Exploring Shanghai: The Bund, Yuyuan Garden & Pedestrian Street

I love tropical climate and you'll rarely hear me complain when it's hot. 😎   But you'll definitely hear me complain when it's cold coz I easily get cold.  But my tolerance for heat was tested during a trip in Shanghai last July, Shanghai's hottest month.  How hot?  As hot as a Bikram yoga room!  When we were there, Shanghai recorded a new high of 40.9°C (prior to that, the highest was 40.8°C recorded in 2013).

And if you've done hot yoga before, you know too that some people pass out within just a few minutes of being in the hot room.  That's how bad it was.  I knew I would pass out if we don't exercise some prudence so my friends and I decided to scrap a lot of sightseeing plans.  Our unanimous decision was to just stay in the hotel most of the time.😂    Good thing our hotel was nice because a friend got discounted rates.

We stayed at the Fairmont Peace Hotel. The hotel is along the Bund (the popular waterfront of central Shanghai).

 View from the side entrance of Fairmont Peace Hotel

The Fairmont Peace Hotel used to be known as the North Building of the Sassoon House. It was named after Sir Victor Sassoon who was the biggest real estate tycoon in Shanghai in the early 20th century.  According to Wikipedia, the Sassoon House was one of the first skyscrapers in the Eastern Hemisphere.  It was constructed between 1926 and 1929.  So this structure is at least 88 years old.

The Sassoon House, now the Fairmont Peace Hotel 

By today's standards, the structure doesn't look like a skyscraper at all, right?  So how high were skyscrapers in the 1920s?  The Sassoon House is 77 meters (253 feet) high to the roofline and 83 meters (272 ft) to the spire.  In terms of no. of floors, that's only about 10 floors high.  So that's what skyscrapers were like in the 1920s.

When you google about what to see in The Bund, some blogs would name the Fairmont Peace Hotel as a starting point for a walking tour.   Check out the hotel's main lobby -

And its beautiful dome - 

Fairmont Peace Hotel has also been used for several movie shoots since the 1930s. In one hallway of the hotel, you'll see an exhibit of the movie posters and scenes shot in the hotel.

Movie Poster Exhibit at the Fairmont Peace Hotel

Here's a collage of some of the movie posters I saw in the exhibit and photos of popular personalities who have stayed in the hotel -

Some of the movies shot at the Fairmont Peace Hotel

On the upper right is Charlie Chaplin and on the lower right are Greer Garson, Sir Victor Sassoon and Sir Laurence Olivier.

Fairmont Peace Hotel has also a museum called the Peace Museum which houses memorabilia of the hotel such as antique silverware, porcelain, crystals and Art Deco furnishings.  The hotel has a long history  - in the 1930s-1940s, Cathay Hotel occupied the 4th to 9th floors of the Sassoon House. In the 1950s, it was called The Peace Hotel. In 2007, it was renovated and was re-opened in 2010 as the Fairmont Peace Hotel.

The Peace Museum which houses some hotel memorabilia

The Peace Museum is open from 10 am to 7 pm daily (except on public holidays).  Admission is free.  Taking photos of individual items isn't allowed but you can take a photo of the place like the photo I took above.

BTW, here's our room.  It's super comfy and nice.   It also has a dressing room and couch area.

As welcome fruits,  there was a platter of Chinese dates.   Initially, I thought they were "mansanitas" (this is a Pampanggo term for a fruit but I don't know what the Tagalog or English equivalent is. Haha...).   Then I saw the welcome card which described the dates as - Jujubes, indigenous in Central and Southern China, crispy texture, slightly sweet flavor and commonly used in traditional medicine as stress reliever.  I ate one and I super loved it!  Crispy and sweet is the perfect description.  We bought more to eat and to bring home.   So now when I say that I had a lot of dates when I was in Shanghai - breakfast, lunch and dinner - you know what kind of dates I am talking about.  😂 😂😂

So what did we see outside of the hotel in the few occasions when we decided to go out? 😆    The Bund and places within 3km radius from our hotel.  😂      

Here are photos I took of The Bund area one evening.  The lighting at night is just amazing.   

