to the river bank to admire the Shanghai lights on the east bank. The buildings along the bank were lit with an orange-yellow color, all in unison with each other. The quiet river, the beautiful lights and the small breeze provided a very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Consider it a very romantic situation sitting on the bench with your date and staring out across the river for the entire night, admiring the beauty of Shanghai. I finally met up with Ying San later that night at City Diner. Ying San was one of the first people I met in Melbourne. She was only there to study for a year, before she left for Shanghai. Although we never saw each other much during that time, we managed to keep in touch all these years. To see her again after 5 years was pretty amazing. I still remember the time when she made me herbal chicken soup to drink. It was good to hear her doing well in her career, and having traveled to so many places already, something I also hope to be doing in the many years to come. We did not stay too long as it was already past midnight and she had to work the next day. Today was a day with lots of walking.
Day 7 - Thursday 20th July
I didn’t go out until after lunch. Sherry came over to eat the left over food from Tuesday night’s dinner. We later went to visit old Shanghai town. There was nothing much to see, and the town wasn’t really old looking, catering more for the tourists. The highlight of the day was the Black Eyed Peas concert at Shanghai stadium. I met my sister’s friend Grace and her bunch of friends at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. Dinner was quick as we were rushing for time. By the time we got to our seats, the show had just started. I kept having déjà vu throughout the show, and it wasn’t until towards the end of the show when they performed ‘Let’s get it started’ that I realized I’ve seen the whole performance on television before. All the props and music sequences were pretty similar. Overall I gave the show an 8 out of 10. Although the sound system wasn’t great, the music was good; the crowd was into it, dancing and singing along; the hip-hopping by William, Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap were mouth-watering; it’s Fergie’s style which makes her such a hottie. Took lots of videos and photos until my memory card was full. We went to this bar called Tang Hui to have drinks after the show. The place was mainly full of overseas people, probably an expat hang out. Zzzzzzzzzed at 2am.
Day 8 - Friday 21th July
I took the subway down to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. I thought it was a waste of money as there wasn’t anything new to see. The place was mainly for schoolies. I had buffet dinner at Brazil Steak House with my sis, Tomas, Christabel and Dikun. Every few minutes, someone would come to your table bringing some meat on a metal stick and cutting some on your plate. Pretty cool idea as you don’t have to leave your seat and you get all the food you want. They had steak, pork chops, bacon, sausages, chicken wings, lamb chops, chicken heart, cow tongue, all the meat you can ever ask for. It was a meat fiesta and I felt really sick after that. I tried the traditional Brazilian drink Caipirinha, which is made of lime, cachaca, sugar and ice cubes. I found the taste actually pretty good. After stuffing up our stomachs, we headed down to the night spot in XinTianDi. The place was like Jln Sultan Ismail in KL, where there are clubs, pubs, cafes and restaurants all along a pedestrian walk. We had 3 drinks at this place called Tmsk, and it came out to 180 Yuan. Super expensive! Although there were lots of people over there, I wasn’t really impressed as I couldn’t really feel the lively atmosphere night spots usually give out. The reason we left early and retired to bed.
Day 9 – Saturday 22nd July
I woke up this morning still belching meat, followed by a big poop in the toilet. We went to have dim sum at 8:30 this morning! Early eh? Apparently this place starts packing up at that time and we would have to queue up if we went any later. We went to the Fabric market after breakfast to pick up my coat but found that they haven’t finished making it yet. So instead of just going there to grab my coat, I became greedy and made myself a suit today. I’ll be picking both up on Wednesday. Sigh, just can’t resist clothes with style… We went for a massage in the afternoon, with me getting a full body massage and foot reflexology. The girl that massaged me, Fang Fang, was from Huang Shan, a surprise as I was just there. I thought she did a really good job, my body felt much looser after. Later checked out the DVD shop across the road where I live, and ended up buying 145 Yuan worth of DVDs. I didn’t really do much at night, just going out for dinner and watching some movies on the projector screen at home. Must remember to buy train ticket to Hangzhou tomorrow.
