shanghai day 1 :)

i'm back from a five day trip to shanghai . i'm still adjusting to the humid weather in singapore but i'm definitely glad to be home. a new semester has commenced and i feel pretty regretful about missing the first week of school . definitely time to pull up my socks since the grades from the previous semester were far from satisfactory.. lord please give me the strength to pull through the final year !! 

anyway, many of my friends asked me " why shanghai? "

our original plan was to head to osaka but there was some rumour about harmful radiation which could be bad for females. we didn't want to take the risk especially when my mom is so protective of me. we decided to explore somewhere new and shanghai was our final choice. i was quite apprehensive at first because kun is such a cheenapiang who cant speak mandarin for nuts.  we went ahead with it anyway. 

& that's how i became a translator for five awesome days .

shanghai's huge but it's pretty convenient and super cheap to travel by metro . we took metro from pudong international airport to east nanjing station (which was where our hotel was located) and the entire journey took us slightly more than an hour . morning peak hour was insane but we managed to stay sane through the crowd. it only cost us 7RMB (~1.40SGD). our hotel was only 5 minutes away from the station . it was a relief that kun managed to locate the hotel with the aid of the directions provided online . i was in desperate need of a respite after so much travelling . 

we booked shanghai fish inn bund via agoda and we paid SGD250 for 4 nights. the check in time stated was 12 pm but the hotel kindly let us check in earlier since there were available rooms. they even upgraded our room to a pretty & cozy suite (pictured above) that totally lifted our mood. we were so impressed with our humble abode and the service provided by the friendly staff. 

outfit of the day :) 

it's pretty chill over there at shanghai so it was a good time to throw on my blazers. 

we went on wednesday and it was already very crowded. 

there's a very famous xiaolongbao stall called nanxiang xiao long bao. 

the queue was insane ( as mad as those iphone 5 queues) so we didnt bother. 

it's a bustling area with many shophouses selling food , souvenirs and apparel. 

apart from food & beverages , always try to bargain. 

i've read and heard about how the local retailers like to jack up price to earn more. 

always cut the price by more than half. don't bother showing them mercy man. 

when we reached there, I didnt dare to cut the price by a lot because i haven't bargained in a long while

so yepp, my bargaining skills were a little rusty but after some practice in shanghai, i went full force. 

competition is very stiff because there are so many shops selling the same stuffs. 

 First destination of the day : City God of Temple & Yuyuan Garden . 

I thought the Yuyuan Garden was quite interesting and served as pretty backdrop for phototaking. Indulging in flora and fauna once in a while could be very relaxing. 

Entrance fee for yuyuan garden was 40RMB (~8SGD) which was worth the money

I wouldn't say the same thing for City God of Temple which was 20RMB . 

Neither of us holds the joss stick so it was a pretty waste of money since there wasn't anything special . 

Second destination of the day : Tian Zi Fang 

One of my favourite places in Shanghai ! It's an arts and craft enclave which houses many quaint cafes , mini bars, restaurants and retail shops . It reminds us fondly of the haji lane back at home. Wished we had more time so we could chill there.  We settled at his western restaurant for lunch where the service was really impeccable. The waitress really took the effort to make sure we were comfortable in our seats. While the food wasn't up to standard, the ambience and service made up for it. 

Last stop : XINTIANDI . 

It's pretty much like our paragon / clarke quay where prices are pretty steep for local standards. 

We visited this shikumen open house which was 20RMB each and it was not bad . 

Apart from this open house ,  it was just streets of shopping malls and restaurants. 

We decided against spending a bomb at Xintiandi so we head over to our hotel area to eat instead. 

and if you're visiting shanghai, you must try this. 

xiao yang sheng jian 

it's like a bigger and fried version of the xiao long baos. there's one outlet near our hotel which is just opposite of exit 6 , line 10 East Nanjing Station. Kun loved it so much so we have it everyday. It only costs 9RMB (~SGD 1.80) for 6 pieces. They serve noodles and soups too. Every patron in the store will order this. Wished we could bring them home to satisfy our cravings now :( 

shall blog about the rest of the trip soon.