The Bund was a major financial hub of East Asia in the beginning of the 20th century.    There are 26 buildings that dot the 1.5km stretch of The Bund (Zhongshan Road).   Together with the Peace Hotel, these buildings were the skyscrapers of the early 20th century.  These structures used to house banks, businesses, newspaper offices and consulates.    

The Bund

Because the buildings are art-like showcasing various architectural styles like Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance, the Bund is also sometimes referred to as a "museum of international architecture".  

BTW, if the Fairmont Peace Hotel is the North Building of the Sassoon House, the South Building of the Sassoon House is now called the Swatch Art Peace Hotel - another beautiful structure along the Bund.   

Swatch Art Peace Hotel

Notice the consistently great lighting of the buildings?

Here's the Bund viewing deck where you'll see the old skyscrapers facing the modern skyscrapers divided by the Huangpu River.  

These 2 strips divided by the Huangpu River are also referred to as (1) Puxi, West of the river,  where The Bund is, and (2) Pudong, East of the River, where the modern high-rise structures are.   Check out the modern skyscrapers -

At the center is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower,
the 6th highest tower in the world. 

See the tall building on the right? That's Shanghai Tower, the world's
second tallest building by height to architectural top
(the tallest is Dubai's Burj Khalifa).

To cross the Huangpu River from the Bund, you can take a Maglev train at the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. (What is maglev? It's derived from the word "magnetic levitation". In simple terms, the vehicle moves along a magnetized pathway.) 

Maglev train at the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel

The ride takes about 3 to 5 minutes to cross the river.As you pass through the tunnel, there is a lights and sounds show. 

Here's how the Oriental Pearl TV Tower looks like during the day.  Its design, they say, is composed of large and small pearls dropping on a plate of jade. 

Here are the other modern skyscrapers - can't identify though which are these buildings. Haha... But for some perspective, check out the bottom portion of the photo. See the people walking along the bridge?  They look like ants against the tall structures!

BTW, we spotted this vending machine inside a mall.  Just insert a bill and it would produce freshly-squeezed orange juice right before your eyes.  Yum!

Fresh orange juice vendo

Another area we visited - still walking distance from the Bund 😂  - is the Yuyuan Garden.   This beautiful garden was finished in 1577 which makes it 440 yrs old! Wow. 

Yuyuan Garden

What's the story behind it?   Yuyuan Garden was built by a government officer during the Ming Dynasty for his parents as a place for his parents to enjoy a happy time in their old age.  It's aptly called Yuyuan Garden as "Yu" in Chinese means pleasing/satisfying.  

Near the Yuyuan Garden is a temple called City God Temple of Shanghai, a Taoist temple where people pray for good fortune and peace.

City God Temple

Visitors praying for good fortune and peace.

The writings on the red ribbons are prayer petitions.

Spotted this beautiful collection of cups in one of the structures
inside the City God Temple.

I was so glad we visited the Yuyuan Garden and City God Temple area coz it really looked like  Chinatown versus the photos I took in the Bund area which look more European than Chinese.   😆

Right outside the temple and garden, there are a lot of Chinese souvenir stores.

A unique item you can get are Chinese signature chop or name stamps.  If you don't know how to write your name in Chinese, no worries, they could translate it for you. 

And while in the area, don't miss out on food.  Lots of restaurants nearby.  I didn't know what to get from the food counters.  All yum!

One last thing about my Shanghai trip - which is probably the most striking experience for me in Shanghai.  I got shocked by the density of people.  Crossing the street to get to our hotel was a struggle.  Every intersection felt like a Shibuya Crossing experience for me. 😂😂

For some context, our hotel is located at the corner of Zhongshan Road and Nanjing Road. I read somewhere that Nanjing Road is known as the pedestrian street but I didn't see any explanation why. But after one evening of exploring Nanjing Road, I finally understood why.

