Push.

Woke up at 10.30 – it just feels so good to be sleeping in the winter. And with yesterday being such a cold day, it’s definitely a much better sleep that I have the previous day.

Went to Xujiahui at about lunchtime and basically had a walkabout round the area. Basically Xujiahui is one of the many shopping areas in Shanghai, and it’s really bustling with people. We had a nice time walking around and to be honest, I’m really impressed with the place.

Xujiahui 徐家汇 – One of the main shopping areas.

After Xujiahui, we went to Cheng Huang Miao/Yu Yuan. Last semester while I was studying History of Modern China, one of my lectures covered the topic of Shanghai in the Modern era, and the lecturer mentioned that Yu Yuan was one of those rich man’s gardens that were built for the benefits of the public, and judging from what I saw today, that place was really impressive. Of course what they are selling nowadays are modern stuffs such as food, beverages and souvenirs, but using my bit of imagination, I’m sure the place was bustling with people even in the old days.

Yu Yuan 豫园 – The authentic Shanghai garden full of commercial activities.

Another pic of Yu Yuan.

After Yu Yuan, we took a bus to Renmin Guangchang and man, what an experience we had with the bus! After 2 stops, people were beginning to crowd onto the bus, and the alighting was about the hardest I have ever tried in my life. It’s like, people were all crowding at the entrance, and no one was able to alight, neither could they board the bus. You’ll scractch your head and wonder why the people don’t make way for others to get off first, but apparently they are so scared of not being able to board the bus that they must rush their way in. So what ensued was a pile of human beings at the entrance, with each and everyone jostling for place. What I did to get off the bus was to push my way through. I think I even managed to push a guy off the steps. I guess that’s where my big size come into good use.

And I thought I can get away from Raffles after I left Singapore.

Did a bit more shopping in the evening after going back to Zhongshan Park. Bought a book, and a set of mahjong for everyone’s enjoyment. I think I’ve kinda spent a lot of money today – it’s time to start saving up. Anyway I called my Aunt in Shijiazhuang just now and she is so wishing for me to go visit her during the Chinese New Year holidays. I think I shall go check out the prices tomorrow at the train station. To be honest, while I too want to go visit them, somehow I want to stay in Shanghai during that period as well because I really want to check the place out. Oh choices, choices, choices!

Discovery of the day: As mentioned earlier, you sometimes really need to push people away to get onto or off a train or bus, but nobody seems to mind you doing that. Apparently every Shanghaiese has accepted that it’s part and parcel of their daily routine. I think I have to perfect this skill here in Shanghai. Though I wonder if I’ll find it too hard to part with such a skill when I go back to Singapore. Haha.

The old Shanghai. Honestly speaking, this is what I came Shanghai for. I mean sure I’m here for the internship and learn all those business stuffs, but as far as looking at Shanghai is concerned, this is what I want to see.

Rain.

Day 2 in Shanghai wasn’t good – it rained the whole day! Rain and coldness hardly make for the best combination and it was definitely the case today. I think the temperature dropped to below zero degrees for long period of the day because it was just so cold. It certainly didn’t help when the rain water got into my shoes, making the walking all the more uncomfortable.

Went to 大娘水饺 for lunch and the dumplings there were simply out of this world! I ate so much that I probably have lost count. After that we went to Ikea and bought some other items for home. Dinner was with a couple of the NOC seniors and it was at this Hong Kong-style restaurant. The food there was good, and it wasn’t expensive either. Went to 乐购 the supermarket to do a bit more shopping and applied for their membership card. Now I’m on a mission to chalk up as many membership points as possible!

On a whole today was a lot of walking around and travelling around. Still haven’t get to see the best sights of Shanghai yet, but honestly speaking, I’m not that worried yet. After all, I’ve got a year here to sort that out.

Couldn’t post the pics up at the SOC server cos I can’t seem to be able to connect to it, and it didn’t help that my bluetooth receiver on my laptop is not catching the signals from the phone. Strange.

Discovery of the day: The barbecued lamb meat stick (something that looks like satay) was brilliantly barbecued, but the best thing is that it managed to keep me warm for quite a while!