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Published: June 23rd 2005
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10:00am
I wanted to leave Shanghai tonight if possible. I had so much to do. I had to buy a pot to cook the maggie mee's i brought with me, i needed to cut my hair botak (in case someone wants to rob me, he'd think twice when he saw my botak hair), i needed to look for a body pouch, i needed a copy of lonely planet (since the book i got sucked big time!), and i really wanted to visit the Shanghai meauseum.
10:30am Huai Hai Road
Got my hair cut and headed towards Huai Hai Road. First things first. A body pouch to store most of my cash and my passport in case someone steals things from my pouch while i sleep. In China, people aren't violent like Malaysia but they are fucking creative when it comes to covertness. They can curi your things without you realizing it at all. Anyway, i asked Grace for directions to Isetan (for the second time) and made my way there. I couldn't find the pouch. Thank god i already have something similar given to me by my sisters mother in law. So it'll have to do. After taking more photos
of street Shanghai, my camera suddenly stopped functioning. Mind you, this camera was a gift from my sister which she only bought not even a week ago. This was the worst time something like this could happen. And i needed my favorite toy. So i walked back to Xintiandi (which was 2 kilometers away) and took the receipt. DAMN!! ITS IN CHINESE!! I cant reach my sister (she's in bangkok). AND I DONT KNOW WHERE SHE BOUGHT IT!!
12:00am Huai Hai Road
I walked aimlessly around Huai Hai road and i showed so many people the receipt for directions to which building i was supposed to go. None of them were any help. You see, shopping malls in Shanghai consists of a few things only. Restaurants, IT shops and Camera shops. So my sister could have bought it anywhere. Finally, i got lucky. I went into this building selling IT and cameras only and asked this guy if he knew where the receipt came from. He pointed behind me. I walked to where he pointed and asked the next guy. He pointed somewhere else. And so i followed the trail till i found the shop. After a whole lot
of miscommunication i surmise that the guy is trying to tell me that the fastest way for me to fix this camera is go straight to Olympus building at the far side of town. And i needed to leave TONIGHT! So he scribbled on a peice of paper something in chinese, i grabbed it and took a cab to wherever this address might take me.
2:30pm 11th floor, Olympus headquarters, Somewhere southwest of Shanghai
THEY SPEAK ENGLISH!! Heh... They told me that they can't give me a new camera because they have no stock available. But they can try to repair it with a service fee of Y50. I paid the money and waited with my fingers crossed. An hour later, my camera was good as new. I expediently bolted my way out of that cursed building and realized that i knew not where i was. I needed to set my priorities straight. First thing is, Lonely Planet. Now where the hell am i supposed to find an english book amidst all this unintelligable hustle and bustle? But i remember reading that it was somewhere along Fuzhou Road. I hailed a cab and got my way there.
4:00pm
What if it rains? Tak rosak ke the escalator?
Ok i need to ask you guys if the escalators in other countries aren't covered as well. Somewhere along Fuzhou Road.
God, please tell me where i can find this bookshop? The cab driver dropped me off in front of a massive bookstore. If i'm lucky, i might find lonely planet here. EVERY BOOK IN THE BUILDING IS IN CHINESE ALL THE WAY TO THE 5th FLOOR. They had english lit books translated to mandarin, spiderman comics in mandarin, heck even DA VINCI CODE in mandarin. Things are getting less promising so i needed to find that bookshop. 20 mintes later, i found it. I bougt a detailed map of china and a copy of lonely planet.
5:00pm Huai Hai Road
I took a metro subway to Huai Hai road and walked another kilometer into the train ticket branch. You see, i decided to go to beijing before since my friend lives there and at least i had a guide, but i changed my mind at the last minute due to last minute read of the lonely planet. There was a few places i really had to visit on the way to beijing. Hefei (a small town in a valley) and BouZhou (the place where Fa Mulan was born). So i booked a train ticket to
Hefei first. It leaves tonight at 10:45pm. After that, i walked back to Xintiandi and on the way bought the maggie pot i needed. Its now 6:55pm. This will be the last entry for the next couple of days since there are no cybercafe's except in Beijing. I took some really funny pictures for you guys to look at. Good luck to me! Adios.
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salmah
salmah din
What the notice says by the flower bed is " do not eat the flowers and do not eat the frogs" hehe.