Why a pedestrian street?  At a certain time during evenings, cars are no longer allowed to pass through the streets because the lanes are packed with people and the traffic lights are meant to be followed by the pedestrians! Seriously!  😆

Check out this intersection where there are traffic enforcers making sure pedestrians stop when the traffic light turns red and go when the light turns green.  And just like cars, each lane is for one direction only.  If a traffic enforcer sees you going against the flow, they will call your attention and ask you to transfer to the opposite lane.  

Check out how packed the lanes are - take note, this is on a weekday!   

On our last evening, we had dinner at the Victor's Cafe at ground floor of the Peace Hotel and here's the view from the cafe window.  Again, this was on a weekday. It's just crazy!  It looks like there's a rally all the time.  I can't imagine how Nanjing Road looks like on a weekend or even worse, during peak season.  😆   

That's 5 days in Shanghai.  Half of my post are about things to see inside Peace Hotel and the other half are all walking distance from the hotel.  Now you know I was serious when I said we stayed inside the hotel most of the time. 😂😂😂

Singapore Diaries: Food trip, Reunion & Crossing off an item from my Bucket List

Last week, my friend and I were in Singapore to attend some meetings for our personal business.  Ok,  the trip was 50% personal business, 50% leisure.  Haha...

We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel - super nice hotel, great location and the buffet breakfast is so good! I was so scared to weigh myself after 4 days of buffet breakfast. Haha...

The view from our room is the Chijmes and Raffles Hotel.  The best view though is from the Executive Lounge at night where you can see the beautiful Singapore skyline - 

At the hotel lobby and in one of the hotel exits, there are beautiful artworks on display.   Check these out - 

I wasn't able to capture all of the sculptures' stories except for one - the little girl in green dress.  Entitled "Dear Children - I See", it's by a Chinese artist named Xing Jing.  

So this cute kid has a look of wonder in her bean eyes.  She has lots of questions and is looking for answers.  But she will eventually realize that there isn't always an answer so the best that she can do is to love this world with a kind heart.  It's entitled "I See" to differentiate it from "I know" or "I get it" as "I see" signifies an act of comprehension from the heart.  Such beautiful message! :)

******

Last Sunday, we were able to hear mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd across Chijmes.  The church is fund-raising and they were selling these beautifully-crafted statues of the Good Shepherd made from Tiger Wood and sculpted by people from the village of Banteay Prieb, a vocational center for people with disabilities in Cambodia.

The statue has a unique and nice concept - it's a hold and pray statue. The statue is detachable from the base so when you pray, you can actually hold the statue with your hands. 

Incidentally, volunteers were distributing some handouts at the church exit and one of them had a very beautiful prayer (the prayer isn't related to the statue though).

Sharing it below (with minor edits):

I Pray
Gracious God,
You have done so much for us.
You ask for willingness
and we are often stubborn.
You ask for humility
and we are often proud.
You ask for open listening hearts
and we are often deaf.
You ask for service
and we are often busy.
You ask for our love
and we are often self-centered.
Grant us mercy that we may be compassionate;
that we may give life to others.
Grant that we, like Mary, may be your willing servants.
Amen.

*****

We also had time to meet up with ex-colleagues from Singapore. The first dinner, they took us for chili crabs, salted egg crabs (yes, crabs with salted egg sauce!), cereal prawns, clams on bamboo, etc.  The second dinner was Chinese at Ban Heng.   Out of excitement to exchange stories and eat, I forgot to take photos except for these. Haha...

It was so much fun to see our ex-colleagues after so many years - more than 10 years!!!  I think the last time when we were all together was during a regional event in Brisbane, Australia.  Since I'm not active on FB, I was totally out of touch with them.  But it's amazing that even if we come from different cultures, we share the same sense of humor.  It was non-stop chatter and laughter.   :)

****

Where else did eat?

Soup Restaurant.  We had Samsui Ginger Chicken and I super love it! Yum!

