Shanghai Chronicles: Weekend in Shanghai (part 1)

This post is all about how I spend my weekend over Saturday and Sunday in Shanghai.. more like a little under 36 hours or so from Friday night after work till Sunday noon as my flight was in the afternoon..

I woke up like this on Saturday morning before checking out of the hotel

Before I begin, let me also mention that this Shanghai trip I have only less than CNY100 in cash with me (balance from Beijing trip), but I loaded CNY1000 into my WeChat to pay for everything that's not paid for by the company.. 

I took a ride on the subway..
Because I only needed single journey rides, I was not allowed to buy a day pass.
So I cannot try out other lines..

And I needed coins and ONLY coins to purchase a single journey ticket.. 

I changed hotel for the weekend, and moved to stay in Crowne Plaza, which is beside Lucca.. I thought since I was going to drink and club in Lucca, I might as well book a hotel that's within walking distance so that I don't have to hail a Didi.. transportation in Shanghai is not cheap..

Exterior of the hotel

Lift lobby

Lobby

Lobby

Toilet & bathtub!

Room

Room.. there's also a massage chair!

After checking into Crowne Plaza, I was too sleepy and took a nap.. when I woke up it was already evening and I told myself I need to go out to The Bund!

Temperature was 10C which was considered warm for the winter..

My first stop was of course to The Bund.. no trip to Shanghai is complete without seeing The Bund, located at the end of the Nanjing Pedestrian Street..

Nanjing Pedestrian Street

Nanjing Pedestrian Street

The street is so long that you have "trams" for hire that goes up and down the street

In the distance, the Pearl Tower in Pudong
Taken from the end of Nanjing Pedestrian Street overlooking towards The Bund
(picture was slightly edited for clarity and to showcase the contrast)

The Bund

Pudong

The Bund

The Bund

It was actually drizzling slightly 

The Bund at night

All the buildings along The Bund is lit up

Very beautiful indeed

At 8pm the lights were up, blinking and shining like stars

One last shot before I go off..

Walking around and enjoying some Christmasy lights along Nanjing Pedestrian Street

I was hungry.. it was about 9pm but I went to check out the then world's largest Starbucks before overtaken by the newest one in Tokyo
(the world's largest Starbucks is now in Tokyo)

A selfie at the main entrance

Upon entering, you're greeted by staff and this giant wall 

The packing area

From the staircase leading up to 1st floor

The merchandise area

After checking out the world's largest Starbucks, I was already very hungry by now and went to look for a place to eat.. and I found this awesome ramen restaurant..

I walked in and found a table by myself.. there's plenty of wait staff around but their job is to serve the food.. Ordering was done in WeChat.. Payment was done in WeChat.. in short, this restaurant does not accept cash or card.. Only WeChat and Alipay..

The menu was in Mandarin words without pictures.. and being not able to read mandarin fluently, I guessed the the name.. I can read simple words like chicken, pork or beef.. so I chose a duck ramen.. and I can read only Coke from the drinks menu... so I chose Coke..

(in actual fact, I don't really like Coke)

Ta-daa.. my food came shortly.. and I didn't regret it one bit.. Enjoyed the meal thoroughly..

I walked into H&M and bought a thick winter jacket, only because it's on sale and it costs only CNY300 LIKE MOTHERFUCKINGCHEAP!! WHERE CAN YOU GET A THICK WINTER JACKET FOR RM180? FUCK MY LIFE! I bought it without hesitation, I probably gonna wear it in Norway this December, if the family trip is confirmed..

After that, I got back to my hotel, got freshen up and walked over to Lucca.. Entry was CNY100 with one drink of your choice.. I of course, chose some rum or whisky I cannot even remember the name..

Award by Timeout displayed at the bar

From where I was seated at the bar, overlooking the bar counters.. the dance floor is on the far right, and the cloak room is actually upstairs to store your winter jackets for CNY5 PER TIME

On the far left is more seating areas..

Despite it raining, it was packed.. I was there alone by myself.. I was being friendly and all but no, I didn't bring anyone back to my hotel..

Don't ask me why..

I don't know..

Shanghai Trip

Barely a week after Beijing, I was travelling to Shanghai on work on the second week of December 2018.. It was my first work trip in the new company which I joined after coming back from Beijing.. 

It was also on this trip that I picked up my China-issued laptop, in total complete Mandarin, and it took 2 days for the IT guys to reinstall all the softwares and reprogram everything back to English.. Except Chrome, which unfortunately is still in Mandarin..

So I flew with Malaysia Airlines to Shanghai Pudong Airport, and from there, I took Didi for the hour long 50km journey across Shanghai to Hongqiao where the office is, and where I would be staying for 3 nights..

Boarding Pass

Awaiting departure in KLIA

I prefer a window seat on flights that are lesser than 6 hours whereby I don't need the toilet

Breakfast.. nasi lemak yang tak telanjang

OEM ice-cream as dessert

Arriving in Shanghai Pudong in the late afternoon

In Didi car heading towards Hongqiao

For 3 nights, I was put up at Mercure Shanghai Hongqiao, which is a 10-minute walk to the Linkong SOHO, and next to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport..

It is a cool 4-star hotel with crisp decor (the banner above is shot here on the sofa).

Entrance door and sink

Semi-frosted toilet and shower

Living area and bed

I looked out of my hotel window and there it is.. Linkong SOHO which houses my company HQ

Free minibar replenished daily!

Remote control for the toilet, and it has a bidet!

Breakfast is included in my room, so here's the restaurant in the morning.. seating was kinda limited though..

Cereal

Restaurant seating from the entrance

Hot food

Hot and cold beverages

Pastry and porridge

Lobby

Reception

Lobby

Staff checking breakfast eligibility
She's wearing a tee with an image of a huge pig 

Dumplings and bao

Ramen... ok I think I overdid with the coriander and spring onions :)

After breakfast, I walked to work, in the cold..

Freaking cold ok

Just me, walking and doing a video recording

There's a cool tea shop at one of the office lobbies (we have about 18 lobbies)

Work day 1 was spent in this tea shop, there's plenty of conference rooms for staff to work..
I ordered the pomegranate tea, which is very delicious..
And it's on the house or rather the company paid for it..

We also have our lunch here..
I ordered the salmon and tea was poured into the bowl for the taste to infuse with the rice

Inside the office.. You must know your way or you'll get lost inside the building..
About 30,000 staff works here

From the rooftop overlooking Shanghai Hongqiao Airport..
The buildings behind are also part of our HQ complex

Must selfie on the rooftop!

It also comes with a jogging track all along the rooftop.. 

Lobby #16  

Somewhere in between the blocks

More in between the blocks..

One with the sign

The main plaza or Lobby #18 aka Pavilion

Next.. my weekend in Shanghai..