Miscellaneous Weekend

I'm not going to go town on Friday nights. NOT!

The crowd is so horrifying! It's worse than Chinatown during CNY.

Train packed to the brim, I could have just hugged the guy standing in front.

Shopping mall, impossible to walk through.

Finding dinner, easily took 30 minutes.

We went to Raffles City Shopping Centre at 人民广场 that evening.

Shopping concept and even the mall structure is the same as Singapore.

There's BeeChengHiang Bakkwa! Cold Stone Creamery, and a couple more

familiar shops around. But I think all the shopping malls are just too similar.

Ah, Saturday breakfast. (Lunch, but All-Day-Breakfast, Cedele-style)

Amelia brought me to Kerry Park, located... 'near' where we stay.

Just around 20 minutes walk.

That place is going to be a HOT place when it officially opens.

GAP's opening soon, H&M still renovating, and some other shops

that are already in operation are really great.

There are a couple of indie shops, OH! and I saw this really really nice

jigsaw puzzle (2000-pieces) set, haha, tempted to buy, but just cannot

think of a way to bring it back to S'pore.

Anyhow, the food was great, I particularly liked their berry smoothie.

Conclusion: Kerry Park, must go.

Thankfully there aren't people around because the mall's not really up yet.

Mostly are hotel guests (Kerry Park Hotel linked) touring.

And then we went to Thumb Plaza, 大拇指广场.

Big names like Zara, Sephora, and sports brands.

Honestly, I do see Zara everywhere in Shanghai.

And their stuff is pretty cheap, maybe because of final summer sale.

Well, then Sunday came. And I am now at home.

Woke up at a shocking 1:15pm, I seriously do not know how I

manage to wake up this late. Felt so guilty because Amelia made

eggs and toast for breakfast.

Don't worry! I put it into the microwave oven for extra freshness.

Then all of them went out.

Amelia and Jon went church, Wee Yong went far far away to see IT stuff.

And I think I made the wisest choice of staying home, because,

for the first time since I'm here, there's going to be a big storm coming!

Oh boy, the trees are swaying like no tomorrow outside.

Hope everyone's under shelter!

1 Week Anniversary

1 week has gone by really quickly.

The house feels like house now, packed nicely with food,

and clean air-con. Haha, we are all clean freaks.

We went to pretty places last weekend, to celebrate day-before-work-starts.

The Bund! Unfortunately, we went in the evening, and it's really packed.

Shopping area that resembles really close to S'pore's Orchard Road.

Actually, there wasn't much to see at the bund, maybe because it was

pretty hazy and the air wasn't too good.

I prefer the view of 上海滩 to the city skyline. Colonial buildings look superb.

First day of work was... boring. The boss went on work trip,

and won't be back till next Monday. So, there's nothing for me to do?

Well, for the past 3 days, nothing.

But tomorrow, let's make a change, I'm going to ask for work.

(SHOULD HAVE DONE IT EARLIER)

Feel so guilty not having anything to do for the whole day.

Interesting point: my desk is IN the pantry.

Behind me there's a coffee machine, sink, and water dispenser.

Might as well let me be the tea lady.

But thankfully, the pantry is superbly clean and tidy,

there's cleaning ladies who will pop by every hour to check.

I must say, working condition is 9/10, even if I'm in the pantry.

I like it! And best of all, lunch is included!

Only thing is, I've got to strategise how much credits (in RMB) to

lunch everyday, because the amount stored in the card is fixed.

There's nothing I can complain, even transport's provided.

Maybe just one thing, why don't they understand that Singaporeans

are bilingual! Everybody says, '你听的懂华语啊? 会写和说吗?

Worse, when you shop, they ask, '你是从日本还是韩国来的?' when I'm

already conversing in Chinese with them.

Should have answered Anyunghasaeyo, Kamsahamidah, Konichiwa, Sayonara!

Seaweed soup for today!

Haha, 1 word, BLAND.

But it's alright, first try is always like that.

Next time, we should double-boil the seaweed soup, haha.

Off to lala land.

Buy 2 packs of 饺子, free 1 pack of wanton. Good deal.

Movie nights are the best.

Watched 武侠 the day before. And then 哈利波特 Deathly Hallows (PART 2!) yesterday.

Don't ask where the source came from, haha.

After settling some phone line business, we went around the shopping area.

Honestly, their shopping malls are not any different from Singapore.

Prices, can be even higher.

Haha, we bought Breadtalk for next day's breakfast.

Same standard. Variety also quite good!

Actually, my first day here...

