Out and about in Shanghai

[shun821]

eh.. i went shanghai in 2004 and i will say that the people there lacks for basic manners. Some are rather rude, not even a "excuse me" can be heard anywhere around.. hotel was still fine but food to me was pretty bad =X oh yeah, worst of all you can see guys spliting into empty bowls almost in every restaurant! and that seriously disgusted me.
Singapore is just a lot more better although stuffs are so much cheaper in china.

[KeithMEL]

i also think that spitting is one of the most repulsive acts. as for the john lobbs- i love em, but if i had my way, i would wear chuck taylors every day =)

I have weird feet and it's hard to find shoes that don't hurt my feet. I was given a pair of john lobbs for chrissie some years back but i couldn't wear it because it hurt too much. We dress casually around my office so no problems there and I can wear my super comfy Merrells, but I don a pair of Kenneth Cole loafers to official functions - they aren't exactly comfy, just that they hurt me least.

[taipeiflyer]

Ewww about the spitting -- one of my favorite reasons not to like a city.

I haven't had the opportunity to own a pair of John Lobb, though.

i also think that spitting is one of the most repulsive acts. as for the john lobbs- i love em, but if i had my way, i would wear chuck taylors every day =)

[9V-JKL]

I see I'm not the only one who doesn't like SHA. I find that its way way too crowded for my liking.
Of course, I'll never forget when I had to 'kick' someone out of my cab when the mrs and I got into the back seat and a guy just opened the front door at the same time and claimed he got on before we did. I'm not going to repeat what I said to him here

[KeithMEL]

Mmm, would agree about the lack of courtesy in SHA - all the pushing and shoving. And don't even get me started on the traffic... I did discover that cars will magically stop when you walk on to the roads even when the red man is on. No one pays attention to the rules here. And they get fined RMB200 if they honk.

Haven't yet come across filthy toilets - then again I hadn't ventured into many toilets beyond the Bund...

I'd heard a lot about the spitting before I arrived, but it's not so bad nowadays. I was turned off by this cashier at a dumpling resto who maintained a plastic bag at her desk to spit into though... left for another resto immediately.

On the whole it's still a very trendy city, with cutting edge restos, bars and clubs. I wish the bars/clubs were located closer to one another though, ala Lan Kwai Fong. Searching for a particular bar while not entirely sober is a chore.

Shopping in HKG is still better due to the Chinese luxury tax.

[jjpb3]

... the people who are constantly spitting on the ground (and occassionally on your john lobb's ...

Ewww about the spitting -- one of my favorite reasons not to like a city.

I haven't had the opportunity to own a pair of John Lobb, though.

[taipeiflyer]

Looks like I'll have to make my first visit a relatively short one. How come Shanghai isn't to your liking, taipeiflyer?

i would say it's the people. they truly lack any ounce of common courtesy. just getting on and off of a train is a life-threatening ordeal. literally, people would rather walk over you then let you get onto the train instead of them, even though you are ahead in line. couple that with the general stench that comes from leaving decaying meat on the sidewalk until the garbage comes late at night, the gleaming facades that hide the general squalor in the alleys behind, the people who are constantly spitting on the ground (and occassionally on your john lobb's), and bathrooms that are completely devoid of privacy, as well as a disgrace to standards of hygiene. and this is at the nicer establishments. =) although much can be said about the paternalistic (and sometimes) dictatorial singaporean government, their ability to preserve a beautiful city and maintain standards of order and decency is a welcome attribute.

[KeithMEL]

Looks like I'll have to make my first visit a relatively short one.

It's my last day here and I don't want to leave....

[MAN Flyer]

i hate shanghai... if i never have to visit again, i will be more than happy. give me hong kong, seoul, taipei, or tokyo any day. hope the days go quickly jhm.

I've got to say, while hate is by no means the word I would use, I am certainly not struck on the place in any way either.

I'd second the comment on the first two alternatives above but don't know the second two well enough.

[jjpb3]

i hate shanghai... if i never have to visit again, i will be more than happy. give me hong kong, seoul, taipei, or tokyo any day. hope the days go quickly jhm.

Looks like I'll have to make my first visit a relatively short one. How come Shanghai isn't to your liking, taipeiflyer?

[taipeiflyer]

i hate shanghai... if i never have to visit again, i will be more than happy. give me hong kong, seoul, taipei, or tokyo any day. hope the days go quickly jhm.

[YK@HKG]

I LOVE Shanghai

Will be back sooner than I think......maybe for another New Year party like 2 years ago?

[KeithMEL]

I was thinking more about your spoken Mandarin and whether it's up to the standard of your Cantonese.

Let's not even think about it.

I have a mini directory provided by the hotel and it's like the Bible for getting around this city and back to hotel. I shudder to work out how I'd get home if I lose the card.

The concierges are also pretty good at translating addresses to written Chinese.

[jhm]

They had 'English/Chinese' translations for pretty much everything so it wasn't too much of a concern.

I was thinking more about your spoken Mandarin and whether it's up to the standard of your Cantonese.

[KeithMEL]

How's your Mandarin ?

They had 'English/Chinese' translations for pretty much everything so it wasn't too much of a concern.

I assume all the pictures were taken when the sun had gone down. Dark...

Except when I get woken up at 9am by a massive headache and can't get back to bed. Like now...