Thursday, December 02, 2004
i've gone and shanghai-ed again. i think i'm gonna coin the word shanghai. the word encompasses so many emotions, feelings and things. animate and inanimate. there's a vibe there which makes everything so bright and depressing. it's the third time i've been there and each time, there's a new experience, a new awakening, a new realisation. but one major difference from the previous trips was that i felt part of it. i didn't feel like the passer-by/outsider/tourist looking in. i was more integrated with the whole environment. more assured.
it wasn't all play and no work either. staying at m dad's place meant work. i've been washing dishes for 13 days. and done other household chores. so this sounds pretty whiny and all. i mena, i rarely do any of this. initially i was quite irritated. but after a while, it became, let's say..therapeutic. and by doing work, you feel immensely rewarded with play!
i didn't do much sightseeing. having been there twice before, i've seen practically every single attraction in shanghai itself and most of the major cities in the jiangnan area. major sightseeing was the shanghai science and tech museum(it's better than the science centre many times), spent like 5 hours there. went to wu zhen a water town, i love all the old buildings with oriental architecture. and we drove 2 hours to yangcheng lake for hairy crabs. we rode through this park called tinglin yuan in kunshan city coz we were rushing for time. the park's relaly pretty, with modern and and old fixtures. and it's big and gorgeous. if i go there the next time, i'm spending 4 hours in the park.
shopping was a major highlight. the autumn season's clothes were having discounts coz winter's setting in. i ended up buying turtlenecks and long stuffs which are not exactly applicable to our hot and humid climate. i must say that shanghai weather's a really gratifying and pleasant change from the weather here. the cold air in your face as opposed to the oppressive heat. of course we got around by their mrt most of the time. and we walked a lot. easily two bus stops to get to teh enxt destination. what we deem far by our standards is in their case really near.
i miss shanghai. there's a force that keeps propelling people forward. something which is lacking here.
