Sunday, December 30, 2007

Shanghai - 2007.12.12 - She Shan Basilica 佘山进教之佑圣母大殿

My last day in Shanghai. Was a sunday and I wanted to go for mass, and I saw this nice church on the hill. Little did I know that this church does not have mass for quite some time already, and the actual mass was in a smaller church beside this one.

And guess what, when we wanted to enter, they actually ask us to pay a sum of RMB30 to enter. like, WTH?? I know that the park is kind of like a tourist attraction, but I mean, to pay for mass?? Ok nvm, then we argued abit, saying that masses are suppose to be free, and the person that answered us said she never heard of such thing. .. WTH???

Ok, nvm. At the end, she asked us to use the side gate which was 500m away. We wanted to walk but got conned by a trishaw cyclist, saying it's VERY FAR, and have to go UPHILL. Okay lor, we took the ride for RMB5. Who knows, it's actually quite near! And because he said in the beginning have to go uphill, we assumed that he'll take us straight to the church's entrace. WHO KNOWS, he just dropped us off at the foot of the hill!! -_- Damn conman.

Ok NVM, when we wanted to get in, there's this.. person guarding the gate, say we have to pay. And we're like, no, we're not gonna pay so just let us in! And he said we have to give him the password.. 0_o This is the most troublesome mass I ever attended... sigh.

At the end, they let us in without paying after much negotiation. By then the mass was all over at the lil church. But luckily I missed it, cause what I saw was during the whole mass beggars were going round and round asking for money. And when u don't give them they'll curse you to hell.

-_-




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church on the hill


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faulty cable cars.


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close up


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inside


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yinyang


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chia!





One last time at the city.


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I love their road system. Electronical signboards. If the there's traffic jam on a particular road, it'll be red in colour.


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japanese soda i had during lunch. very cool lor! Have to pop in the glass ball then can drink.


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kept this as souveneirs for kataks like me.


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sasasasa!!! >.<



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SMT. World's fastest bullet train? i dunno. i saw it on national geography.


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Hopefully I can visit Shanghai when the weather's more warmer. (can buy cheap summer cloths lor! =P) Really appreciate the hospitality from Jac's family, really made me feel like home. =)

To read about my previous post on Shanghai, pls click these links here:

Shanghai - 1st day - 徐家汇,上海最繁荣的地方
Shanghai - 2nd day - 麦当劳有猪肉!
Shanghai - 5th day - Mr. R 陪我去买小笼包~
Shanghai - 6th day - 新天地 Xin Tian Di District
Shanghai - 7th day - 城隍庙 chenhuangmiao & 田子坊 tianzifang
Shanghai - 11th day - 朱家角+泰晤士小镇
Shanghai - 12th day - 人民广场 + 南京路步行街 + 外滩

Shanghai - 2007.12.07 - 城隍庙 Chen Huang Miao & 田子坊 Tian Zi Fang

Another day of blue skies! Today will be a shopping day, in 城隍庙 chenhuangmiao!




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zig-zag highway





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very tall oh



Our destination is
ChengHuangMiao. It's kinda like an old style shopping district, where you can find silks, jade, tapestries, swords, and other traditional Chinese crafts and trinkets. But the place I'm shopping is d building beside chenghuangmiao, something like a petaling jaya warehouse. lolz~ That's where most of the fashion accesories and trinkets are.






aerial view of chenghuangmiao - photo courtesy





the actual entrance of chen huang miao - photo courtesy




I thought
chenhuangmiao was a district, and there really wasn't any temple (because I didn't see any!). But after doing some research, there was actually a small temple at the end of the district. lolz. I didn't really care cause i somehow knew that there will be an entrance fee. *RM15*




oriental KFC, I ate there! - courtesy photo






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cheng huang miao




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all lit up at night




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down this road is where i do my shopping!




At night, we met up with one of aunty's good friends. Surprisinly, she was quite young and very hip. lolz~ Then we head off to
田子坊 tianzifang.






oh don't let this fool you! the street is inside there! - courtesy photo




I had to find photos from other sites cause I didn't have a chance to go there during the daytime, where everything looks different.












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hidden street




This is what I love..
exploring. =) The feeling u get when u discover something new is amazing.




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ever-cosy cafe




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When they say it's time to have the best delicacies in town.

I was expecting something like this...



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And it never occured to me in a million years that d shop would be located here!




..



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here! can u even spot which one is actually the shop? and nope it's not the one with the yellow lights.




