Shanghai 03.02.10 (2)

I lent Jona small amount of money (he left most of his cash at the hostel) so he could buy the ticket. We can’t decide what to do because both of us together has less than 10 yuan (50 baht) left then. And that wasn’t enough to get both of us back to the hotel.

Jona just had this brilliant idea that we should just take a walk to get back to the hotel. “Oh well, why not” I thought. And so we walked. We didn’t have a map, Lonely Planet wasn’t as usual as I thought it would be. So I tuck it inside my jacket and that made me stomach look ridiculously big.

I suggested Jona that we should just walk along the canal and follow its flow and keep eyes on one of the tall buildings because that should lead us to where we wanted to go. Well, it was not a bad choice and I was really thankful for having no money. We got to see the real Shanghai that other tourists would not have seen. At some point I thought we were lost but I couldn’t care more…

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We got to see a few local market and saw alive chicken get “chosen” at the market. We tried some random snack and Chinese cake that cost less than one Chinese dollar – stuffed with veggies, a bit oily but amazingly delicious.

I also learnt that mainland Chinese people are not that crazy, scary, annoying or loud. They are actually very kind (except when they’re driving) and they do smile a lot (more than people in a big city back home).

A few hours later we got to Remin Park and there, we sat and rest. The park was beautiful and probably is the biggest park in Shanghai.

I checked my BlackBerry and it was about 3C degree outside that day. It was a perfect day and this will be the day that I would never forget….

Jona offered to pay dinner. We pick a Chinese restaurant in the central area. We ordered a few dishes but one of them was very oily and was barely touched by neither of us, but overall was a good meal.

Jona insisted that we have to get really drunk on our last night. He bought a bottle of 1.5 liter Sprite and bottle of Chinese whisky (well, we couldn’t afford Absolut Vodka, this will just do) from Family Mart. He drank 1/4 of Sprite and then poured the whiskey in, shake it and handed it to me. I was like, -wtf-, but I drank it anyway.

We went back to the park to sit and drink there. Stayed there until early hours at night. Saw a lot of interesting shit happened and laughed with it. We met a few people trying to take us to Chinese teahouse (scam – be very careful). Some Chinese want to practice English with Jona even though he’s German. We saw police beating the shit out of each other in their office (that was scary though). And we saw a few students filming what was looking like a Valentine’s Day video clip for one of the boys’ girl friend.

What a day I had. So glad I made it here. I love Shanghai.

Shanghai 03.02.10

Woke up the next day with a bad hangover. What really woke me up wasn’t the hangover or the headache, but was the French guy who has just arrived early this morning. He was loud when he arrived, but that wasn’t as bad as his smelly feet. The whole dorm stink as if it had a dead rat in it somewhere. Jona thought it was my feet because I had a foot spray and often use it. We did some investigations and everyone confirmed that it was from the French guy at the corner by the door (he was sleeping though).

Today, Jona and I took a stroll along Huanpu River on the Bund banks. We tried to find the observation deck we saw on a poster but it was closed and half of the path walk along the river was blocked for a major renovation for the World Expo in May. We took some photos at one of bridges. It took us over 15 minutes to wait for the traffic in order to cross to the other side – was lovely.

Shanghai is actually very beautiful and is more laid back than I imagined. A rich collection of hundred-year-old architectures with an European influence really grown on me. It’s even more spectacular at night. The weather was fine, around 4-5 celsius degree (well, not really fine but a lot better than the heat in Bangkok during February). It was really a perfect day to explore the city.

Major renovation for World Expo

hangover face

still drunk…

adorable.

It’s busy 24/7

As we walked, we found a couple wearing classic Shanghai dress (see photo), photo shooting on the street for their wedding. The woman’s dress look like something you could easily find in Bangkok Chinatown for 199 baht, but still, it truly represents Shanghai.

