…my cuppa iced coffee…

Day 6 - Friday, 20/06/2008
Weather: Gloomy

Nothing much in terms of activities. Training as usual and back to the hotel afterwards. On the way back, my 2 friends and I took a walk along Nanjing Road to survey the prices of things. Especially souvenir items. We planned to go shopping over the weekend, so we wanted to get a feel of prices.

Before reaching the hotel, we dropped by this Muslim restaurant right next to the first one we went to last Sunday night for dinner. I didn’t realise the owner is Malaysian even though there are big posters of the Shah Alam mosque and the Putrajaya mosque on the walls. I didn’t see them the first time we went there.

We ordered beef fried rice and since I had not had chicken for a while (I like chicken), I decided to order one small chicken dish. The fried rice.. one serving was big enough for 2. Maybe 3. And the small chicken dish.. my God! 4 people can share and still have balance in the end. Man, these people’s idea of small is definitely not the same as it is back home.

We had the shock of our lives as we struggled to finish the food. Have a look at the photo below. Definitely not something you get to see everyday, huh? Hahaha.. We have fish head curry in Malaysia but chicken head curry?? Maybe it’s only in China where you can get one.

Day 7 - Saturday, 21/06/2008
Weather: Cloudy/Rainy

The weekend, finally. The plan was just shopping, shopping and more shopping. Our first stop was the Shanghai Shiliupu Varieties Centre - the place to buy cheap fabric in Shanghai. Naturally, most of us were only interested in silk since it’s quite expensive back home.

I bought this silk cloth for my friend. Not bad, huh?

In the afternoon we went to the Xinyang Market near the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. While you can buy all sorts of things here (t-shirts, shoes, bags etc), this place is more well known for cheap electronic gadgets like mobile phones and MP4 players. All fake, of course.

There’s a Metro subway station right underneath of the Xinyang Market, so we took a train to go back to the hotel. Very convenient and very cheap too. Only RMB4 to get to our stop. Naturally, our friend Mr. Nick Lai chose the wrong station, resulting in a long walk even half way to Nanjing Road.

Dinner was on the boss at a ‘halal’ Chinese restaurant at Nanjing Road. Great food. Even though they were a bit pricey, they were definitely the best I’ve had since I set foot in Shanghai.

Day 8 - Sunday, 22/06/2008
Weather: Cloudy/Rainy

In the morning, we went to this place near Chipu Road (or Cheaper Road as these people here jokingly refer to) where we can buy really really cheap fake branded clothings. Man, the place is huge. You can get Adidas, Nike, Polo, Armani, Versace.. you name it. They even have designs the original brands do not have. If you’re a good bargainer, then this place is definitely for you.

In the afternoon, we took the bus to the Yu Garden, an old temple complex which was converted into a tourist centre. You can buy all types of souvenirs here, although at higher prices. But again if you’re a good bargainer, you can still get things very very cheap. I bought 5 medium-sized panda bears for only RMB70, all thanks to my friend Izzat.

Day 9 - Monday, 23/06/2008
Weather: Rainy

Not much in terms of activities. Training as usual from morning till afternoon. Everybody was still in the dark about the whole thing. Lunch was at a Japanese restaurant nearby the office where I had the silver cod dish set. Cheaper, actually, than in Malaysia.

After training, some of us went to the Xinyang Market at the Science Museum again for some more shopping. I wonder how these people still have money after the shopping spree over the weekend.

Day 10 - Tuesday, 24/06/2008
Weather: Sunny but cool

Training as usual. And I’m getting bored already with the whole thing. It has been more than a week now but it’s still difficult to master the skills required. For me, the problem is not knowing where to start. I just wish those people make the system simpler.

We have cut the training short by one day since most of us wanted to go back on Friday instead of Saturday.

After training, it was back to the Xinyang Market yet again. One of the girls was not satisfied since the iPhone she bought did not have a memory card.

Shanghai Science & Technology Museum

Day 11 - Wednesday, 25/06/2008
Weather: Cool and cloudy

Again, nothing much with the activities. We started with a new topic today and not surprisingly, it was just as confusing as the previous one. We had Japanese for lunch again and this time I tried the grilled eel set — the second time ever I tried eating eel.

For the third time in a row, I went to the Xinyang Market again after the class. This time one of the guys had a problem with the iPod he bought yesterday. Sigh… I’m getting tired with that place already.

Oh, if you plan to visit Shanghai and want to get good bargain on iPhone, iPod or a golf set, go to shop number J-02-2 and look for these two girls.

So now I have one more day of training to go before the flight back to Kuala Lumpur on Friday afternoon. There’s definitely no place like home.

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• Shanghai here I come
• Shanghai Noon - Update 1
• There’s no place like home