We also ate at Tim Ho Wan.  Just like in Manila, there's always a long queue during lunch and dinner time so the best time to dine is during odd hours.

One night at 11pm, we got hungry and went to Lau Pa Sat.   Yummy sate and baby squid!

I'm trying to avoid cold dessert since I've become prone to colds lately but how can you say no to shaved ice?!  We had yoghurt bingsoo at Ice Lab. 

If you're crazy about Salted Egg Chips, the most popular brand in Singapore is Irvin's.  They quickly run out of stocks so they've implemented a cap on purchases - they only allow a maximum purchase of 5 small and 5 big packs for every buyer.  But between the salted egg fish skin and salted egg potato chips, I highly recommend the fish skin. True to its tagline, it's dangerously addictive. :)  

********

Our last agenda in Singapore was to do some Christmas shopping.  But nope, we weren't able to tick off everything on our list since our luggage allowance was maxed out already and we didn't want to pay for extra weight. Haha... 

Finally, while in Singapore, I was able to tick off an item from my bucket list!  To watch a movie alone. Haha... 

My friend had a meeting for her other business and I didn't want to tag along.  Instead, I took it as an opportunity to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  I missed watching it with friends the first week since I was in Bangalore.  I can't afford to miss it on the big screen since I'm a big Harry Potter fan. :) 

Watching alone isn't as awkward as I thought.  I've always admired those who can do it and I finally did it!  And I think I can do it again.   Haha... :)

Shopping & Food Trip in Bangkok

I went on a 4-day trip to Bangkok last week and though it was my 4th time in Bangkok,  I had a lot of firsts  – first time to travel overseas with high school friends, first time to use a duffel bag instead of a luggage for an out of the country trip and first time to ride the skytrain.

Sorry though, I have very few photos of the trip.

Anyway, we stayed in a 3-bedroom unit at the Oakwood Residences in the Thonglor area. The place, facilities and service were superb.

We really didn’t really have any itinerary except to eat and shop so the moment we arrived, we ate Tom Yum Soup and Pad Thai noodles.  Yum-yum!   

We actually asked Pinoys who live there which restaurants serve authentic Thai food and they told us that authentic Thai is too spicy for our taste buds.  The Thai food in malls is good enough, they said. And yes, it’s really good that we had Tom Yum and Pad Thai almost every meal. Haha…

We also took advantage of the abundance of fresh fruits –we enjoyed fresh fruit shakes and even fresh bottled juice sold in streets – price ranges from 35 baht to 70 baht (Php50-Php100).  Their bottled juice has a slight salty taste - a bit weird but I like it. :)

We also bought fresh fruits like lansones (for me, Thailand has the sweetest lansones in the world!), tamarind, balimbing, mansanitas (not sure if this is a Pampanggo term though).  Haha… And also macopa - their macopas are dark pink and they taste so sweet!

Our favorite?  Green mangoes!  Actually, more than the mango, it’s the bagoong (fish paste) that makes us crave for more.

One night, we also had wine & cheese – artfully prepared by some of my friends.  Each of us had a role – some prepared the food during the times we decided to stay in, some were in charge of taking photos and as for my role?  I was the navigator!  I had to read the map and determine how to get to places. Haha… This is almost always my role when traveling. 

To get around Bangkok, you can either ride the Tuktuk (Thailand’s version of the tricycle), cab or skytrain.  If you’re traveling alone or as a couple, the best way is to ride the skytrain.  If you want to save time too even if you’re a big group, skytrain is the best option because traffic in Bangkok is as bad as in Manila.  Fare per head is from 20-40 baht depending on the zone of your destination.  There aren’t step-by-step instructions on how to buy a ticket in the station but we were lucky we met a Pinay English teacher who taught us how to  do it. 

