Chartres Garden

Absolutely no doubt, this was the best night during the best week of my life. My buddy Jia Jun invited dad and I to Chartres. We ate great food (finest lamb I've tried cooked exactly how I wanted it), made greater friends, and it all ended with the greatest memories. This was my final week in Shanghai.

THE most hospitable man in China

Sin Nightclub

The first club I've been to that is in a skyscraper. Atmosphere is pretty good like the view, but the bar staff are completely incoherent. I guess that's why I'm not a huge fan of clubs with the super loud music and all. And that's my Shanghainese friend Li Zhang.

My favourite girls

Shanghai Tang Cafe

I was lucky to attend the opening of this beautiful place in Xintiandi. Downstairs there's a cafe, on level 2 there is a restaurant and on the top level, a bar. And the bar was where I was. Crowd here is very chic so wear your shiniest shoes!

House of Blues & Jazz

I have great memories of this place. I met up with my friend Jenny and had some vodka mixers. Jenny introduced me to her friend Ciao who met up with us here and we listened to live blues for a while. The place gets really busy after 11, so get in early if you want to sit down and order snacks. Afterward we headed to a house party, which was my first house party in Shanghai. Was in an apartment hosted by a group of French guys. Totally random. I ended up going back to house of blues on Sunday night because it was pretty good (in the words of Larry David).

Make a wish at Lujiazui

I honestly thought Pudong would be boring after reading lots of reviews on it. But I was amazed at how much I enjoyed myself there. It is very Western and the streets are clean with lots of high buildings, but it isn't boring. Yeah okay it doesn't have traditional culture around every corner like across the Huangpu River, but it is definitely work checking out. I went to the riverside and purchased a red hot air balloon, which I have no idea what it's called. Anyway, I made a wish and let it go in the air. One thing that was kind of annoying was the several beggers who constantly follow you and ruin the moment. Oh well, can't have it all.

Fascination with tall buildings

Office workers

Pampered pooches

This dog was hopping around showing off, but was too scared to be patted by strangers. Would hide behind the owner every time someone reached for it.
But so many Shanghainese have a dog running around in their apartments. Someone in my building even had a fully grown male German Shepherd, which barely fit in the elevator. Unbelievable.

Passing the time Shanghainese style

Elderly Couple

Traditional Shanghai is filled with simple and beautiful things like this elderly couple. They were just hanging out on the side of the street enjoying the crisp morning air. I was lucky enough to explore on foot the backstreets of Waitan district to see Shanghai's 'other side' and best of all it cost nothing.

Traditional Shanghai

Shanghai Museum

The driver

No. 88 Bar

Don't let the pics fool you, this place situated in Jing'an district was packed. Music was loud and the drinks strong, just the way I love it.

Traffic, Shanghai

Taobao Market, Shanghai

Although it has no relation to Taobao online market (China's biggest online store, pretty much like ebay), there is so much fun to be had at this chaotic place. Faux branded clothing and accessories and so much more are available. I didn't particularly need anything, but I went because I missed the joy of hard bargaining. I left with a "I Love China" shirt and a handful of DVDs. Let the good times roll.

Expo

As Expo is being held in Shanghai this year from May until October, it was only fitting that I got some snaps with the mascot Haibao.

Yet another watering hole

No Thanks

So one day I was really hungry around lunch time while hanging out in dads office. His colleagues sometimes order a packed lunch, so I agreed to get one expecting a sandwich. When it arrived, it looked uncannily similar to the packed food I scoffed down on the train when I was in Shanghai 2 years ago. That was, of course, the meal I had a few hours before I became unbelievably sick. It was definitely one of the hardest experiences of my life, lugging a 20kg suitcase around Hong Kong on my way to the airport on no sleep as I was up all night extricating every bit of fluid from my body. Thus, I kindly refused this meal, which I'm sure was a decent feed.

The Famous Chef

Actually I have no idea who he is. This was during a quick lunch on Hongqiao Road in an interesting restaurant. I just saw a great number of photos on the wall so I called him out to have mine taken. Will I send him a copy? Maybe.

Hot pot