Just Another Weekend in Shanghai

Friday (July 5, 2013), I was suppose to take a weekend trip with the Shanghai swim team, but I didn’t get the best vibe (language barrier and I couldn’t look it up online), so I scratched that and spent the weekend in Shanghai with people who didn’t go to Huangshan and Hong Kong. First thing in our agenda was to shop, and we shopped till we dropped! Cat, Jarrett, Greg, Shan, and I went to cheap market and the bargaining market where we bargained and shopped. The reason we did so much shopping was so that Greg can pick up his suit. In the middle of our shopping, we met with Orin and Alex, and we decided the Bund would be fun place to go to!

We got on to the metro, and we decided to stop in for pho, and it was so good!!! I miss my pho. We headed for the Bund and took couple shopping detours; we stepped outside and next thing we know it’s raining. With no umbrella, we thought it won’t pick up too hard and we still headed for the Bund. Next thing we know it’s a monsoon up in Shanghai! We ditch the Bund idea after a glance and ran back to the metro. We came back home and that was our Friday.

Saturday was our lazy day; we just hung out at the hotel for a good minute till we were ready to start our day. Jarrett, Greg, Cat, and I decided to do the Shanghai Museum, but we got there at 4:30pm, and they stop taking people in 4pm… Conveniently, around the museum, there are a lot of things to do because it is located in People’s Square. We walked around and saw cool buildings and ran into Orin! After a lazy tour of People’s Square, Cat and I did hot pot, which was delicious!! Now we are ready for KTV a.k.a. karaoke (Shout out to my boy Ryan! I miss our karaoke nights), about 11 of us went out to look for a cheap place and no luck. Why is Shanghai so expensive!?!?!?!?!? On our journey for KTV, we found a bowling alley, so the group split into two, one going bowling and the other KTV (we hoped that the small group would get a cheaper price and it did!). We (Cat, Orin, Woody, Haley, Jacob, and I) sang our little hearts for an hour, and Cat and I ventured to the gay bar for open bar hour. After a couple beers we headed back, and I went back out with Ethan, Tim, Soohan, and Garrett for round two. That was my Saturday.

Cat and I were determined to go see that Shanghai Museum, and the Shanghai Urban Planning Model for Sunday (July 7, 2013). That was a successful trip, we saw everything, and than some! Cat and I stumbled upon the Shanghai Old Street, which looked very French. I really don’t understand China sometimes…

By this time, almost everyone was back from Hong Kong, and Kat, Julie, and I decided for skewer dinner. We came back to the hotel, and Ethan and Garrett wanted to go on an adventure. We gladly accepted the invitation, and went to Century Avenue. Just a couple pictures around the Oriental Light and sight seeing, next thing we know we are on the metro back home, and I went to bed.

What an eventful weekend!

Too Much to Write, but not Enough Time...

Last week was a great one! Tuesday (July 2, 2013), Soohan, Garrett, and I decided that being cooped is not cute for us, so we went out! I wanted to see Shanghai. I’ve been here for one week, and I haven’t done anything, but drink my way through this city. It’s time to go out and explore. It is so hot; this city is a giant sauna. I think I lose all the water I drink in my lifetime every time I step ten feet outside the comfort of my air-conditioned hotel. It’s fucking HOT!

We went to Pudong, which is the business district in Shanghai. This area holds the highest building in Shanghai; it’s the world finance building or some bullshit like that. The place was charging 100 Yuan for the elevator ride up to the observatory, so we snuck into the building in hopes that maybe we can get to the top without paying. Got up pretty high without paying; we were up to the 53^rd floor out of the 104 story building, which I think was a successful trip up! If only the guards did stop us. We got kicked out of the Hyatt too doing the same thing... We are pretty ratchet.. But we did get a good view out of it!

After couple more unsuccessful climb to the top, we decided to go see the Oriental Pearl and to the Bund! We walked around Nanjing Road and went all the way to the river that splits Shanghai, which is the Bund. It was so nice to see the water and boats across the river, and the building come alive with lights as the sun begins to set. We came home and called it a night. 