Here’s how to ride the Bangkok skytrain:

1. Once you reach the station, check the map (near the ticket vending machine) on what zone # is your destination.

2.  Check the fare cost of that zone.  

3. In the ticket vending machine, press the zone# then drop the corresponding coins in the slot and your ticket will be issued.  (If you don’t have coins, you can approach the counter near the turnstile so you can have bills changed into coins.)

For convenience and if you’re traveling in a big group, you can take the cab (I don’t recommend tuktuks because of the pollution).  The only problem with cab drivers is they can be difficult. Once they know you’re a tourist, they won’t give you a metered option.  They’ll give you a contract price jacked up more than 5x the real cost if it were metered.  Really crazy.  For instance, their standard quote to tourists is 500 baht. Once, when we were able to get a metered taxi from a hotel, the same route costed only 80 baht.     So when you’re getting a cab from a mall, try to ask the information center where the metered taxi stand is and never talk to those who try to negotiate.  A lot would approach and invite you to go to gem factories, stores or Thai restaurant on the way to your destination – decline if you don’t want to waste time.  I learned this from a Thai driver from my past trips.  Apparently, when they bring tourists to these places, they get gas vouchers as incentives even if tourists don’t buy anything and if tourists do buy from the stores, the drivers get more gas vouchers.

For shopping, we went to Chatuchak or the weekend market – it’s like Tiendesitas – maybe 20 times bigger!  Really huge.  There are lots of unique crafts and goods – from clothes, fashion accessories, home accessories, pet stuff, food ….

We also went to MBK (best place to buy Wacoal) and the Platinum Fashion Mall – best place to buy dresses, tops and accessories.

Here are our shopping bags from the tiangges. Haha...

On Sunday, we heard mass at the Holy Redeemer Church (123/19 Ruam Rudi Lane 5, Witthayu Rd., Lumpinee, Pathumwan, Bangkok).  English masses are at 7am, 930am and 11am.   There were song booklets which reminded us of our song booklets in high school.  

At the duty free in Bangkok airport, I saw packs of dried papaya and dried guava.   I bought some packs and I loved the dried guava!  Addicting! I should have bought more!  

One of my friends also bought sticky rice with mango at the airport. It was so good that we spent all our tax refund buying more to eat on the plane.  Haha…  

As for my duffel bag, it was fully-packed and only weighed a little more than 10 kilos that’s why my friends were super happy to use my unused weight allowance. :)

Exploring Macau and watching Cirque du Soleil

Went on a 3-day trip to Macau this week to cross out another item from my bucket list - watch Cirque du Soleil – and I got a lot more fun than what I expected. :)

We stayed at The Venetian Macao Resort but only because The Venetian has promotional rates for accommodation bundled with Cirque du Soleil tickets. :)

One word that best describes The Venetian Macao Resort is ginormous!  It literally took us 10-15 minutes just walking from the front desk up to our room!   It has 3,000 suites, retail space for 350 stores, 15,000-seat sports arena, etc.  10.5 million-square-feet in all -- twice the size of the Las Vegas original. 

The room where we stayed

On our second day of stay, I learned from our tour guide that the Venetian Macao Resort is the largest building in Asia and the second-largest in the world!  (The largest building is a Boeing Co. plant in Washington.)  And that the hotel stands on a reclaimed area where soil dumped into it can fill up one big Egyptian pyramid!

Here are some photos of The Venetian Macao Grand Hall.  It’s like walking through the corridors of the Sistine Chapel. 

I didn’t expect to have fun in a casino hotel because I’m not a gambler but surprise, surprise, there are also activities for non-gamblers. 

You can just walk around the Grand Canal Shoppes at the 3rd floor and watch the gondola drivers maneuver the boats along the canals and belt operatic songs that reverberate throughout the floor.  

We actually rode the gondola (as part of another package we got) but even if you don’t ride, it’s fun just to watch.  Actually, it’s more fun just to watch!  Because if you ride the gondola, the driver will sing at least 2 songs during the ride and when he does, all passers-by will be taking photos and videos of your gondola! It’s so embarrassing and had I known, I wouldn’t have ridden at all.  Haha…

Then there are various shows staged throughout the day at the Grand Canal Shoppes’ entertainment area.  We stopped by to watch a magic show while walking around one afternoon.

