Current music:

Breathe- Anna Nalick

Back to Reality
I'm back!  Four days worth of Shanghai adventures.  That was quite the experience.  It was fun while it lasted.  I will post pix through my multiply site, which I haven't touched in years (didn't really know what to do with it) but I have yet to go through all 161 photos I took there.  So hang on.

Here are some notable places we visited:

• The Bund- The great divide between the old and new faces of Shanghai, right by the Huangpu river.  It's almost like walking in the streets of Europe with the British Concession in the background.
  
• Shanghai Museum and the Parliement Building- Memorable experience: my ultra reliable Benetton sneakers (which I've used for years) have decided to die right then and there which prompted me to buy new rubber shoes (no this is not an excuse to by a new pair, it really happened!)
• Xintiandi (pronounced Shin-tian-di, get it right folks!)- A.K.A the French Concession.  The great expat hang-out which is littered with European bars and French architecture... its really quite a view.  Memorable experience: Some guy who looked like Big Moose snuck into one of my pix as I stood in front of a German pub.  Yikes!  And get this, the pub had a pinoy band playing songs like Sumayaw Sumunod and Anak much to our surprise.  German Pub, Pinoy band, at the French Concession in Shanghai... go figure!
• Magnolia Theatre to watch the New Shanghai Circus-  This was definitely enjoyable.  I loved the motorcycle stunt where 5 cyclists were traversing a huge metal dome and managed to avoid each other!
• Nanjing Road- Got a taste for high-end brands? This is the place to shop.  Prices are relatively the same as the stores here but they have more choices plus there are more European brands there, some you haven't even heard of.  Just to circle the entire street is amazing especially at night.
• Madame Tussauds Shanghai- So if you have SPARE CASH, this is something you can visit, it's along West Nanjing Road and it has almost the same wax figures you can see in London plus other prominent Chinese figures that we don't necessarily know.  We couldn't resist having our pix taken with the likes of George Clooney, Prince William, Brad Pitt..... well you get the drift :P
• Qi Pu Lu- Bargain heaven.  Think Greenhills.  Put your bargaining powers to the test!
• Oriental Pearl Tower- This huge rocket-like structure is the first thing you see by the Bund... but its not the tallest structure in Shanghai.  We didn't get to climb it since we ran out of cash but it looks interesting from below.
• Jin Mao Building- So we decided to climb this instead.  Its a building 88 stories high and is the fourth tallest in the world.  Spectacular view from above... if you're not afraid of heights that is...
• Super Brand Mall- If you have a lot of spare time because you're waiting for your evening flight, this mall is worth exploring, just because its probably the only mall in Shanghai thats pretty decent and easy to navigate through.

So that's pretty much all the places we visited packed in a 4 day trip.  Of course lots of adventure along the way including overpriced taxi cab rides, the sound of people spitting wherever and whenever, the dirtiest bathrooms in the face of the planet, the great language barrier and some rude folks along the way... I say its an adventure worth repeating.... especially since you're a lot smarter the next time around.

So now that I'm back, reality hits you like a ton of rocks especially when you know you're heart (yes I said it) is on the chopping block.  I'm just trying to enjoy the last few moments I have with it.

Oops sorry about that... I'll let you know when I can post pix soon!