This year , we spent about 8 days in Shanghai to celebrate our anniversary and Xmas. Out of these 8 days, 1 whole day is dedicated to Hangzhou West Lake and the last day is spent on our return trip, so we have about 6 relaxing days to move about in Shanghai itself. Porky pig has booked a very cosy 4 star hotel near Shanghai railway station, which offers buffet breakfast everyday. In Shanghai itself, we visited shopping districts such as Nanjing Road/Huai Hai Road/Henan Road/Yu Garden/Zheng Da Plaza ... , sight seeing spots : The Bund/Ming Zhu Tower/Tong Tai Antique market (where porky pig glued his eyes watching Shanghai old folks playing mahjong and i had to pull him away with his feet stuck onto the floor) ...... , and old building sites such as Duolun Road. We also tried Chinese tui-na and fire bottle treatment (i do not know what they call this treatment in English ).
Shanghai is quite a different place from the other parts of China. The Shanghainese ppl is probably the most materialistic and capitalist ppl in China. It is a very prosperous big city and full of commercial activities for everyone in a communist country, whether you are a shopper or a a banker. However, i would still rate HK as the best place to shop as it offers cheap and good product and really branded and well designed consumer goods. As it is winter time in Shanghai now, we couldn't get much of the stuffs we can use back here in Singapore for the both of us.
And surprisingly , contradictory to most China cities , Shanghai has very few big bookstores. I feel it is far behind Taipei in this respect, where you can find big bookstores easily. We managed however to spot a few rich Shanghai tai tais. One of them, whom we saw when we stopped for a glass of tea at a Huai Hai Road cafe, has a Poodle hair style and stares at ppl like a bull dog.
When it comes to food, i like Shanghai Gyoza/Fried dumpling, soy milk , and not forgetting "salty tou huay " with salted vege and dried prawns inside, something which I cannot find here in Singapore. We had a great buffet at Xi Duo Wu ( Japanese international buffet ) at Zheng Da Plaza and spotted a mistress fighting with her rich old man at the neighbouring table. Interesting experience. Other than that, we find Shanghai food is salty and oily as it is well known.
In Hangzhou, we visited places such as West Lake (Yang Bridge/Island in Westlake) and Lin Ying Temple. We had our kiss inside the bamboo forest on the Island in Westlake, which is a really beautiful place for a kiss. I recommend every couple to go there for a kiss. Lin Ying temple is really beyond my expectation. It is grand and beautiful and has a very merciful looking Buddha statue as high as 2 to 3 storeys sitting in the main hall. At the back of the hall is a carved wall about 3 storeys high and full of deities looking down on me, giving me a very 3 D feel, and a very huge Godness of Mercy at its center. When I heard the monk chanting rapidly , it has a very enigmatic feeling and i wish i can have them recorded, as it is not like the usual buddhist chanting that will make one fall asleep, but more like a Gregory chant group named Enigma. It is a good choice to visit Lin Ying temple if you are travelling to Hangzhou because it's still well kept and maintained despite being an ancient temple.
When i realised i was about to say good bye to Piggy again on the last day morning, i could not help but have tear drops falling down my cheeks. I will miss the time we spent in the hotel room watching tv with me twisting and turning his ears and nose, biting his arms, hugging him from his back like he is a bolster before sleep.
It is a good trip because i have a good companion for the trip. Overall , we have a relaxing memorable trip and it is a good closing ceremony for Year 2007.
Darby
