Shanghai China Snippets Observations about living in Shanghai and China in general

It was supposed to be a Christmas performance we were going to attend. It turned out to be a disco with X-mas decoration.

Christmas is good business for entertainment venues as Chinese take it as an extra chance to have a party.

Each table in the place had a nice sign with the minimum one had to spend. The nicer the table, the better the seats, the more expensive.

It was enjoyable and enlightening to see the crowds using inflatable bats donned with the American flag to hit others over the head. To confuse things more the tissue paper box was branded by Che Guevara. It was great fun though.

Contrary to yesterday tonight there was no guy sitting next to the elevator. Instead the chair had moved into the elevator with two girls handing out businesscards while whispering, ni yao anmo ma?.

Again I declined the offer for massage. Maybe tomorrow evening they will already be in my room, including the chair.

We’ll leave tomorrow so I will miss out on that.

We are staying in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, visiting W.’s family.
Just had a nice dinner with one of her friends and as Chengdu dialect is the mode of communication I took an early leave to the hotel so W. and her friend could catch up without being bothered by me.

We stay in the Chengdu Hotel, once the hotel of Chengdu, now a bit degenerated with a pool without water and a tenniscourt without a net. I walk towards the elevator and my eyes spot a guy sitting on a chair next to it. I didn’t see him during the day. He jumps up, seeing that I am alone and hands me a nice business card for massage services. I guess that a hotel loosing a star has to go many ways to find additional sources of income.

As an aside, living in Shanghai has saved me from a lot of spontaneous uttered hello’s by grown up Chinese men. I was happy today to realize that they still exist, these Hellunatics that think there is something sophisticated about barking into a foreigners face, HELLO. I am sure he has a nice story to tell to the wife at dinner tonight.

I know, I promised the 1.5 reader of my blog I would stay clear of the Shanghai Daily. Just as I had detoxed myself from the online version I bought today’s paper version and saw this ad.

Bring your own water I suggest.

For those of you who like to know what really is going on in Harbin I refer to Zonaeuropa, which has a very updated page of the latest events.

Pick your acre…

Property is hot here in China. I wrote before about the real estate bubble in Shanghai so I won’t repeat.

The moon though is the newest property you can invest in. One acre of Moon sets you back a mere 298 RMB, about 37 US dollars. Not much considering you get an certificate that ensures your property is yours.

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Back now in Shanghai for a couple of days but still intended to give an overview of the best places in Kunming concerning Food & Drinks and Miscll. It’s vey subjective (some info based on the experiences of Kunming long stayers ) so feel free to contact me if you disagree:)
All locations are inbetween the Green lake park and Yunnan University (Yunda)

Kunming | Western Food

Salvador’s Coffee House

The best coffee & great bagels. Also the most expensive in it’s range but when you live in Shanghai everything is cheap here.

Address: Wen Lin Jie, #76 Wen Hua Xiang

Chapter One

If you intend to get drunk early this is the best place to start. From 09:30 till 18:30 you pay 5 kuai for a Gin Tonic. Great hamburgers although breakfast is not that tempting I have been told. Hanburgers will do just fine though. Their wireless internet is very convenient and they have the biggest collection of books youo can rent, buy or swap.

Address: ＃149 Wen Lin Jie

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