Day 10 – Sunday 23rd July
Today was last day I would be seeing Sherry. She’ll be starting her internship tomorrow, while I’ll be away at Hangzhou. I spent some time planning my Hangzhou trip in the morning. I then met up with Sherry for lunch and bought my train ticket to Hangzhou. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the shops at Huai Hai Rd and XinTianDi. I really like to thank her for taking to show me around Shanghai the past few days. She has been an awesome tour guide and a great and fun-loving friend. I met up with Kelvin in the evening for dinner and massage. He brought me to this place where they give out acupressure massage, which I found really soothing, easily one of the best massages I’ve ever had. Maybe I can make it there again on Wednesday before I head back to KL. Another short entry again as I need to go pack for the Hangzhou trip...
Day 11 – Monday 24th July
I woke up very early this morning to catch the 6:30 train to Hangzhou. Upon arriving at Hangzhou station, I saw a long queue at the taxi stand and there weren't any taxis around. Counted myself lucky, I met this small-framed guy, Xiao Huang, who offered to drive me around for half a day for 150 Yuan. He even introduced me to a nice hostel where I paid 300 Yuan for a small suite, the most expensive room they had. The room wasn't bad at all, with only the shower having some water problem. With the help of my new found friend, I got to see the Old Dragon Well (LongJing Quan) at the Dragon Well village, Lin Ying Temple, West Lake (HuXi), Qing He Fang market and the city. I also had some nice local food for lunch, which didn't taste as salty as the food in Shanghai. I met up with Sherry's friend's friend, Yang Di, who brought me around West Lake and Qing He Fang market. It's always nice to have the locals bring you around as you get to know more about the place. The more I travel, the more I appreciate having contacts around the world... I went for 2 massages at different outlets after dinner as I felt really sore from all the walking today. Sigh, I wished they had Shanghai-like massages in Melbourne, which are so much cheaper and feels better...mmmmm...those soft silky smooth hands...aiks, I said too much...
Day 12 – Tuesday 25th July
Oh, the laziest day of the trip. I was suppose to take a bus to Wu Zhen water village, but I woke up late and decided to just relax in Hangzhou. I had another massage and spa session, greedy greedy... Then I spent the rest of the afternoon cozed up at a Starbucks reading a book I brought along. The book was titled The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, an international best-seller, and I couldn't agree more. The book intrigued me to the max, the writing technique and knowledge of the author was immense. I wouldn't have put the book down if I wasn't rushing to the train station. I really do recommend everyone to read this short story book, and I can't wait to get my hands on his other similar works. I had a late dinner with my sis upon arriving at Shanghai, and then it was off to bed for me.
Day 13 – Wednesday 26th July
Nothing much happen during the day. I just headed down to the fabric market to pick up my tailor-made coat and suit. I was really happy with the workmanship, can't wait to wear them when I have the chance. Being my last night in Shanghai, I treated my sis to a nice western dinner at HengShan Road. Unfortunately, I can't remember the restaurant's name. After that, we met up with Kelvin and his friends at Zapatas bar and club. It was ladies' night, so they were handing out free Margaritas and Tequillas. I finally got to experience the clubbing scene in Shanghai and it was interesting. At around ten, you would see only local girls on the dance floor (one was wearing sunglasses, isn't it dark enough???), and these were the ones waiting to be picked up by foreigners. At quarter to eleven, the dance floor got busier, both locals and expats packing in, with some women dancing on the bar table. By the way, the club plays house and retro music. The hot local chicks were dancing on the table, while some foreigners were nodding their heads to the beat and oogling at the chicks. My sis left around 12. Kelvin and I decided to join the crowd and he was right about Shanghainese chicks being aggressive. As soon as we started speaking English, local chicks kept approaching us, trying to start a conversation. I remembered one asking me to buy her a drink and take her home or something, and another one was clutching on to my arm as I walked through the crowd. I learnt to ignore them after awhile, you know, just give them the friendly leave me alone smile...hehehe...I felt bad turning them away. They were all very friendly, but you never know what kind of intentions they have. After dancing for awhile, we went outside to order some food. I spotted two ladies on one of the tables and they agreed to let us sit with them. They were locals, Sian and Helen, and could speak good English as they were taking interpretation courses. Yet again, I was deceived by looks. Chinese women are so good at concealing their age with their never-aging skin. I thought they looked early 20s but they were much older than that. Anyway, we had a really good time at the table, drinking, talking and laughing. I spent most of the time talking to Sian, about the local people, travels, the internet, etc. Kelvin had to work the next day, so we said our goodbyes and left the place at around 2am. I thought it was an awesome last night in Shanghai...
Day 14 – Thursday 27th July
Goodbye Shanghai, I will be back. You have given me a wonderful holiday...
