Extraordinary Shanghai

Something quite extraordinary about Shanghai is that a vast majority of people speak rather loudly. In fact you may say they do not speak but they shout. You can be walking in the street and suddenly there is shouting going on. At first I thought there was a squabble but after awhile I realised that this is a very Shanghainese thing; it's normal to speak loudly.

And then once in awhile you'll come across a real quarrel which is almost a daily feature you'll find on the streets. At least it's true for the duration of my stay. This loud verbal combat can be really dramatic. Enjoy the following video clips : )

Depart for Shanghai

I am back! As I've mentioned in my earlier post I wasn't able to access Blogger from Shanghai so this journal is 10 days late. It is pretty frustrating not being able to visit my favorite websites which I habitually do on a daily basis. Anyway let me start with our departure from Singapore Changi International Airport. Sister-in-law who works in the airport helped with the checking in.

Leaving on a jet plane.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....." These lyrics from an old song by Peter, Paul and Mary "Leaving on a jet plane" keeps repeating in my mind these last two days. My bags are however not packed as of now. Today have been a really busy day clearing my work before the trip. This means taking in more dog grooming appointments by the regulars. The empty luggage bag is lying on the ground waiting to be filled. I do have a printed list though of the things to pack. We are flying China Eastern Airline tomorrow 4pm departure time.

Picked up some RMB (Chinese Yuan) at People's Park Complex on the way to dinner at Smith Street China Town Complex Food Centre. Dinner cost us below $40.00 for the four of us - Steamed Fish Head in Bean Sauce, stir fried Sambal (Spicy) Sweet Potato Leaves, Sweet and Sour Pork Cutlet and Omelet. Value for money. I ordered Sour Sup Fruit Drink from the nearby Fruit Drink Stall. It was so so sweet I couldn't finish it even after adding water to dilute. I think the stall holder boiled the fruit in sugar syrup.  China Town Complex Food Centre houses quite a good number of Zi Char Stall (Chinese Cooked Food Stall) and most of them offer Fish Head with different sauces on their menu. Majority of them are Cantonese cuisine.