There are also exhibits all over the The Venetian Macao Resort.  Here’s Rodolfo Avila’s Porsche Carrera on display.

We also saw Guinness World Record Holder and Cardstacker’s Bryan Berg’s recently completed The Venetian Macao Resort artwork (which I just saw on AXN last week).  It’s made up of over 3,800 decks of playing cards and completed in 45 days! 

Exploring outside The Venetian Hotel, we went to see the Fisherman’s Wharf.    It boasts of hundreds of shops and restaurants and miniature replicas of tourist spots. 

I stopped by the koi fish pond - I love watching fishes.  :)

Then there are the Taipa Houses – century old houses where Mackenese (of Macau & Portuguese descent) officials once lived. 

  
Then there's the A-Ma Temple,  a Chinese temple in existence long before the Portuguese arrived in Macau.

Of course, there’s the St Paul’s Ruins, Macau's famous landmark. St. Paul's dates back to the 16th century.

As you go down the stairs of St. Paul's, you'll reach Senado Square.  You'll see an interesting sculpture there called the Friendship statue.  It shows a Chinese girl giving a lotus flower (the flower emblem of Macau) to a Portuguese boy.  This symbolizes the friendship between the Chinese and Portuguese. 

For some adventure, you can go up the Macau Tower and either skywalk or bungee jump (more than 300 meters high!).  I was already scared just standing on the clear glass floor (yep, that’s the highway down below!).  

For the record, Charlize Theron, among several personalities, has bungee-jumped from the Macau tower.   

Here are some shots I took from the Macau Tower - 

And if you’ve spare time, across The Venetian Macao Resort, there’s a must see 10-minute show at the City of Dreams’ The Bubble Theatre called “The Dragon’s Treasure”.  It’s a 360-degree cinematic experience of high-definition video and rich audio and with over 29,000 LED lights used for special effects.  It’s a wow show and the best part is it’s for FREE.  You may get tickets just outside The Bubble Theatre.  The show is every 30 minutes from 12pm to 7pm, then hourly after that until 10pm.

As for my bucket list item - Cirque du Soleil’s Zaia – I just loved it!  Actually, I was at the edge of my seat most of the time! Haha… Almost everyone gasped when one acrobat didn’t catch another acrobat.  Thank God for the safety net!  But overall, the performers were just amazing!  And the show was so engaging from start to end.  If you plan to watch and you happen to sit in an aisle seat, get ready to be made fun at by the performers!  And if you’re in the front center seats, get ready to get a bit damp.  And as a last warning, arrive at least 15 minutes before the show.  The fun starts even before the scheduled time of the show. :)

Other travel tips: 

• Package tours are about USD50 per pax for a half-day.  But getting around is really easy if you want to save on expenses.  You can actually ride the hotel buses that go around Macau and they're for free.  At The Venetian Hotel for instance, there are buses that go to several destinations  which depart every 15 minutes.  The trick is to check which ones are the closest to your destination.  For instance, to get to the Fisherman's Wharf, you can ride The Venetian bus that goes to Sands where Fisherman's Wharf is just a street away.  And no worries, you don't even need to be booked at The Venetian to enjoy the the free bus rides. :)
• Meals are a little more expensive than Manila prices.  Foodcourt meals start from Php300 (about USD6) and mineral water is about Php120 (USD2.50).   Restaurant dining start from Php800 (about USD16).
• The gondola ride at The Venetian costs about Php700 (USD14) per pax.
• Tickets to Cirque de Soleil's Zaia range from Php2,500-5,000 per pax (USD50-USD100).  But no need to get front row seats.  I recommend the middle seats for a wider field of vision.  We watched from the 8th row giving us a narrow field of vision, and since there are a lot activities on stage, we kept on tiltling our heads from side to side, up and down, throughout the show.