After 16 hours of flying, I finally touched base at Pudong International Airport in the afternoon. Not even an hour into my trip here, exciting things started happening. Yes, the first thing to happen was the disappearance of my luggage. I had to lodge a report at the airport, hoping that the bag was misplaced during the transit at KLIA and that it would be located soon. My sis had arranged for a driver to pick me up from the airport. I see this little Chinese guy holding a sign with my name on it, as though I was someone important, hehehe. My sis was already waiting for me at her apartment when I got into the city. It was located at the corner of Beijing Rd and Shi Men 2 Rd. Wow, did she have a nice place! I'll spare you the details, but just know that it's luxurious for one person to live in. So there I was in Shanghai with no clothes, no underwear, no socks and no walking shoes. So what do I do? I go shopping! Yes, bought myself a new pair of sneakers, socks, boxers, a t-shirt and short pants, all for 200 Yuan. I had Shanghainese dinner with sis and Tomas at the famous Wu Jiang road. After dinner, we headed home to pack for the trip to Huang Shan, a supposedly famous mountain. The trip was organized by my sister's friend. The 13 of us met up at Zhongshan Park and departed from Shanghai at midnight.
Day 2 - Saturday 15th July
The 13 of us were Edison, Dikun, Cheng Xin, Christabel, Henry, Kelvin, Larry, Thomas, Tomas, Yee Tian, Yun, my sis and I. We were cramped into a mini van, and there were two drivers who took turns driving. Boy, was it the scariest road trip ever in my entire life!! The drivers were driving like maniacs, speeding and cutting in and out all the way to Huang Shan. Never have I prayed so much ever. One of the drivers was falling asleep and we had to keep talking to him to keep him awake. Thank god I’m still alive and blogging right now... Finally reached Huang Shan town in the morning, where we had breakfast and met our tour guide Jenny. Jenny looked like a twelve year old girl. She was small built, baby faced, and had a cute voice. I later found out that she was 23 years old, but she sure didn’t look like it. So up we went to the foot of the Huang Shan. From there, we took a cable car up the mountain. The mountain was around 1800 meters tall. Apparently, it rains 300 days per year at the mountain, and today was of those days. We were greeted at the top of the mountain with rain and fog, and lo behold, we couldn’t see a single thing, no scenery, nothing. Okay, at this moment, my first impression of Shanghai is that it’s polluted and wet, sort of worse than Melbourne. Anyway, we didn’t pay 1000 Yuan to see nothing, so Jenny took us hiking around the mountain, explaining the history and historical spots. There were about 6000 stone steps around the mountain and we climbed about 4000 of it that day. Ask me what I saw today at Huang Shan, I would say rain, fog, stairs and more stairs. We arrived at the mountain’s hotel in the afternoon, all drenched from the rain and tired from climbing step after step. We all conked out on our beds for the rest of the afternoon, eventually waking up for dinner. Played some poker with my roommates after dinner and won some money. Lights out at around 1am.
Day 3 - Sunday 16th July
Suppose to wake up at 4am to see the sunrise, a must see thing at Huang Shan. Kelvin answered the wake up call and asked the caller the chances of seeing the sun actually rise. Very little chance came the reply and Kelvin, on behalf of Henry and I, thank the caller and went back to sleep. The people who did wake up for the sunrise must have regretted in the end as the caller was right. We checked out the hotel at 9am. The day before, Tomas and I joked about wanting to hike up the mountain instead of taking the cable car. Well, our wish came true today. The cable car service was not running due to strong winds and rain. So imagine us climbing down hundreds and hundreds steps with hundreds of other people in the rain for about 2 hours, that became reality. So there you are hiking down the mountain, trying not to slip and cause a domino effect of people falling over one another, can be really scary man. Yet, here’s the amazing thing. You see, the only means of transporting food and goods up the mountain is people. I prefer to call them transport machines. You can see these Chinese men carrying a thick bamboo stick on their shoulders. On each ends of the stick hangs a basket containing food and goods (e.g. huge melons, vegetables, meat, toiletry, cooking items, etc). Each basket easily weighs more than 10kg. Carrying these things up the mountain is already such a difficult thing for the average person. Running up and down the mountain with it, I salute them. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of these transport machines. But I did have a run down the mountain with them. You see, hiking down the mountain can be real slow with the steps being really narrow and aunties and uncles blocking your way all the time. Halfway down the mountain, I decided to run down with a transport machine. These transport machines act like ambulances, where people move out of their way as they run up or down. I followed one of them closely, and man, it was challenging to keep up with him. I really had to climb the steps real quick, sometimes skipping steps in the process. Proudly to say, I managed to keep up with him till the end. The return trip on the bus was sleeping time for me. My sis took me to this Hong Kong restaurant for dinner, but I thought the food still wasn’t as good as Melbourne’s. Right now, I’m at home planning my trip to Suzhou tomorrow. Still no news on my lost luggage.
