So I just had my first experience of Shanghai as an "expatriate" from Singapore. Hitherto, all my trips here have been budget experiences, coupled with the fact that I normally stay far far away, in the "Woodlands" equivalent. With the new co, I finally got to stay in "Orchard Road", and enjoy the luxury of having good food and shopping available at every turn.
Of course, it did not help that Miss L decided to tag along and make use of the free accomodation. As a result, we spent majority of the time eating out in style, somewhat determined to sample the different offerings as stated on the Luxe guide. Amazingly enough, I had sampled quite a couple of the restaurants before... but never in a continuous stretch. (As a result, I hereby resolve to hit the pool when I get back home!!!) Anyways, think the gal outdid herself shopping, shopping and more shopping! And I guess she was somewhat amazed at the chinese "culture" (or lack thereof). At times, I felt almost like a veteren... haha.
The two of us were rather excited about spending mid autumn here... but were rather disappointed to find out that although it's important enough for it to be a public holiday, the Mid Autumn atmosphere was obviously missing.... no mooncake booths around, no decorations, no lanterns, and due to the rain and "smog", no MOON! When I mentioned this to a colleague, he actually said that there's actually very little emphasis placed on the traditional festivals here, and that you will find that there's a much bigger hoo-ha over Christmas and Valentine's day! For some reason, I found that quite sad. Asking around, most of the locals I talked to actually did not know the stories behind Mid Autumn... somehow I found that slightly disturbing.
Guess in a way, that pretty much co-relates with what I feel about this country, it's a land of extremes. There is this age old culture, and yet, it's not really passed on; It was a civilisation way back, yet, how do you account for the spitting, the open toilet doors, and the habit of rolling up the t-shirt to expose the belly. This is the place where kids clothes have a slit in the pants to better facilitate kids bowel movements on the streets. Shanghai especially lulls you into thinking it's a safe and developed haven (so much so that Miss L kept forgetting to lock the door!), yet, there are plenty of pickpockets and pleasant girls loitering outside 5 star hotels. The starting pay of a graduate is supposed to be around RMB 2,000 even in Shanghai, yet, most of the stuff I see in the shops are more expensive than their equivalent in SG (SGD 100 for a simple top). Sometimes I really find it hard to reconcile these extremes, and do admire those friends of mine that have decided to venture here. During the clubbing session on Friday, as they were "basking" in the company of their newly acquired "girlfriends" for the night, L and I could not help but observe that most of the guys actually felt quite lonely. Mayhaps that's why they find a need to over-indulge in alcohol every weekend.
