Shanghai, Day 4 - Part 3 (The Bund)

What fascinated me about this city is not about the sophisticated skyscraper...

Well, the charm of the Ol' Shanghai lies at....

THE BUND

When i first saw the itinerary, i noticed that the Bund wasn't included...hence i slip-in my own program...that is to stroll along The Bund.

after all, this is what Shanghai is famous for...the colonial buildings!

since kid, i was fascinated with Art Deco architectures, especially those Gothic ones...hence a visit to The Bund is a MUST!

The whole stretch along this row of building is full of uniquely designed architectures which now houses some of the international banks, government offices, and boutique hotels.

it's sort of heritage and these buildings have definitely stand the test of time and still stood strong despite many bombings by the Japanese during 2nd World War. Well, of course some restoration has been carried out after then...and the façade still remain original as it was.

i was mesmerized by the huge grand entrance at some of the buildings.

the heavy doors and textured walls and ceiling.

like it so MUCH

back to the streets...the blossoming flowers reminds me of spring...

this place is well-guarded by police.

more colourful flowers around the pavement.

Below: The Agricultural Bank of China. ABC ranks 3rd in Forbes’ 11th annual Global 2000 ranking of the biggest, most powerful and most valuable companies in the world. Fuiyohh....dun play play!

magnificent window arch.

well, i actually went in to one of the bank hoping to bump into some rich merchant...and first time seeing an ol' fashioned bank with high fenced counters...unfortunately no photo taking allowed in the bank.

alrite, enuff of the building exterior...i stopped by The Peninsula hotel to have an evening tea....a pee..

am a cheapo...i 'tumpang' using their washroom...

the washroom was well attended by an "attendant" dressed in French-maid-uniform...kinda cute!

well, in case u wanna have some evening tea...here's the place!

i wish to, but was running outta time as my 2-hour freedom wasn't enuff...and i gotta run back to the assembling point...which is a few miles from here.

i wish i could hop onto this bus to bring me back to Nanjing road...haih...lazy to walk....

After Holiday Blues....

This is how I feel today....and the comin' days of the week :-(

I only have a brain with limited processing speed, and yet everything is urgent...wth!

subordinate on leave, boss is abroad...

left me alone to run the operation...wth! wth! wth!

Shanghai, Day 4 - Part 2 (Lunch & Nanjing Road)

Around noon, we reached our 'makan place' for lunch...true enuff, this was another sumptuous meal (just like any other meals we had)...by now, i got used to our usual "10-dishes meal"...Here it goes:

Dish 1: Pork skin (aka "zhu pei") in gravy. Not a fan of "zhu pei", hence i took only a piece.

Dish 2: Fried fish nugget...i like this coz the fish nugget were pure fish meat without mixing in flour or preservatives...

The saucer next to it contains salt with pepper to dip the fish nugget (which i tink is not necessary coz the fish itself is already flavorful)

Dish 3: Lala...

as usual, u'l expect the lala's torn off from the shell...I just gotta find 'em hidden somewhere outta shells.

Dish 4: Tong-Po pork is back!!! Like this to the MAX!

Dish 5: Prawns...eh why the skin not peeled?

Lazy to eat coz lazy to do peeling. SKIP!

Dish 6: can't remember...some sort of soup with meat dumplings in it (i guess)..I wonder what was those white cubes...*forgetful liao

Dish 7: familiar dish again...yea, steamed fish! fresh fish but too much tiny bones...

Dish 8: Slice pork in dark sauce...Flavorful & nice to go with rice!

Dish 9: Fried glass noodles...not bad though.

Dish 10: kelp soup...plain & so-so ler....

there goes my 'luxurious' lunch...which was not really that luxurious if compared to the previous days...

after lunch, we went back to Nanjing Road for some shopping...finally we were able to spend some time at this shopping district despite being staying here for the past few days!

Nanjing Road comprises of East & West. A large section of the East road is designed for pedestrian only...

Some buildings around the vicinity are still preserved well...at least the façade is still looking good!

the group were dispersed for the next 2 hours to do some shoppings before returning for the next activity -- BODY MASSAGE!

and this was our final chance for shopping hence we were told to spend our time "wisely"!

but being an un-wise me...i did not follow the advise and ventured out of Nanjing Road to....

somewhere

Shopping can be done anytime back in KL, but that particular "somewhere" shouldn't be missed out!

yea...that "place" will be disclosed in my next post!

Shanghai, Day 4 - Part 1 (Tianzifang)

Day 4 was meant to be a leisure day, meaning, rather than travelling out of the city, we spent most time around Shanghai for shopping and....body massage.

Morning was spent at this maze-looking place called Tianzifang. 

why is it called 'maze'? just look at the below map...even by looking at it I will still got lost in between the small alleys and dead end blocks. Anyhow, I just "go with the flow" and let myself lost in the maze while doing my souvenirs shopping.

eventually there is a simpler version, but when u r being thrown into the 'maze field' with distraction (I mean attractive goods to-look-at), u will end up not bothering looking into it anymore.

along some corners there are alfresco-like dining place...this place must be very happening durin' the evening (at least I thought so!)

it was morning then, thus most of the restaurant or even shops yet to open...

Tianzifang is an arts and crafts enclave that has developed from a renovated residential area in the French Concession area of Shanghai...u will be surrounded by "Shikumens" (Shanghainese old houses)...some are still occupied, but many has transformed into shops and restaurants.

i managed to get my souvenirs shopping done...and with ample time left, i ventured into the morning market located nearby.

Saw plenty of foods being sold for breakfast, such as sausage buns, spring rolls, fresh Pao's.

all looking very nice and delicious.

prices were reasonable too...

the morning market has all sorts of veggies, melons, beans etc in giant size (or slightly bigger size than ours).

the pricelist board hung at one corner, in case u r curious of the price.

it is an indoor market...it has shops selling various dried items, spices and herbs too.

tucked in one corner...where u'l find all sorts of ingredients for cooking.

being a lil' adventurous i ventured further from the area and went into some shoplots, as there was still much time before the group assemble at waiting point.

went up to a clothes boutique shop and browsed around...

still got time...i went across the street...

and observed people's daily life...haha...am being "kepochi" now.

yea, i enjoyed people-watching....

then some familiar aromas came from this shop...reminds me of some dim sum stalls

ahh....i like the hot and warm buns aroma.

Assorted Pao's available here...but i didn't buy (coz knowing lunch later will be another sumptuous meal)...

sniffing it is as satisfying enuff ;-)

Don't know what to do with these World Cup chickie?!

these are what we collected during the last World cup (months ago) - yeapzz...it's softtoys!!!

There are about 10 softtoys sitting at home (slightly or more, lost count) collected during the World Cup craze.

While we have gave out a few, we retain the Champion - Germany!

and the 2nd runner up (aka the "winner" of the Final's loser match - is tis the correct word???) - the Netherlands

there were a few remaining, having no idea on how to 'utilize' them, we put them for a group shot.

here's the sexy butts!

head-to-head photo shot 

perhaps 'hand-in-hand'?

 or 'back-to-back'

ok...enuff of my nonsense posts...

till then Adieu!