My Shanghai Exploration - Part 2

Saturday in Shanghai is gonna be labelled Shopping Day for me... because that's what I did! I was a tourist through and through, and went to all the touristy spots with my trusty camera (plus a wallet full of cash).

First, stop... chen huang miao, or City Temple. As we were going to places in Shanghai "blindly, both YY and I thought that it was just a temple... never did we expect an entire shopping district, olden style. All the infrastructure seems to have been taken from a period drama set.

Check out this olden style Starbucks

So YY and I got our first taste of shopping in the Beijing 2008 souvenior shop... what did we buy? Hmmm, the recipients will know when they get their little presents.

We did visit the temple in the end, and offered our prayers... to a diety which I really do not recognize. This temple was a tad different from the temples which I remembered, I guess because it's now so commercialized with people taking pictures everywhere.

Next stop? Xiangyang market. Don't have any pictures of it, really... mayhaps coz we were busy trying to get the best bargain, whilst fighting our way through the crowds. I think Singaporeans are considered easy prey here coz the starting quote given by the stall holders are the same as what they give the "ang moh" tourists. Perhaps we really should not speak English all the time... Nevertheless, YY left the market as a proud owner of a big pretty pink bag (it really is very pretty) and a jacket. According to the store owner, XY market is being checked very frequently, thus all the "warehouses" are located rather far away from the market area. Quite glad I got to see the market anyway... considering that it is going to close down by the end of the month.

On the way to XY market, I came across this shopping centre.


Can you imagine? An entire shopping centre dedicated to bridal shops. And this is by no means a rarity here. Throughout the stay, I came across many long stretches of bridal shops... Hmmm... are there that many young couples here?

Ended the day meeting up with L. As usual, he had a whole entire group of friends with him... looks like some things just don't change, regardless of geographical location. Had really good Japanese food for dinner (of course, L knew the owner of the establishment), and then it was down to the pub (where else) to watch soccer in ENGLISH! Cannot really describe the bliss I felt, listening to the english commentary. :)

One final comment about Shanghai... I can't find any nice tasting xiao long baos!!! In our pursuit for this classic Shanghainese dish, I think YY and I ate it every single day! In the small eateries and at the restaurants... Our conclusion? The one at crystal jade tastes the best... and I really don't wanna see another xiao long bao in a long long time.