These Few Days

The weekend was rather quiet. Actually I cannot really remember what I did on Saturday! I could remember meeting up with Derrick on Sunday, though.... hmm.......must be the age! Hahahahaha!

Went to UOB this afternoon. Was supposed to pass a gift to David on behalf of Richard H'ng..... I left it in the taxi! So careless of me! The worse thing was.... I could not remember the colour of the taxi! Called Comfort/CitiCab and hopefully some kind soul will return the gift.... so terrible of me......

Had lunch with some ex-colleagues. Today is Kelly and Alicia last day. Met Alicia and wished her best wishes!

It's not going to be easy for PD. NATAS is exactly 1 month's time. Hope they can sail through. Was told that sales figure not very promising.......

Received an sms regarding the job interview. Should have the confirmation news by tomorrow. Hopefully, it's good news. Will be a new start for me again.....

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Surprised!

Was chatting with ex colleague on msn and heard that my ex boss and another manager have tendered and the last day would be Monday! This is really a surprise!

I knew that she would not be there long....but did not expect to be so soon! Must really be bad........The Manager resigned without securing any job! She has had enough!

Well....certainly wish them all the best....they were very kind to me when I was there....


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Back To Reality

It's 2 weeks since I finished off at UOBTP. Been too relaxed, I think! The short trip to Shanghai was great! Never thought I would actually visit China till I am 50+.....! Hahahahahaha!

Yesterday, I had a interview and put on my usual business attire. Was feeling a little uncomfy! Hahahahaha! Anyway, the interview went rather well. Just waiting for the HR to revert. They hope I could start work 1st July...that's next week! I am OK...but that means I have to cancel my trip to NZ. Well, will see how it goes!

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About Shanghai

During this trip to Shanghai, certain things caught my attention..

1. Since 1st June, the shops have gone green. Bring your own bag or pay for the bag. A lot of people actually pays for the bags... additional 20 cents or more, depending on the size.
2. The MRT system is very efficient. Just outside the Hotel I stayed was the entrance to the MRT - Line 4. As the hotel is over at PuDong, needed to travel to PuXi most of the time. PuXi is where the happenings are. PuDong is a newly developed area and the famous HuaiHai Road and Nan Jing Road are over at PuXi.

What struck me most was the MRT card. I bought a stored value card and you could use it on MRT, Bus, and even Taxi. I actually paid my taxi fare using the MRT card! It was really great! They should have this here....

3. When I was shopping at 1 supermarket and about to leave the place, the security guard checked my receipt! Apparently, this is very common at a lot of places. I thought it was quite cool..... hahahahaha!

4. Most of the time when I pay using the RMB100 note, the cashier would check to see if it is genuine. There's too many fake notes floating in China and usually the cashier would check. So far so good.....

5. One night, I paid for dinner and Richard asked for receipt. I found out that there's lucky scratch on the RMB100 receipt. Every RMB100 receipt gets a scratch! This is really interesting! Maybe we should have this here......

6. Many places have discount at this moment. Instead of stating 50%, many place would state 'spend RMB300 and you will get back RMB150'!

7. On the 1st day of arrival, I was waiting to get on to the car and Oliver jokingly asked if I was going to drive! I was standing at the driver's side! In China, its left hand driver! Opposite with us! Also, we have to look left first and then right, before crossing!

8. Travelled across the Huangpu Bridge a couple of times. This is the bridge linking PuDong and PuXi. Very nice Bridge, looks very much like the Yokohama Rainbow Bridge. Of course, there's also underground tunnels linking both.

9. Travelling outside Shanghai would be fun. Place such as Zhou Zhuang, Zhujiajiao ...riverside towns are great to move around. Of course, there is also Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Xitang and Wuzhen which are within 200km from Shanghai

10. XinTianDi is the place to hang out at night. Many pubs, restaurants, eateries, etc.. Ang Mohs hang out place! Great place to meet up with friends! Not cheap, though!

Will I go back to Shanghai again????? Yes, of course!!!!!

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Shanghai ...... Part II ( 19 - 24 June)

Did not do much on Monday. Stayed in apartment .... relaxed....

