I know a lot of ppl have been asking me to update my blog with my Shanghai trip updates. Hmm...i have no idea where to start. Let's start with the flight there. It was pretty uneventful except for the hilarious text printed at the back of the arrival-departure card. There have been lots of jokes in e-mails regarding the China's English, but it really hit me that all those forwarded e-mails are true after all. In the card, visitors were called aliens (not sure if visitors are really called aliens in mandarin direct translation).
Actually a lot of unlucky things happened to me during this trip. Up to a point that I felt that i was jinxed. The moment i touched down in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I collected my luggage and proceeded outside to get a cab. The moment i stepped out of the airport, i was greeted by a gush of cold wind. The temperature at Shanghai was only 13 degrees and i was shivering under my supposedly Malaysian standard thick cardigan. Remembering, Celia's advice, i got into the official taxi line. I know a lot of ppl in China do not understand English, but i do expect the taxi counter at the airport to understand English after all they deal with a lot of foreigners everyday. Btw there was no counter just a line and a man holding a clip board - that does not understand English. Anyway i showed them the hotel address that i wrote in Mandarin and hop onto a cab. I tried talking to the cab driver in my broken madarin, but he did not seem to understand me so i gave up. The meter on the taxi kept running...and the cab driver kept driving for more than an hour. I kept looking for signs/sign boards showing roads that i recognized. But all that was so alien to me, and i have to admit i was afraid that the cab driver was driving me off to somewhere and sell me. I even took down his taxi license number ....hahaha. Like that's gonna help me. Anyhow, the taxi driver took me to the wrong hotel and did not understand me telling him its the worng hotel. At last i had to get the valet from the wrong hotel to translate to the driver to take me to the right hotel. Anyway at last the driver took me to the right hotel luckily.
Actually a lot of unlucky things happened to me during this trip. Up to a point that I felt that i was jinxed. The moment i touched down in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I collected my luggage and proceeded outside to get a cab. The moment i stepped out of the airport, i was greeted by a gush of cold wind. The temperature at Shanghai was only 13 degrees and i was shivering under my supposedly Malaysian standard thick cardigan. Remembering, Celia's advice, i got into the official taxi line. I know a lot of ppl in China do not understand English, but i do expect the taxi counter at the airport to understand English after all they deal with a lot of foreigners everyday. Btw there was no counter just a line and a man holding a clip board - that does not understand English. Anyway i showed them the hotel address that i wrote in Mandarin and hop onto a cab. I tried talking to the cab driver in my broken madarin, but he did not seem to understand me so i gave up. The meter on the taxi kept running...and the cab driver kept driving for more than an hour. I kept looking for signs/sign boards showing roads that i recognized. But all that was so alien to me, and i have to admit i was afraid that the cab driver was driving me off to somewhere and sell me. I even took down his taxi license number ....hahaha. Like that's gonna help me. Anyhow, the taxi driver took me to the wrong hotel and did not understand me telling him its the worng hotel. At last i had to get the valet from the wrong hotel to translate to the driver to take me to the right hotel. Anyway at last the driver took me to the right hotel luckily. Picture of the hotel....
After checking in and dropping my luggage, i instantly went downstairs to walk around the area. I had no idea where i was walking to but i just kept walking and walking. The street (i don't know the name) was brightly lighted with neon lights. Quite a pretty sight. Anyway i walked till i felt a little insecure and freaky...i quickly headed back to the hotel. 
It was 11pm by that time so i called dine in. I had the saltiest worse tasting shanghainese noddles ever. After that?....zzzzzzzzz of course.
View from my hotel room...
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