Hmm... The very first impression, and the strongest, is the horrible traffic.

No wonder people tell me it's very difficult to get China's driving license

when you're holding an international one.

I don't think I can get through their traffic from my apartment to the hypermart.

Their red light, is their green light.

Their zebra crossing, is their green right-turn light.

Their motorcyclists, don't need helmets.

Their horn, is used almost every minute.

Pretty dangerous, right?

That's why, when we pedestrians cross the road, we have to look

left-right-left 3 times.

Don't walk, run.

But! 1 good thing I've observed just on my first bus ride,

is they have a road lane just for cyclists.

Bicycle or electric-bicycle, all travel on that lane.

You don't see pedestrians walk on the lane.

(Unlike what we have in S'pore)

So it's pretty orderly when pedestrians walk on the pavement.

(Of course, some MOTORCYCLISTS will still weave along)

My nose almost dropped yesterday.

We were all cleaning the living room and balcony,

oh man, you should see the amount of dust fumes that looked like mushroom clouds.

We wore masks, but it was too late.

Nose = running tap water.

Anyhow, we went for some more household shopping at the hypermart.

Bought myself a clothes rack. And I fixed it up like a pro.

We bought tidbits, and a lot of 饺子.

And Cornetto minis, wah, buy 2 boxes, give free cooler bag.

Of course must buy. Haha.

Really think we should start cooking in the kitchen.

We did, we cooked up a wanton dinner yesterday.

ALL 75 wantons. We didn't count before putting everything into the pot!

Should start having home-cooked dinner, like that can save money.

Leftovers can become next day's bento lunch.

Ah, then breakfast can be cereal with milk. (bought Cheerios!)

But milk wise, we were quite perplex on which brand to pick.

Oh well, just give it a go I guess?

Alright, I'm going off now, should settle bank stuff today.

And maybe more walkabouts.

~tata!

Wah seh, XLB for breakfast.

你好！

I've safely settled into the apartment, and yesterday was pretty hectic.

Considering the amount of things we need to change/add into the apartment,

the four of us spent half a day at the hypermart, 2 trips.

The plane landed, and the captain said, 'the current temperature outside

is 27 degrees celcius'. And when I stepped out, no, it wasn't 27 degrees celcius.

It was a dreadful heat, though the sky's a little dark.

Desmond picked me and the other guys from the terminals,

and we headed for the NTU Office.

Breakfast (photo above) was provided, 油条, 粥, 豆奶, and... 小笼包.

My stomach became a little runny, but ok, I'm still adapting to the new flavors here.

The other Shanghai batch with my housemates joined us,

so, pretty heartwarming to see everyone.

From there, the bus took us to our apartment.

Haha, outside really looks rundown.

But, inside's perfectly fine. Really nice.

Just. Dusty.

Went out to the hypermart straight after,

bought a lot of household items, a lot a lot.

And before we left, it started to rain heavily.

Haha, we made a wet dash back to the apartment, carrying so many bags.

(yes, we had umbrellas)

By the way, they do charge for plastic carrying bags,

and they don't really like us buying plastic bags,

so we bought the mart's shopping bag.

Back home, lunchtime, but raining.

And couldn't call for 外卖 also, because none of us have China number yet.

Thankfully, rain stopped quickly.

So, out we go again!

To the HYPERMART again!

Second round of shopping, still a lot of things to buy.

BUT! I'm smart. I brought all my baggu bags.

So, we don't have to buy any plastic bags.

Stupid thing is, we forgot to bring out the mart's shopping bag.

Anyhow, my baggus are truly the life saver.

Lunch out after putting all the barang barang at home.

Ate at a nearby 烧腊 shop, pretty cheap and nice.

Funny that they gave us free lemon tea (hot).

Got new phone numbers after that.

And then went home for the Ultimate Spring-Cleaning Experience.

Wah, the dust. Can kill.

Mold. Can kill.

Dropped hair. Can kill.

Quite hectic for the rest of the day, but managed to clean the bulk of stuff.

8 pairs of hands, we made use of them to the fullest.

Really tired after all the frenzy, so dinner was Dominos.

Ok, here, the Dominos have an unique taste.

We can't really describe it, but hmmm...

the chicken sausages and ham taste really Chinese.

Alright, I'm ending soon here, hang on.

After dinner, supper was more cleaning.

The whole day ended with us playing laser light.

THE END.

P.S. Thanks to all for the best wishes. As well as those who came.

P.S.S. I may not have time to post here often enough when work+school starts, sorry!