Went to nearby Yaohan to take a look. .... a stretch of shopping complexes. Met up with Xiao Fei and then back to apartment.

Went out with Richard and Xiao Fei for dinner. went to Wu Jiang Road which was the Food Street. Basically it was just a street with shops selling grilled/barbecue stuff. Decided to go somewhere else for dinner. Walked aimlessly for a while before decided on a Sichuan restaurant. The food was rather good.... especially the basin of chili and pepper/chili oil (catfish dish)! They enjoyed the '口水鸡' dish (steam chicken with lots of chili oil) very much! After dinner, we went over to XinTianDi （新天地） to take a look - lots of pubs & restaurants - like Boat Quay/Clarke Quay.

Another relaxed day on Tuesday. Went to the nearby Wal-mart (big supermarket near the apartment). Had breakfast at 好工夫 （Bruce Lee) restaurant...simple fare but delicious! Watched a couple of DVDs (that boring????? NO...it was rather relaxing...) before it was time to 'check out'. Met up with Richard for coffee before Louis came to pick me up.

Went over to Oliver's office to take a look. Was supposed to have dinner with Richard and guests but had to cancel. Ended up having dinner with Oliver (n staff) and Jennifer. Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant. Eat all you want at RMB150.... drinks included! Such a good deal!

Then, it was time to go to the airport. Check in was rather speedy. Lots of people on this midnight flight. Shops at this airport look rather miserable. Hardly see anyone shop. The staff were not very service oriented as well... Anyway, soon....home sweet home.Arrived at about 5am this morning..... the flight was smooth..... glad to be back.... need to rest....recharge......

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Shanghai...Part I (19 - 24 June)

Arrived into Shanghai on Thursday night after 5 hours' flight. My 1st trip to China! Wow!!!! Upon arrival, cleared immigration and custom and Xiao Fei was at the airport to meet me. He travelled 2 hours by bus from home to airport! So touched! Sob...sob...sob....
Waited for Oliver to come and he was running late. Finally came and drove us to the hotel - Sheraton Hotel & Residence. Took about 40 mins to get to hotel. Richard was at the lobby to welcome us.
Checked in into his apartment. It was great catching up with him again! Ordered room service and freshened up before calling it a night.

Got up early on Friday morning, though slept late the night before! Older people sleep less!Went to Huai Hai Road and then Nan King Road and also Superbrand Mall before returning to the apartment. Met up with friends of Richard for drinks and dinner (at Chinese restaurant in hotel).

Saturday morning was to Yu Garden. Big huge Garden with lots of shops! Quite an interesting place to visit.
Went to Westin for lunch and met up with the DOS - Lily. lunch was not too bad. After lunch, went to the Bund with Xiao Fei and then back to the apartment to rest before going out for dinner at the Shanghai Uncle Restaurant - Shanghai Food! Food was rather good! Went to the Bund again - for the night view. Early night.

Long day today. Met up with Stanley & Jennifer at around 8am... trip to Zhou Zhuang. This is about 1 hour's drive out of Shanghai. The water village - Venice of the East. Very interesting place and worth spending time walking around the vicinity. Cost 100 RMB to enter. Lunch was delicious! We had the most famous dish there - braised Pig Throttle! Simply delicious! Melt in the mouth! Hahahahaha! We order some dishes and the price was rather reasonable. We also visited Zhujiajiao (similar to Zhou Zhuang). The trip was really worth it!
Dinner tonight was at the 4 Points, together with Lily and Oliver. The company was superb! We had a wonderful time!

The trip continues............

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Shanghai, Here I Come!

Today's the day! Leaving for Shanghai this afternoon! You ask if I am very excited....the truth is .... not really..... why???!!!!!!

Usually I would get excited over a coming trip. However, that feeling does not last. There have been times where I just do not feeling like travelling, the day before the flight! And, I am talking about my own holiday! Strange!

I am looking forward to meet Oliver and Richard. Oliver was a colleague many years ago. Came from Shanghai to work and now back in Shanghai; Richard is a hotelier that I have known since maybe 1993 and now stations in Shanghai. It would be great to catch up with old friends! That reminds me how old I am! Sigh......... Hahahahahaha!


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