Category Archives: travel

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Transportation

Shanghai: if you go as a group, better take taxi. The train system are complex with 8+ lines and very crowded with people pushing really hard to get it :|. Walking to the stations is also tiring :). The price of single ticket is 4 RMB, not very cheap…

Beijing: I prefer to take train here as the system is as good as MRT in Singapore, except for the long walking and climbing staircases when you need to transfer between lines. The ticket is cheap, 2RMB regardless of distance. It took me 2RMB to the Square by train, as compared to 30RMB/3 for taking a cab 😐

Well, I’m amazed by the traffic in Beijing. But lately I know it is because of the “number control system” that only cars with even or odd numbers are allowed on even/odd day during the olympic period. It’s nice 🙂

Shanghai – Beijing: I’m still happy with the choice of taking train. The price (499 RMB) is cheaper than air ticket. The quality of the train, or soft-bed in particular, is great. Not to mention that you can save one night of staying in the hotel as the traveling time is from 7pm to 7am on the next day 🙂

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Bargaining

When we walked on the old streets in Shanghai, my friend just did an amazing deal with a shop owner

A watch that I should not mention its brand was sold at 260 RMB. We walked away right away… The shop owner followed us and kept asking how much we want. We just said some price and keeped walking away…

In the end, it was sold at 45 RMB – as compared to the initial price of 260 RMB :))
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Chinese in China

I still think that you need to know a little Chinese, when travelling to China. Even for Beijing and Shanghai, 2 biggest cities in China, not so many people here understand English…

Once in the restaurant, I asked for the bill. “Bill, receipt” does not work. I waive a piece of paper. The waiter seemed very happy since he got my request. And to my surprise, I got a chunk of tissues :))

Two good things occur to me: (1) My girlfriend and my friend (Dudy) can speak a bit of Chinese and (2) People are friendly when I speak English to them, even they don’t understand 🙂

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Sightseeing in Shanghai

Some highlights of places I’ve been in Shanghai

  • Shanghai Museum (photo): free tickets but not available after 4pm. Close at 5pm. Great place – “must try” in my opinion
  • TV Tower/ The Bund/ Nanjing Road and Huangpu River (photo): should visit also. But maybe better to see at night. I was there in the afternoon. It was raining and the sky was dark so I could enjoy much…
  • People Square (photo): like Orchard Road/ Citi Hall in Singapore or Nguyen Hue St. in HCM City. You should be here to enjoy Shanghai as a modern city
  • Yuyuan Garden and the old streets area (photo): worth a try, especially the old streets. The garden is nice but flowers are all gone in the autumn 😐
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Rainy days in Shanghai

Our time in Shanghai was filled with rainy days – almost everytime when we went out. The sky was dull, cloudy and the felling of being wet seemed not very enjoyable, especially when we had to walk a lot to train stations. Clearly, it was not a perfect condition for taking photograph 🙁

It was slightly better when we are in taxi – at least you can enjoy the rain behind the taxi window… Still my favorite way to observe the raindrops and the light being diffused through the window glass

Also, rainy day allowed me to see how… clean the street in Shanghai through the reflection of the street landscape on the road. The color was cold and the feeling of peace was there when you walked on the old streets in Shanghai, after the rain 🙂