Saturday, March 17, 2012

Day 1 in Shanghai - 10th March 2012 - (Part 1)

I left the KLIA at 1:40am and the flight took 5 hours. Arrived at the airport and was met by my host family - LM, her husband, Ng and their daughter. The flight was uneventful, couldn't really sleep but managed about 2 hours of sleep.
After being picked up by the Ng family, we drove around Pudong area a bit, looking for a place to have breakfast. Drove by Dulwich College as well as Yew Chung International at Huamu Road. Finally settled at Kerry Parkside, and went in search of any place that was open at that hour - 8am or so. Everything was still closed except for Bread Talk - something like out Bread Story but it is a cafe where we can sit and eat/drink. From breakfast, we went back to their apartment in Yanlord Garden. It is a beautiful garden of apartments, very catered for expat families.
Everyone was still tired and wanted a nap, so all of us did. Woke up a bit later and LM asked if I'd like to take a walk round Yanlord Garden. I was really keen to have that walk, but saw that it was really cold, so, clad in a windbreaker and jeans, we took a walk. She showed me the pool, the playground, the clubhouse, generally the whole place. We also walked out a bit and had a look at a wet market and we also dropped by a bakery where she bought some bread and buns. It was cold, but I didn't expect to feel the headache I felt when suddenly the cold wind blew. Caught me by surprise.
My cell group leader, James, called and said he'd come by later in the afternoon and we'd go out for some exploration. So LM decided to take me out for lunch.

We went to IFC Mall and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant called Jika Udon. Very expensive to eat there. Had sushi and also udon. Then we packed 2 burgers for her hubby and James. The McD there sells burgers with bacon and pork. So NOT halal. Didn't get the chance to try though.
Got back to her apt, James was already there. We chatted for a while before James and I left. The mission? None, really. Just to help me explore and see part of Shanghai. So we WALKED. We walked from the apartment to the ferry terminal on Pudong side, took the ferry across Huangpu River to the Puxi side.
This is a picture of the kind of ferry they use. Pretty much like our Penang ferry but a lot newer.
From the ferry terminal in Puxi, we walked the length of the Shanghai Bund.

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