Day 4 - Monday 17th July
Something interesting happened today. I tagged a ride with my sis to Suzhou in the morning, where she had to meet some suppliers. On the way there, my sister received a call from the airport, claiming they had found my luggage! Yippee! After getting dropped off at Suzhou’s train station, I took a taxi to Tiger Hill (Huqiu) Garden. Although recommended by my parents, I thought there wasn’t really much to see besides the leaning pagoda and the thousand people stand where a thousand people were massacred. There was this rock where it tells whether you will have a boy or girl as your first child. You had to stand 3 yards away from the rock and throw a tiny stone on it. If it stays on the rock, you will have a boy, and if it falls off, you will have a girl. So I obviously gave it a go, and the result was... Anyway, after spending about an hour at Tiger Hill, I took a cab to the more prominent Humble Administrators (Zhuosheng) Garden. This garden was definitely more beautiful than the previous one. Its five hectares featured streams, ponds with huge water lilies, bridges and islands. A water lily leaf was up to 10 times the size of my hand!! Then the most interesting event of the day occurred. You can call it what you want, whether it was out of sheer curiosity or out of sheer stupidity, I prefer to call it an interesting but risky experience. Some of you might be disgusted with my actions, but I’ve decided to share this with the readers as it will serve as a warning if you do travel to China. Anyway, I was taking a tricycle taxi down to the city centre when the driver stopped by this building. A girl came out and asked whether I wanted to have a look around for 10 Yuan, and if I didn’t like it I could leave anytime. In the back of my mind, I have heard of this places where a girl would come up to you (usually they would target foreigners) and ask whether you would like to have a drink with her. If you accept her offer, you’ll be conned a lot of your money at the end of the day. I was very reluctant at first, but curiosity got the better of me, I accepted her offer, very well knowing it would be costing me more than 10 Yuan. I only had 100 Yuan left on me at that time, and maybe I was a bit overconfident of not getting conned as well. I was taken to this small room upstairs, where inside contained a sofa, a table and a karaoke set. I sat alone in the dimly lit room, waiting for what seemed like eternity, when suddenly the door opened and entered a woman. She looked young and attractive, but a dark room always does wonders with a person’s true complexion. She sat down beside me, and we started talking...23 years old...living in this building with mom and dad...studying something...this is her part time job...sing karaoke...give massages...eat and drink...blah blah blah. As we talked, their next con took place. A woman came in with two drinks, placed them on a table and left. After 5 minutes, the same woman came in with tit bits. After another 5 minutes, the same woman came in with fruits. I did not touch a single drink or food. My mind was racing like formula one. Yes, I know I’m getting conned, but what were they going to do when they find out I only have 100 Yuan in my wallet? They could either let me go for a 100 Yuan or let me go after a bash up. It was up to me to convince them the right way I guess. I stayed there till my sis called, saying she was on her way to pick me up. As I left the room with the girl, a guy came up the stairs and ushered me back into the room. With a calculator in his hand, he started the exciting world of typing out whatever figures that popped out from his head, adding them up...738 Yuan...yes, 738 Yuan...are you gasping yet? I started panicking a bit, wondering why my sis hasn’t called back yet? I showed the guy the 100 Yuan on me and he kept telling me that I can’t leave until I pay the full amount. I started speaking in English to him, trying to stall time, and luckily he couldn’t understand a word I was saying. Another guy entered the room. Finally my sister rang again and I told her to come and help pay the cost for me. Knowing she was surprise with the news, I passed the phone to the guy, and he was clearly agitated when talking to her because she couldn’t speak Chinese that well. As I was about to tell her the place to come get me, the line cut off because I ran out of credits. Now was the time for the punch line. I told the men that my sister and her foreign friends are coming to get me now and the line worked to perfection. They got really nervous. You see, in most cases, this business is the only bread and butter for this type of people. Having a bunch of foreign people coming to the place other than to do business is never a good thing for them. They have no clue the influential power a foreigner could have in the area. A powerful person could ultimately shut their business down. In the end, the men reluctantly accepted my 100 Yuan and I left the building unscathed. I must admit it was a very close call, putting your own life in danger is something I do not recommend even if you have an escape route. However, I did appreciate the experience of being conned, and for a 100 Yuan, it was worth it. And yes, I did take a picture of the lady. I think if she smiled in the picture, she would have looked 23...hehe... If I have triggered an growing excitement in some of you guys instead, please do bring at least a thousand Yuan and pay the freaking cost if you want to try it out!! I don’t want to be attending your funeral so early... Finally jumping into the car, we headed to the pearl factory to buy some pearls. Here’s how to check for quality pearls: Shiny, Round, Rough, Unscratchable and Unburnable. Once back in Shanghai city, we went to Wu Jiang road to eat road side food, including lamb sticks, fish balls, chicken wings and xiao long baos. We had very good desert at a Chinese restaurant, including steam egg white, coconut jelly, and mango smoothie. It was by far the best mango smoothie I’ve ever had in my life! I’m definitely going to have another one there before I leave Shanghai. My luggage finally arrived at night. Tomorrow’s events: wet market, haircut.