What really depressed me was a lot of old building that we walked pass was torn down, to clear up the space and prepare for the World Expo that will only last for a few months. And lot of modern pavilions that built for World Expo will also be torn down after the fair ends. It’s something that I could never understand. I don’t know what their logics was. And the same thing is happening to old buildings in Hong Kong. It’s a sad, sad, sad story.

After exploring a bit more of the Bund area, I and Jona went to Shanghai Train Station (the one that I just got off from the train from Hong Kong yesterday morning) to get Jona an overnight train ticket from Shanghai to Beijing. Jona tried to convinced me to go to Beijing with him, but I really had to go back to Hong Kong tomorrow night and my flight back to Bangkok is in Hong Kong. Likewise, I tried to convince Jona to come with me to Hong Kong but his flight back to Germany is in Beijing, and we both are poor. So, we stick with our plans and will go on our own direction tomorrow night – I will to back to Hong Kong, and Jona will be leaving Shanghai to Beijing.

(to be continued)
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Shanghai 02.02.10 – (2)

I made it to Captain Hostel after following a group of young travellers for a few minutes. The hostel condition is a lot better than I expected. Located in a historical area the Bund, the hostel features a contemporary design lobby, friendly and English speaking staff, decent dorm rooms for eight people and a rooftop bar with spectacular views of Pudong’s skyscrapers. The big plus is the free Internet access for the first 30 minutes (computers provided) and RMB5 for every 30 minutes after, a pretty good deal indeed!

I checked-in and went to my room, a 8-bed male dorm on the fourth floor. I found a young, boyish-looking man (with floppy hair just like Justin Bieber!! – lol) sitting on my bed. His name is Jona. Jona is a couple years younger than me and seemed like a pretty cool guy. I don’t normally talk to stranger but I thought I might be bored to death if I don’t make friend with any English speaking person when I am in China. So, I talked to him.

Jona spent six months travelling in New Zealand and Australia and decided to make a few stops in Asia before heading home to Germany. While we were talking he noticed my Thai passport and no surprise! He was just in Phuket and Bangkok for a week, a few days before he got here. And because he’s been here for a few days then, I assumed he would know more about the city than I do. So, I asked him what he was up to and would he mind if I join him for a day. Of course, he wouldn’t. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum was our destination.

The modern science museum is massive. It hosts half a dozen of exhibition zones and a couple of 3D screens within. The entry fee is RMB 60. I couldn’t afford it and Jona didn’t want to go in alone, so we just walked around and did some shopping at the local market nearby.

Shopping at the local market in China was a nightmare experience – much like doing so in Thailand. That is because if you are a tourist, there’s a huge chance that you might get ripped off. Try to bargain 1/3 of the price the vendor tells you. For example, we got a pair of sunglasses for only RMB20 (from its “original” price, RMB 65).

After a couple of hours of shopping (time mostly spent on waiting for Jona bargaining with the sellers), Jona wanted to take me to the Oriental Pearl Building – quite a walk from the museum, but we walked anyway. It started to rain and got really, really, really cold. We sometimes stopped randomly at some bakery shops on the street just to keep ourselves warm and had free bites at whatever they offered for testing at the counter, and of course we left without buying any – (was poor remember?).

Sometimes we found some local shops selling something interesting. Most of the time we had no idea what it was. So we asked. And yes, most of the time we didn’t get any answer because they don’t speak English. Since they couldn’t understand us, we thought, humm…, it would be fun(ny) to go around and say something like “Excuse me, what is this shit?” to the shop keepers. Amazingly, they just smiled and laughed.

After an hour-(or so)-walk along the dirty and under-constructed footpath in Pudong, we were lost. We tried to keep our eyes on the top of the Pearl Building but it was too foggy. Getting lost can be fun when travelling, but it isn’t so fun when you’re in the mist of the storm. I gave up and suggested that we should go back to the hostel and get ready for a night-out.

