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Published: April 22nd 2010
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After Lisa left, it was as if some thing was missing between Oryoon and I. We did not head out together as she was headed for shopping along Nanjing East Road and I was headed for the Bund. The Bund was well, a tad bit disappointing as it was all hoarded up for some sort of renovation, no doubt in preparation for the Shanghai Expo in less than a month's time. I walked along the street next to the Bund and pretended to admire the architecture. I seriously know nuts about architecture besides the fact that i went for an interview at the Building and Architecture Faculty and made a fool out of myself years ago. All i know is the buildings look nice and i want to take a picture of them.
As i wandered along the streets, i find myself at the bridge leading to the Zhabei district with a unobstructed view of the Pudong area. There were of course alot of other people on that bridge trying to take a picture of the infamous skyline as proof that they were indeed in Shanghai. The Russian embassy across the bridge was closed for the day and that blew
my plans of getting myself a Visa to Russia. I walked around aimlessly in the Zhabei District and finally settled in a cafe i found. After a rest in the cafe, i left in search of Qipu Road where my mum's Shanghai friend has suggested i visit. I walked around asking for directions every 10-15minutes and finally gave up after 1.5hours. I ate dinner in a chinese eatery which is due to close in a week and thus has limited offerings from the menu and headed back to the hostel.
I met Oryoon who just came back from shopping at the dining area and watched a silly movie on the big screen before heading off to check my emails. I had made plans to meet Aaron, a aussie boy i met in Beijing about a month ago, the next day before he flies back home the next day. Emails went back and forth between us and we finally decided to visit the Yu Garden the next day. Yes, it's the same Yu Gardens i went with Lisa and Oryoon the day before but i did not know what else to suggest. My other plans around Shanghai involves me and
myself and i wanted very much to keep it that way. So the Yu Gardens it is...
Oryoon has a really early flight the next day and had to wake up at 4.30am but her alarm on her mobile was not working so i set my alarm and said my goodbyes to her semi awake at 4.30am. At around 10am i went for the identical free breakfast provided by the hostel for the past 3days and went off to meet Aaron at the Yu Gardens metro station. We went to ChengHuang Temple which is near the Yu Gardens , stood around and watched some Taoist chanting ceremony, walked around the temple a little and had our heads and back whacked. No, we were not chased out of the temple. It's some traditional chinese massage technique where they hit you with a bunch of sticks that is supposed to draw out toxins from your body. It was 20Y for 30minutes of whacking so we went for it. After the whacking, we stroll around the Yu Gardens. Although this would be my 2nd time in the gardens in 3days, i was still fascinated by the sights.
Aaron on the other hand, having seen thousands of chinese gardens in Suzhou was not as enthralled as i was.
After the Yu Gardens we went to Xin Tiandi and had lunch/dinner before heading towards the Bund for the Huangpu River night cruise. The less obstructed night view long the river was great minus the freezing breeze on the boat. Our 1hour cruise ended at 7.30pm and we went for a drink near the Zhabei Bridge while waiting for Earth Hour to come and the city to black out. Aaron, the aussie had a red wine of course and i had myself a long island iced tea. Slightly warmed by the alcohol in us we braved the cold air on the bridge and waited... 8.30pm......... 8.35pm............... ............. 8.40pm and that was it. Pttf! I was expecting a more dramatic view then that. Disappointed, we walked along the brightly lit street next to the Bund and hailed a taxi back to our respective hostels. It will be Aaron's last day in China tomorrow and my last night in Shanghai...
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