Beijing & Shanghai (14-18 Dec 2010)
It was a Monday morning and I just came back from my holiday late last night!
On the usual train to office, I was planning my morning to be relaxed and to take the post-holiday slowly - get a cup of coffee and a bun from breadtalk, catch up news from online CNA, clean my desk from the gathered week old dust, water my mini money plant. That sounds great. Never did I expect I had to pack all the stuff I took time to unpack this morning!
As soon as I entered the office, I was sent to a briefing from a colleague and to collect all that I need from office before heading home to pack! My boss just sent me to China for a week!! I thought he was kidding. But he was dead serious...
I called to shock two others: Wen and Mum. I was supposed to catch a 5pm SQ flight to Beijing but (thankfully) it was full. I was seated on 01:15 flight. Crazy timing, but at least I had time to pack, and to digest the news.
I spent my afternoon packing. It's gonna be minus degrees in Beijing. That meant rummaging mum's closet-full of long john. A thick jacket, gloves, shawl, long john and moisturiser, I was ready to survive the rest of the week. On one hand, I was excited since it would be my first visit to Beijing, on the other, I was crossed that I didn't have enough time to prepare for the important meetings I had to attend in China.
Thankfully I was picked up at Beijing Airport T3 when I arrived. It was 7am in the morning. The flight was good, but I couldn't sleep at all. Not long before I dozed off, the lights came back on. Moments later, breakfast was served. Moments later, a baby was crying. Moments later, the plane was preparing for landing...!
The moment I stepped out of the plane, I could feel the cold. People were putting on their thick coat. I braced the cold and headed quickly to the custom clearance. For baggage claim, I had to take a sky train to the terminal for baggage claim.
I was sent to the hotel for a quick wash up before being sent to the College for the morning meeting. The walk to the car at the carpark was freezing already! It was -8 degrees that morning I was told. Crazy. Along the way to Comfort Inn Suites, the driver told me several interesting facts:
* Cars in China are left hand drive.
* 4.8 million is Singapore's population? It was the number of vehicles on the road in BJ.
* The metro system was only about 2 years old, ready for the Olympics 2008.
* I saw buildings fuming and thought they were on fire! It turned out to be centralised heater installed in Beijing to warm the atmosphere. Cool!
Comfort Inn & Suites
This was our corporate hotel and I was always the one booking for my VPs and Deans. Finally, I got to see what it was like. It was spacious and big!
I was glad that 2 other colleagues from Singapore arrived the night before me and I had some company, at least. Lunch was settled at one of the restaurants beside the College. It was too cold outside that we picked somewhere close. Walking along the streets, the air was dry and breezy, roads were spacious and clean. Barren trees were everywhere.
On our way back to the Hotel in the evening, the friendly driver knew I would only be there for 2 days, kindly offered to drive us to the Olympics 'Bird Nest' for a quick glance. The evening was a perfect time for us to see the lights up. I couldn't capture any nice shots, but the place was huge and the famous architecture was admirable.
'Bird's Nest' - National Stadium ----------------- 'Water Cube' - Swimming Complex
Actual Picture from the Web
We decided to have steamboat for dinner since the weather was freezing, and we headed to a closeby shopping mall. It was -11 degrees that night! I was hoping for a snow fall but was told that it wouldn't snow if the weather is too cold. The weather was so cold that the wind was really unbearable. We literally ran to the mall, and literally ran back to our hotel after dinner. That cold. Not only that, the air was so dry that we felt static charge all the time! The only comfort I got was that my wavy & dry hair stayed static straight!
A morning breakfast with a cup of warm soya milk was comforting, especially at this popular outlet.
A pity I did not get to see much of Beijing - No Forbidden City, No Great Wall, No Peking Duck! But my first impression of the place was very good. It has a strong culture presence, minus the City Buzz. I would love to come back again, not for work.
I was rather surprised to see massive people at the Beijing airport, a common sight in China I guess.
A funny sign I saw in a toilet cubicle... Duh...!
Off to Shanghai on Air China. We were served a full dinner meal on board the 4.20pm flight. No individual TV, but the 2 hour flight was alright. Good service, good food, comfortable seats. Just as good as the China Eastern plane I took to SH previously.
Then an announcement came, it was snowing in Shanghai! At -2 degrees!
I thought the weather would be better in Shanghai than in Beijing, but the moment we stepped out of the airport towards the taxi stand, it was just as cold with the wind. Unfortunately, we missed the snow, it was covering all over the place. There was slight snowfall, but not romantic. Well, I didn't need it to be anyway, stuck at a taxi queue for 45mins, with people puffing and choking the air, and standing beside me with 2 fellow colleagues... with wen around, it would have been perfect! ;)
We were sent to Galaxy Hotel, another of my corporate hotel.
We headed for dinner right after we dropped our luggage in our rooms and checked that our heater was working. Dinner at Parkson Shopping Mall - a street across from Galaxy Hotel.