Day 5 - Tuesday 18th July
I had good 7 hours rest last night. I didn’t really know what to do today besides getting a haircut and visiting the wet market. A Shanghainese friend of mine from Australia had suggested I meet up with her friend, Sherry, in Shanghai. I finally got through to her this morning. She sounded really friendly and suggested we meet up for lunch. Ah well, I guess I had to get my haircut another day. We met up at Shimen Yi Lu station. My first impression when I saw her was that she wasn’t from Shanghai. She looked like she came from the middle part of China. I later found out that she is from Xin Jiang, which is located west of China, bordering Turkey. We took the subway to People’s Square, the heart of Shanghai, where shopping centers, and the old and new collide. Even on a weekday at a working hour, the area was packed with people walking in and out of shops. It was as though today was a public holiday. I walked around the area with Sherry as my tour guide. Lunch was interesting as there were dishes which I haven’t tried before in my life. I will list out the dish names once I get them off Sherry later. Lunch went very slow as we talked about Shanghai, our backgrounds, etc. After lunch, we walked around Nanjing Rd for little while more before heading to the wet market to buy groceries for dinner. Sherry was suppose to join me and my sis for dinner, but just I was preparing to cook in the kitchen, Sherry had to excuse herself as she had to attend an interview which was put forward to very early next morning. However, she did say she’ll take me for more sightseeing tomorrow afternoon. For tonight’s dinner, I made curry chicken, mince pork and egg plant with spicy bean sauce, winter melon soup and stir fry bak choy. I was suppose to go out with my friend, Ying San, later tonight for the opening of a night club but it was postponed as it was a bit too far away. I didn’t really do much today compared to the past 4 days, but I’m feeling more sleepy than usual. It could be the beer I drank for dinner. Currently looking forward to drinks with Ying San at the Bun, Black Eyed Peas concert on Thursday, Brazil Steak House BBQ buffet on Friday, Hangzhou trip on Monday.
Day 6 - Wednesday 19th July
I finally had my haircut today. For 30 Yuan, I received a hair wash with scalp massage, blow dry, cut, wash, blow dry and style. I thought it was funny when I asked the young girl who was shampooing my hair her age, she replied that her fake age was 18 and her real age was 17. Why not just choose one? Later, I met up with Sherry in the city, and we took a cab down to the Dong Jia Bu fabric market on Lujiabang Rd. I had a cashmere coat tailored made over there for 400 Yuan. Super cheap!! Then we headed to Qipu Rd Shopping Center where we could buy fake goods...hehe. After shopping, we walked to the Bund (Wai Tan), the riverside of Huang Pu River, which overlooks Shanghai West, where you see the two tallest towers in Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl Tower and JinMao Tower. We took a ferry across the river to the west bank and headed up to the 55th floor of the JinMao Tower. We could only see very little of Shanghai East because of the pollution. We had dinner and yummy desert (durian pancake and sago with sea coconut) at LuJia Zui shopping center. The Oriental Pearl Tower with its color-changing lights at night looked really interesting, with its two big globes glowing in multiple colors. After, snapping off a few shots, we headed to the river bank to admire the Shanghai lights on the east bank. The buildings along the bank were lit with an orange-yellow color, all in unison with each other. The quiet river, the beautiful lights and the small breeze provided a very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Consider it a very romantic situation sitting on the bench with your date and staring out across the river for the entire night, admiring the beauty of Shanghai. I finally met up with Ying San later that night at City Diner. Ying San was one of the first people I met in Melbourne. She was only there to study for a year, before she left for Shanghai. Although we never saw each other much during that time, we managed to keep in touch all these years. To see her again after 5 years was pretty amazing. I still remember the time when she made me herbal chicken soup to drink. It was good to hear her doing well in her career, and having traveled to so many places already, something I also hope to be doing in the many years to come. We did not stay too long as it was already past midnight and she had to work the next day. Today was a day with lots of walking.