We bought a few bottle of beer (ranges from RMB 2 -6) which happened to be cheaper than any bottle of water in China. Met no less than a dozen of new people at the hostel, most of them are from Korean and the other are from European countries and Australia . We played a drinking game, said to be Korean original. Whoever lost, have to drink a full glass of Chinese whiskey mix with (so little) coke or sprite!! It was fun. Some people lost on purpose so they can drink and get drunk really quick before we headed out to a nightclub nearby.

The nightclub that we went to is a bit similar to those in RCA (Bangkok). Most of the crowds were locals (we were probably the only tourists there) and the music is mainly western mainstream and locals pop. I don’t know how expensive the drink are, couldn’t find the list and I was pretty effed up by that stage. Then again, I and Jona went to the Family Mart nearby and buy some booze and drank in the car park while other people were dancing to Lady Gaga and the Thing Things inside.

Had a personal talked with Jona and realized we just encountered similar shituation and bad experience from relationships we were just in. The talk made things a lot easier and hanging out with Jona became more fun and not soooooo awkward like earlier in the day. I didn’t go to bed until nearly 5am.

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The train arrived at Shanghai Railway Station around 10.15AM. It took an hour to go through the immigration. Well, it could have been quicker, but you know what they say about Chinese people. They don’t really understand the concept of queuing (no offense).

Shanghai was foggy and bloody cold. It was 4C degree and I have never been somewhere this cold before. Before I left Bangkok, my father was a little worried because he remembered I last less than 10 minutes in a Snow Town (above 10C degree) at the theme park. I was freezing and my fingers got numb. I couldn’t feel what I was touching. I had to unpacked my suitcase (right at the train station), with help from Henny, and wore more appropriate clothes – (2) shirts and (2) jackets.

After saying good-bye to Henny, Perry and Boss, I managed to find a subway station nearby. As much as Shanghai claims to be modern, I could not seem to find a single self-service ticket machine at Shanghai MRT Station.

I went to the box office but the lady there did not understand where I wanted to go. I showed her my map, from Lonely Planet, and the address of my hostel. The lady did not bother to have a look because the map and the letter printed in the book was too small. She couldn’t work out where I wanted to go. I gave up.

I walked around the station with my large suitcase, looking like an idiot and showing my map to any Chinese who walked by. Some stopped, but as soon as they knew I couldn’t speak Chinese, they said sorry and walked away. (So Tip#three: do your homework – have your destination ready written in Chinese. I didn’t have a single pen with me then)

Historic District, the Bund

Historic District, The Bund

I went back to the box office and stood there for minutes, looking like I was about to cry for mom. I was this close to turn around and go back to the railway station and catch the next train back to Hong Kong.

But, I must have done some good deets. A middle age Chinese woman walked up and rescued me. She spoke English!!! I showed her my map, told her I wanted to go to the Bund area. She took me the box office and bought me a ticket. She explained that I should take Metro Line 1 to People’s Sqaure, then change to Metro Line 2 and get off at West Nanjin Rd Station. I thanked her hugely in Chinese three times, “Xiexie, xiexie, xiexie” (it’s the only Chinese word I learned when I was on the train). She asked where did I come from. I told her I came from Thailand, and again, I got Chinese people excited !!! She was so cute. She said she had been to Bangkok and she loves Thai food. I, then, fet I was so lucky to be Thai because wherever I go, whoever I talk to – everybody loves Thailand!

I took the train, got off at West Nanjin Rd Station like the lady suggested. Spent half an hour trying to find my hostel, Captain International Youth Hostel (37 Fuzhouh Road). Again, Lonely Planet sucked. Either the map was completely wrong, or I was too dumb to understand it. I wanted to take a taxi but I couldn’t. I am on a very tight budget. Guess how much RMB I exchanged? RMB200!!. RMB100 for two nights in a hostel, and RMB100 for food and drink (and I already spent RMB20 on the train). I walked block-to-block, with Lonely Planet in hands, hoping someone would noticed that I needed some helps. But that method did not work.