And a little stroll back to hotel... I love the snow!
Popular Mascot of Shanghai World Expo (Haibao) ------Snow almost covering road signs
And a cute Snow Man!
The morning was greeted with a full spread of buffet breakfast and a beautful glass view of the white snow outside. As compared to Comfort Inn's 'budget style' of breakfast, this was very good. There was waffles, pancakes, bread, porridge, sausages, bacon, eggs, fruits, sushis, juices, soya milk and fried dough, noodles, vegs, etc...
The beautiful view outside the breakfast place.
We ate alot more that morning, as we had to make our way to our College on foot, in the icy cold weather! It was a 15-20 mins walk, it could have been longer I think since we took giant steps to beat the wind. Ears were numbed even with my cute mickey ear muff, fingers turned numbed each time I took these pics!
More cute Snow Man!
We had a handful of time after lunch before our next meeting, one of our Singaporean colleagues based in SH brought us to his new place which was undergoing renovation. Interestingly, you'll find trees being wrapped up in ropes/cloth like these. To prevent damage to the bark during winter I think. Will it keep them warm? Hmm.. not sure.
We entered the rather high-end apartment situated on the ground floor of the 14 storey building. We thought it was amusing. They have everything practical - a kitchen, bedroom, living room, toilets, a balcony, a garden backyard for ground floor owners. Everything a condominium will have. But, here comes the funny part.... the balcony is at the master bedroom. That's where the washing machine is located too. The backyard is just outside the balcony, which only allows entry from the master room. Which means, a maid wanting to wash clothes in the morning will have to knock the door of the master room to enter the washing area! And which means, should they host a party at the backyard, everybody enters from the master room! What a joke!
Steamboat was a delight in winter. We had different kinds everyday. I like this place, just 3mins from our School.
On the evening when we had more time, we went Xu Jia Hui (徐家汇) for some window shopping. The X'mas Season brought about beautiful light-up around this popular shopping and entertainment district.
We had dinner at Metro on the last night and the restaurant we went was interesting.
Mini sized abalone, on any rice dish you order! And bird's nest on desserts! Each item for less that SGD10!
As this was a last minute travel, I was booked on a midnight flight on Monday morning (crazy!) and was waitlisted for Saturday and Sunday full flights. I couldn't wait to get home, since I had no company & I didn't like SH that much. :(
I was waiting and waiting and waiting... finally, I got news on Friday evening from my travel agent that I got a seat on the 8.20am flight the very next day!
I was glad to be able to see the morning sunrise at Pudong Airport that day.
On the usual train to office, I was planning my morning to be relaxed and to take the post-holiday slowly - get a cup of coffee and a bun from breadtalk, catch up news from online CNA, clean my desk from the gathered week old dust, water my mini money plant. That sounds great. Never did I expect I had to pack all the stuff I took time to unpack this morning!
As soon as I entered the office, I was sent to a briefing from a colleague and to collect all that I need from office before heading home to pack! My boss just sent me to China for a week!! I thought he was kidding. But he was dead serious...
I called to shock two others: Wen and Mum. I was supposed to catch a 5pm SQ flight to Beijing but (thankfully) it was full. I was seated on 01:15 flight. Crazy timing, but at least I had time to pack, and to digest the news.
I spent my afternoon packing. It's gonna be minus degrees in Beijing. That meant rummaging mum's closet-full of long john. A thick jacket, gloves, shawl, long john and moisturiser, I was ready to survive the rest of the week. On one hand, I was excited since it would be my first visit to Beijing, on the other, I was crossed that I didn't have enough time to prepare for the important meetings I had to attend in China.
Thankfully I was picked up at Beijing Airport T3 when I arrived. It was 7am in the morning. The flight was good, but I couldn't sleep at all. Not long before I dozed off, the lights came back on. Moments later, breakfast was served. Moments later, a baby was crying. Moments later, the plane was preparing for landing...!
The moment I stepped out of the plane, I could feel the cold. People were putting on their thick coat. I braced the cold and headed quickly to the custom clearance. For baggage claim, I had to take a sky train to the terminal for baggage claim.
I was sent to the hotel for a quick wash up before being sent to the College for the morning meeting. The walk to the car at the carpark was freezing already! It was -8 degrees that morning I was told. Crazy. Along the way to Comfort Inn Suites, the driver told me several interesting facts:
* Cars in China are left hand drive.
* 4.8 million is Singapore's population? It was the number of vehicles on the road in BJ.
* The metro system was only about 2 years old, ready for the Olympics 2008.
* I saw buildings fuming and thought they were on fire! It turned out to be centralised heater installed in Beijing to warm the atmosphere. Cool!
Comfort Inn & Suites
This was our corporate hotel and I was always the one booking for my VPs and Deans. Finally, I got to see what it was like. It was spacious and big!