Day 7 - Thursday 20th July
I didn’t go out until after lunch. Sherry came over to eat the left over food from Tuesday night’s dinner. We later went to visit old Shanghai town. There was nothing much to see, and the town wasn’t really old looking, catering more for the tourists. The highlight of the day was the Black Eyed Peas concert at Shanghai stadium. I met my sister’s friend Grace and her bunch of friends at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. Dinner was quick as we were rushing for time. By the time we got to our seats, the show had just started. I kept having déjà vu throughout the show, and it wasn’t until towards the end of the show when they performed ‘Let’s get it started’ that I realized I’ve seen the whole performance on television before. All the props and music sequences were pretty similar. Overall I gave the show an 8 out of 10. Although the sound system wasn’t great, the music was good; the crowd was into it, dancing and singing along; the hip-hopping by William, Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap were mouth-watering; it’s Fergie’s style which makes her such a hottie. Took lots of videos and photos until my memory card was full. We went to this bar called Tang Hui to have drinks after the show. The place was mainly full of overseas people, probably an expat hang out. Zzzzzzzzzed at 2am.
Day 8 - Friday 21th July
I took the subway down to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. I thought it was a waste of money as there wasn’t anything new to see. The place was mainly for schoolies. I had buffet dinner at Brazil Steak House with my sis, Tomas, Christabel and Dikun. Every few minutes, someone would come to your table bringing some meat on a metal stick and cutting some on your plate. Pretty cool idea as you don’t have to leave your seat and you get all the food you want. They had steak, pork chops, bacon, sausages, chicken wings, lamb chops, chicken heart, cow tongue, all the meat you can ever ask for. It was a meat fiesta and I felt really sick after that. I tried the traditional Brazilian drink Caipirinha, which is made of lime, cachaca, sugar and ice cubes. I found the taste actually pretty good. After stuffing up our stomachs, we headed down to the night spot in XinTianDi. The place was like Jln Sultan Ismail in KL, where there are clubs, pubs, cafes and restaurants all along a pedestrian walk. We had 3 drinks at this place called Tmsk, and it came out to 180 Yuan. Super expensive! Although there were lots of people over there, I wasn’t really impressed as I couldn’t really feel the lively atmosphere night spots usually give out. The reason we left early and retired to bed.
Day 9 – Saturday 22nd July
I woke up this morning still belching meat, followed by a big poop in the toilet. We went to have dim sum at 8:30 this morning! Early eh? Apparently this place starts packing up at that time and we would have to queue up if we went any later. We went to the Fabric market after breakfast to pick up my coat but found that they haven’t finished making it yet. So instead of just going there to grab my coat, I became greedy and made myself a suit today. I’ll be picking both up on Wednesday. Sigh, just can’t resist clothes with style… We went for a massage in the afternoon, with me getting a full body massage and foot reflexology. The girl that massaged me, Fang Fang, was from Huang Shan, a surprise as I was just there. I thought she did a really good job, my body felt much looser after. Later checked out the DVD shop across the road where I live, and ended up buying 145 Yuan worth of DVDs. I didn’t really do much at night, just going out for dinner and watching some movies on the projector screen at home. Must remember to buy train ticket to Hangzhou tomorrow.
Day 10 – Sunday 23rd July
Today was last day I would be seeing Sherry. She’ll be starting her internship tomorrow, while I’ll be away at Hangzhou. I spent some time planning my Hangzhou trip in the morning. I then met up with Sherry for lunch and bought my train ticket to Hangzhou. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the shops at Huai Hai Rd and XinTianDi. I really like to thank her for taking to show me around Shanghai the past few days. She has been an awesome tour guide and a great and fun-loving friend. I met up with Kelvin in the evening for dinner and massage. He brought me to this place where they give out acupressure massage, which I found really soothing, easily one of the best massages I’ve ever had. Maybe I can make it there again on Wednesday before I head back to KL. Another short entry again as I need to go pack for the Hangzhou trip...