Until I saw a group of young European travellers a few meters in front of me. I didn’t ask where they are going. My instinct, somehow, told me that I should just… follow them. (To be continued…)

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I got to Hung Hom station around 2:00 PM as it suggested on the ticket. Exchanged HKD to RMB. I tried to find the counter that offer the best rate. Most of the counters offer RMB 100 for HKD 111.7, but I found this “First Exchange” by the station’s main entrance offered RMB 100 for HKD 109. I thought I was lucky and thought about recommending it. But when I exchanged my money the rate was just the same as everywhere else. I asked why did they display HKD 109 for RMB 100. “Ohh, I forgot to change that” he replied. [So tip#number one: don't waste your time, just exchange your money at any counter because they offer the same rate - just like at the airport.]

Much like the airport, you will have to go through immigration (Chinese Visa requires) process but it didn’t take long. Waiting area for T100 (Hong Kong – Shanghai) has duty free shops offer some good deals for last minute shopping.

Boarding the train was a nightmare. I got pushed like a wanted baby doll by middle age Chinese ladies. There are about 22 rooms, six bed for each. Reading my ticket and I couldn’t figured out which one is mine. I did not know where to ask for help, nobody because speaks English. All they did was just pushing me around so they can get to their beds and keep their luggage into places. I stood there and looked dumb as rock until I found an innocent looking Chinese-boy. I handed him my ticket and use sign language to ask for help. Apparently I was in the right spot and my bed was in the same room as him, on the very top and close to the roof of the train.

The train left Hung Hom Station before I even notice and all the chaotic on the walkway has already stopped. I sat quietly on a chair in front of my room and the Chinese boy who helped me earlier joined ( his English name is Boss).

Boss offered me a can of coffee. We tried to make a conversation with help from Chinese phrases at the back of my Lonely Planet, but it didn’t go very far. Until 45 minutes later when we reached Shenzhen, Henny, an Indonesian girl came and talked to me. Hendy is a university student from Taiwan, traveling to Shanghai with her Hong Kongnese friend, Perry. So it became a group conversation, four of us – having Henny as a interpreter if I wanted to talk to Boss.

Along the way, I also met an English Ph.D student, Dan. He lives in Beijing but was traveling to around China. While I and Dan were having a chat, a Chinese man who overheard that I came from Bangkok got really excited. The Chinese man talked to me in English, said he has been to Bangkok before, many times. He likes zhee-mao in Thailand. At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about until Henny told me that he meant to say “shemale” (HAA!). But he likes Korean girls more now. I didn’t ask his wha his name was but I’m sure if all of my zhee-mao friends see him, they would marry him! He’s that adorable. (Yep, adorable).

The train stopped in Guangdong for an hour and it was the last city we saw before the sunset. Me, Hendy, Perry and Boss went to a dinner coach. The food was really good and it amazingly cheap. We shared four dishes (RMB 15 – 25), four rice (RMB 1, each!!) and beer (RMB 15). [Tip# two, they only accept Chinses Dollar (RMB) so exhcnage your money before boarding the train]. I felt a little embarrassed because I didn’t know how to use chopsticks on rice properly. But I was with nice people, they asked for a soup spoon for me so

I have so much fun and I think made the right choice coming to Shanghai by train. Two months ago I wrote about taking this trip and my goals were to be able to make new friends, to be more confident and less shy when talking to strangers, and of course, to see more of China through Chinese people. I could possibly say I was one of the worst people alive. I judged. I was hopping that this trip would change my persepectives toward many things, though my missions have already accomplised before T100 even left Hong Kong. I think I like China now.
Paul Sprite
12.40 AM/ 01.02.10
In the middle of nowhere in China

P.S. The condition of the train is rather good. You get what you pay for. I am on a hard-sleeper bed, the cheapest one. It is not sso bad. I wouldn not compare my 20-hour flight experience with T100, though if I have a choice I would take a train more often from now on.

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