Wednesday was our Fourth of July celebration provided by the China Summer Program. They took us to a very fancy hot pot place because nothing screams America like hot pot! It was so spicy and good! After a nice meal, Cat, Olivia, and I treated ourselves to a foot massage, which was oh so cheap! We came back from our massage, and the boys decided that the week was a rough one, so it was only appropriate for us to buy some cheap ass liquor and drink!

Just look at the pictures, and you’ll see how much fun we are having!

Saved by the View (Part 2)

So continuing from the creepy sweat suit guy offering us a ride for 20-Yuan to the ATM and hotel, we kept telling him no until he left us alone! We walked for 30 minutes or so and finally got to an ATM! The day is starting to turn around or so we thought. We got some bread to keep us going because we were starving, and as we walked towards a hotel to ask if they call us a taxi, the sweat suit guy just pops out from no where again. The girls and I feel followed and from panic, we walk away quickly in panic to get to a hotel. The worker outside of a hotel offers us to take us to our hotel in his personal car instead of calling us a taxi. We all looked at one another and took a leap of faith. We made it to our hotel safe and sound! (Thank god) We got dinner and had a couple bottles of wine just to take the edge off so we can go to bed safe and sound. We decided to wake up early and get on the bus back home, and we did. It’s an 8 hour-long ride in a musty, stuffy, and smelly bus. It was the bus ride from Hell! I just wanted to shower, that was all we wanted! We got back at 3pm at our hotel in Shanghai and the day was uneventful after that, and I spent the night out at a bar just to blow some steam!

Sunday (June 30, 2013), I decided to go to a museum by myself to see some artwork and ended up having an exclusive and private walking tour with the artist himself! Later that night, we (Ethan, Garrett, Jonathon, Kat, and I) ended up going to soccer game! It was a national game Shanghai VS. Guangzhou, and it was super fun!

Sorry to warp this up this quickly, but I’m really tired and its late…

I’ll write again soon!

Saved by the View (Part 1)

So this weekend was an emotional rollercoaster. I will start from the beginning. So Thursday, Ankit, Nikhil, Orin, Julie, Kat, and I bought bus tickets for Huangshan (Yellow Mountains). Julie, Kat, and I had different plans from the boys; we were planning on a day trip there and back. We left on Friday (June 28, 2013) at 6am and planned to be back the same day at 11pm or 12am, but once we got there, we find out the bus does not run that late. Only way we can make this work is to stay overnight and the earliest bus for us is 6am Saturday. Through the state of frustration and panic, we booked a hotel room and our returning bus ticket.

So this is already making us flustered and worried, but we were still okay. A short guy in a gold and black sweat suit helped us out with some of the logistics of the mountain, so we get on a second bus to get to the entrance of the mountain. From here we separated with Ankit, Nikhil, and Orin, and we took the cable car up to the top of the mountain. The view from the top was fantastic! The pictures don’t do this place justice. It was breath taking. Going through the clouds and watching it roll through the mountain as we sit up at the summit.

After an hour or so, we needed to get back for the last bus back to our hotel, but little did we know, we were really short on cash money… like didn’t have a dime…

We get down to the bottom and we believe the tickets for the bus are round trip but little did we know it was only one way. Excuse my French, but this is where shit hit the fan. We didn’t have the 57-Yuan ($9) to get on this bus back to our hotel. We rounded up every single change we could find in our pockets and bags. We got to 47-Yuan, and all the sudden, Kat found a 50-Yuan bill in one of the side pocket, and we screamed in joy! After this disaster, the ticket booth try to deny our coins we rounded up, and I flipped my shit and got the tickets with our coins. Now we are literally flat broke.

From the frying pan into the fire, I guess we got on the wrong bus because we were not dropped off at our hotel. We were dropped off in the opposite side of town with no money… We have no idea where we are with no data plan, no money, and no Chinese. People are talking to us and trying to hustle us, and we are just looking for an ATM.

If this wasn’t frustrating enough, from the distance we see the similar gold and black sweatshirt from earlier. The short guy (who spoke really good English) offered us to take us to the ATM and the hotel for 20-Yuan. For some reason, I didn’t get a good vive from him.

To be Continued.