Day 11 – Monday 24th July
I woke up very early this morning to catch the 6:30 train to Hangzhou. Upon arriving at Hangzhou station, I saw a long queue at the taxi stand and there weren't any taxis around. Counted myself lucky, I met this small-framed guy, Xiao Huang, who offered to drive me around for half a day for 150 Yuan. He even introduced me to a nice hostel where I paid 300 Yuan for a small suite, the most expensive room they had. The room wasn't bad at all, with only the shower having some water problem. With the help of my new found friend, I got to see the Old Dragon Well (LongJing Quan) at the Dragon Well village, Lin Ying Temple, West Lake (HuXi), Qing He Fang market and the city. I also had some nice local food for lunch, which didn't taste as salty as the food in Shanghai. I met up with Sherry's friend's friend, Yang Di, who brought me around West Lake and Qing He Fang market. It's always nice to have the locals bring you around as you get to know more about the place. The more I travel, the more I appreciate having contacts around the world... I went for 2 massages at different outlets after dinner as I felt really sore from all the walking today. Sigh, I wished they had Shanghai-like massages in Melbourne, which are so much cheaper and feels better...mmmmm...those soft silky smooth hands...aiks, I said too much...
Day 12 – Tuesday 25th July
Oh, the laziest day of the trip. I was suppose to take a bus to Wu Zhen water village, but I woke up late and decided to just relax in Hangzhou. I had another massage and spa session, greedy greedy... Then I spent the rest of the afternoon cozed up at a Starbucks reading a book I brought along. The book was titled The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, an international best-seller, and I couldn't agree more. The book intrigued me to the max, the writing technique and knowledge of the author was immense. I wouldn't have put the book down if I wasn't rushing to the train station. I really do recommend everyone to read this short story book, and I can't wait to get my hands on his other similar works. I had a late dinner with my sis upon arriving at Shanghai, and then it was off to bed for me.
Day 13 – Wednesday 26th July
Nothing much happen during the day. I just headed down to the fabric market to pick up my tailor-made coat and suit. I was really happy with the workmanship, can't wait to wear them when I have the chance. Being my last night in Shanghai, I treated my sis to a nice western dinner at HengShan Road. Unfortunately, I can't remember the restaurant's name. After that, we met up with Kelvin and his friends at Zapatas bar and club. It was ladies' night, so they were handing out free Margaritas and Tequillas. I finally got to experience the clubbing scene in Shanghai and it was interesting. At around ten, you would see only local girls on the dance floor (one was wearing sunglasses, isn't it dark enough???), and these were the ones waiting to be picked up by foreigners. At quarter to eleven, the dance floor got busier, both locals and expats packing in, with some women dancing on the bar table. By the way, the club plays house and retro music. The hot local chicks were dancing on the table, while some foreigners were nodding their heads to the beat and oogling at the chicks. My sis left around 12. Kelvin and I decided to join the crowd and he was right about Shanghainese chicks being aggressive. As soon as we started speaking English, local chicks kept approaching us, trying to start a conversation. I remembered one asking me to buy her a drink and take her home or something, and another one was clutching on to my arm as I walked through the crowd. I learnt to ignore them after awhile, you know, just give them the friendly leave me alone smile...hehehe...I felt bad turning them away. They were all very friendly, but you never know what kind of intentions they have. After dancing for awhile, we went outside to order some food. I spotted two ladies on one of the tables and they agreed to let us sit with them. They were locals, Sian and Helen, and could speak good English as they were taking interpretation courses. Yet again, I was deceived by looks. Chinese women are so good at concealing their age with their never-aging skin. I thought they looked early 20s but they were much older than that. Anyway, we had a really good time at the table, drinking, talking and laughing. I spent most of the time talking to Sian, about the local people, travels, the internet, etc. Kelvin had to work the next day, so we said our goodbyes and left the place at around 2am. I thought it was an awesome last night in Shanghai...
Day 14 – Thursday 27th July
Goodbye Shanghai, I will be back. You have given me a wonderful holiday...
posted by me at 1:22:00 AM
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