I was glad that 2 other colleagues from Singapore arrived the night before me and I had some company, at least. Lunch was settled at one of the restaurants beside the College. It was too cold outside that we picked somewhere close. Walking along the streets, the air was dry and breezy, roads were spacious and clean. Barren trees were everywhere.
On our way back to the Hotel in the evening, the friendly driver knew I would only be there for 2 days, kindly offered to drive us to the Olympics 'Bird Nest' for a quick glance. The evening was a perfect time for us to see the lights up. I couldn't capture any nice shots, but the place was huge and the famous architecture was admirable.
'Bird's Nest' - National Stadium ----------------- 'Water Cube' - Swimming Complex
Actual Picture from the Web
We decided to have steamboat for dinner since the weather was freezing, and we headed to a closeby shopping mall. It was -11 degrees that night! I was hoping for a snow fall but was told that it wouldn't snow if the weather is too cold. The weather was so cold that the wind was really unbearable. We literally ran to the mall, and literally ran back to our hotel after dinner. That cold. Not only that, the air was so dry that we felt static charge all the time! The only comfort I got was that my wavy & dry hair stayed static straight!
A morning breakfast with a cup of warm soya milk was comforting, especially at this popular outlet.
A pity I did not get to see much of Beijing - No Forbidden City, No Great Wall, No Peking Duck! But my first impression of the place was very good. It has a strong culture presence, minus the City Buzz. I would love to come back again, not for work.
I was rather surprised to see massive people at the Beijing airport, a common sight in China I guess.
A funny sign I saw in a toilet cubicle... Duh...!
Off to Shanghai on Air China. We were served a full dinner meal on board the 4.20pm flight. No individual TV, but the 2 hour flight was alright. Good service, good food, comfortable seats. Just as good as the China Eastern plane I took to SH previously.
Then an announcement came, it was snowing in Shanghai! At -2 degrees!
I thought the weather would be better in Shanghai than in Beijing, but the moment we stepped out of the airport towards the taxi stand, it was just as cold with the wind. Unfortunately, we missed the snow, it was covering all over the place. There was slight snowfall, but not romantic. Well, I didn't need it to be anyway, stuck at a taxi queue for 45mins, with people puffing and choking the air, and standing beside me with 2 fellow colleagues... with wen around, it would have been perfect! ;)
We were sent to Galaxy Hotel, another of my corporate hotel.
We headed for dinner right after we dropped our luggage in our rooms and checked that our heater was working. Dinner at Parkson Shopping Mall - a street across from Galaxy Hotel.
And a little stroll back to hotel... I love the snow!
Popular Mascot of Shanghai World Expo (Haibao) ------Snow almost covering road signs
And a cute Snow Man!
The morning was greeted with a full spread of buffet breakfast and a beautful glass view of the white snow outside. As compared to Comfort Inn's 'budget style' of breakfast, this was very good. There was waffles, pancakes, bread, porridge, sausages, bacon, eggs, fruits, sushis, juices, soya milk and fried dough, noodles, vegs, etc...
The beautiful view outside the breakfast place.
We ate alot more that morning, as we had to make our way to our College on foot, in the icy cold weather! It was a 15-20 mins walk, it could have been longer I think since we took giant steps to beat the wind. Ears were numbed even with my cute mickey ear muff, fingers turned numbed each time I took these pics!
More cute Snow Man!
We had a handful of time after lunch before our next meeting, one of our Singaporean colleagues based in SH brought us to his new place which was undergoing renovation. Interestingly, you'll find trees being wrapped up in ropes/cloth like these. To prevent damage to the bark during winter I think. Will it keep them warm? Hmm.. not sure.
We entered the rather high-end apartment situated on the ground floor of the 14 storey building. We thought it was amusing. They have everything practical - a kitchen, bedroom, living room, toilets, a balcony, a garden backyard for ground floor owners. Everything a condominium will have. But, here comes the funny part.... the balcony is at the master bedroom. That's where the washing machine is located too. The backyard is just outside the balcony, which only allows entry from the master room. Which means, a maid wanting to wash clothes in the morning will have to knock the door of the master room to enter the washing area! And which means, should they host a party at the backyard, everybody enters from the master room! What a joke!
Steamboat was a delight in winter. We had different kinds everyday. I like this place, just 3mins from our School.
On the evening when we had more time, we went Xu Jia Hui (徐家汇) for some window shopping. The X'mas Season brought about beautiful light-up around this popular shopping and entertainment district.
We had dinner at Metro on the last night and the restaurant we went was interesting.
Mini sized abalone, on any rice dish you order! And bird's nest on desserts! Each item for less that SGD10!
As this was a last minute travel, I was booked on a midnight flight on Monday morning (crazy!) and was waitlisted for Saturday and Sunday full flights. I couldn't wait to get home, since I had no company & I didn't like SH that much. :(
I was waiting and waiting and waiting... finally, I got news on Friday evening from my travel agent that I got a seat on the 8.20am flight the very next day!
I was glad to be able to see the morning sunrise at Pudong Airport that day.
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