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Friday, May 30th. Today was intended to be pick an apartment day, but we have not quite gotten to a final decision. We have decided on SCIS as the school, and will work through the application when I am back home. The apartment decision has not come as easily, however. We have seen so many places with such a range of features, that we have a hard time remembering which is which. We have also realized that location is probably more important than a jacuzzi tub (though it pains me to say this). Mark cannot have a 2 hour commute. He did that back when we had our first apartment (no kids) and he traveled to Batavia every day for 2 years. It was torture. So, we must live near a Metro, for his sanity and the well-being of our family. I don't want him stuck in traffic for hours a day. So now we are down to 2 apartment buildings. We are seeing 3 more units tomorrow in the building we liked best (across the street from huge shopping complex with Carrefour store). It's also 2 minutes from a Metro (subway) station. The kids would have a 15-20 minute bus
ride to school, which is good as well. The only downside is that the apartments there lack some of the features we would enjoy (nicer kitchen, bathrooms). Maybe one of the units today will be "it". Otherwise, we'll make a decision based on what we have seen.
I mentioned we are seeing 2 realtors. They know about each other, and the apartments each has shown us. It's getting quite tense as they both want to make the sale, and are trying to convince us we need to act quickly. Apparently there is a man in Singapore ready to offer more money for one of the apartments we like...the realtor told us this on our cab ride back to the hotel. As if he forgot to tell us, but just realized it at that moment. It's the "only 1 left, buy now!" marketing tactic. I am more inclined to fall for it, but Mark is no sucker. He's calm, cool and collected as always.
After the long day of searching, we switched hotels. This third and final place is nearer Mark's office and a more fun nightlife scene. We are at a hotel called Jia. It's a boutique hotel
and it is probably the coolest hotel I've ever seen. All sorts of great touches and it's beautiful in a W hotel kind of way. I'll post some pics, it is that nice. The room is great, loaded with fun little surprises like a drawer of cables to allow any hookup imaginable (for example, computer to LG Flat screen tv). It has a great bathroom with tub (and bath salts), Shower with rain faucet, and yummy jasmine scented lotions and potions. Robes and soft fuzzy slippers in the closets. There's a mini kitchen area with microwave, glassware, tea sets, a 2 burner stove thing (not going to use that!) The rate includes breakfast, afternoon tea/treats, wine in the evening (we arrived just in time for "wine time"). The bar has a fridge with soft drinks, which we can help ourselves to any time. Free wireless (finally! We've had to pay and be plugged in to get Internet thus far in the trip). A great final stop on my first trip to Shanghai. Mark did all the travel planning and he picked 3 great hotels. All in different areas of the city.
Last night, after wine time, we went to
dinner at a Thai place a few blocks away. It was very good, but we waited for a final dish, and finally realized it was not coming. We were stuffed, so not a big deal. We have been talking about getting massages since we got here and just haven't had time. At this point, we both had back aches, so we decided to go get massages after dinner. Mark knew of a place from his previous visits so we got the name written down in Chinese at the hotel, and went off to find a cab. We walked for what felt like days, and there were no cabs. Just could not get one. Finally, 2 guys stopped on motorcycles and spoke to us in Chinese and gestured at their extra seats and helmets. Mark and I were wise to this optional mode of transport. Ting, the friend we met earlier, told us that this is a very common way that locals get around. Hop on a motorcycle and pay about 5 RMB to get somewhere a cab might charge 15 RMB. She did warn us that Westerners usually pay 10 RMB. So, we decided to do it. It was that
or walk back to the hotel and not have a massage. What would you do? The ride was fun. We both had helmets on, and I was holding on to the guy driving me. I realized when we got to a stop light that Mark was holding onto the seat of his bike. Hmmmn, maybe I should do that too. So I held onto the back of my seat the rest of the way. We got to the place very quickly and stayed together the whole time. I did have a few "what happens if we get separated worries" but all was fine. The bad news is, we got to the destination and we were told it would be 100 RMB. This is only about $14 USD. But still! We are no suckers. Mark fought hard but we finally settled at 60, so about $8 (for both of us). Oh well. It was an experience.
The massage place was underground and very nice, facility-wise. We ended up in a room together and the 2 ladies came in and quickly realized we spoke no Chinese. The massages were good and our backs both feel better. We were both very sniffly
after the massage--the usual face down for a long time sniffles. I am however, still sniffly and feeling very allergic. I hope it goes away, because it feels like I swallowed a full-sized cat.
Hoping to get through the apartment business in the morning so we can go out and search for some treasures. We still have Sunday and a bit of Monday before heading home to our kids.
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Bruno
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Apt. tip
I've heard you can negotiate with the brokers/owners of the apt/ complex. For example, you can ask to have a bigger TV/ bed. This is just what I've heard, haven't actually tested it, but I read it from a few sources. Just thought I'd drop the tip, can't hurt to try right?