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heeere




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the space inside is soooooooooo cramped, just 5 tables




The lao ban liang quite rude lor. Because we were a group of 5, usually we're given first priority *because we'll order more! lol~* So there was a 3-ppl group outside, and when the tauke ask them to share table with another group of ppl, they started complaining and said why we can have our own table and they can't. Then guess what the tauke replied..

'Don't wanna sit then don't eat lah!' And just continue taking orders and bills.

=\

ppl business good bah..


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the food. cost RM100+



I didn't think it's worth RM100, but the food's really good. Not something u can taste everyday.

They said that the shop was famous for their
pork legs, but I didn't know! I ate eeeverything except the pork legs. And I only knew AFTER jacky gobbled up the last one...


The night was still young, so we continued to yam cha at a dessert shop. I didn't notice the name -__- But the snow shake/ice kacang there was fantabulous. The ice is very fine, but not till it turns watery. The pearls are chewy, and the beans are sweet and rich.


So to end the post, tadaa~~



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sweet~ with that very young n hip aunty there. haha~

Friday, December 28, 2007

Shanghai - 2007.12.06 - Xin Tian Di District 新天地

Another day ahead! Today we decided to visit the museum we saw the night before. lolz~ Had to walk most of the way because parking here is very expensive, bout rm5 per hour.



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i love the yellow trees




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story of shanghai



During winter, you must wear a hat! Keeping ur head warm is a must because when u enter and exit from a building, the temperature changes drastically, which might cause headaches. I always thought that my hair was thick enough to keep my head warm, but well.. i was wroooong... I bought this hat right after my 2nd headache.



my new hat!



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liuli art museum in d morning, totally different rite??



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the wall is made from liu li, flower from aluminui steel.



Cameras were not allowed in the galleries. -_-" The only place where I can take picture to show the concept of this museum is the washroom and staircases. =S


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the toilet's wall



Their main material is liuli, it's like a kind of glass, and somehow a picture was etched in the glass. And they use the concept of illusion and reflection for most of their exhibition.


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the basin is made from liu li too, so are the taps.



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liuli at the side of the staircases.



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around 4pm when the skies are getting dark



After the museum trip, we went to 新天地 (xin tian di) just opposite the museum. Considered as the hottest new entertainment district in Shanghai. It has the city's finest clubs, restaurants and boutiques. I took the longest time to write this post, because I reeeeally really really love xin tian di. And I'm figuring how to write so i can let you guys understand why i love this place so much. =P



aerial view - courtesy photo



xin tian di is surrounded by normal shoplots, so if people just passed by, the won't know that there's a gem behind these buildings.



tai chang road in xin tian di - courtesy photo



To me, this place is like when d east meets west. There are Italian cafes, German cuisine, western-styled bars and so on. It's like stepping into a foreign place, but they still manage to have elements of east, which suddenly pulls you back to the realization that you're still in Shanghai.



like this



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PAUL - a really expensive bakery



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starbucks - very very cosy



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supersize please!





like doreamon coming back from school =P




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high class boutiques. upper level.




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help help i'm trappeeeeed







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even though it's chilly, they still prepare heaters for outside tables.



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an old house



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vidal sassoon upstairs



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yellow leaves




visage - bar - courtesy photo



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coffee here would be great!



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i like this pic



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sets off the christmas mood



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berposing



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me n jac



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golf balls on xmas tree!



On our way back, we saw this really reeeeally long pipe, just scattered on the roadside.



it starts here..




and it continues...



and continues..oh it's turning!




and it turned left.. and i never saw the end of it




Stop the car at the side for more strolling cause we had to wait till 5+ to pick up Jac's bro from school.


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roadside food stalls




lets try the corn






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saw alot of neobritish style houses on our way



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all we do is walk



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roasted jagung is d best!



We passed by Shanghai Conservatory of Music (上海音乐学院) too. Students there look so happy~ lolz. They love what they do, and they can have like jamming sessions during free time, and the grand hall is always open for those who wanna perform. Damn~~



public university




we were lucky, this person is really good.




the founder




super long hummer



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The street in front of the university is called Music Street of some sort. lolz. Alot of music scores, instruments for sale. I went into one shop which has a wide range of classic piano scores. I bought the Beethoven's sonata for rm40 (i think it's selling rm100+ in msia)




beethoven




i love all these drinks with chinese words =P no more boring nestle or season brand.










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To end the day, let me present you with Yao Yao 明卡!





拥有名卡,拥有明天 - 支持 Yao Yao 明卡! 哈哈哈哈哈~