Summer in Shanghai

Since my last (first and only) blog post, World Cup fever has hit Shanghai in a HUGE way. Given there are so many expats here, countless pubs and bars are staying open all night, every night pretty much to cater for the madding, beer guzzling crowds. Similarly, many of the Country Pavilions here at Expo are having huge parties when their teams are playing. Unfortunately, the games are at 10pm and 2am - way past my bed time!!!!

Having said that, I did head out last week with a fabulous friend I have made in Shanghai and met some more fabulous friends (Tommy and Quan - I am blaming you both for my hangover :) - and of course a hundred randoms too :). A great night was had by all. A 100RMB cover charge gets you a free jug of beer - which I of course proceeded to share among new found 'friends', given I was busy consuming frozen cocktails.... we visited such classy establishments… The Camel and O’Malleys.. the names tell enough of a story.

The weather is much warmer now, about 30 degrees every day with, what feels like, humidity of about 120%. Many days it rains and then is humid. Today for the first time in weeks I woke and could see the sun – a rare day so I did smile broadly as I looked out of my apartment window; it even lasted for about 5 hours which is rare. The pollution seems particularly bad in the last 3-4 weeks, hence my grand plans for running outside each morning in training for the Sydney half in September have not eventuated - which in turn means I doubt very much I will be fit enough to run 21.1k by mid Sept... My apartment building has a good gym and I go mosts morning but treadmill running gets very boring, very quickly.

Until the middle of June we were madly busy preparing for Cisco CEO, John Chambers, to visit (which included a host of other very senior execs too). The amount of preparation that goes into a visit of that level is not imaginable if you are not involved; suffice to say it is extensive. The rewards however are often worth it – the visit was a huge success. Chambers is a bit of a rock star in the Business and IT worlds; it was refreshing and very nice to see lots of the team at the Pavilion feeling particularly privileged as they shook hands and had photos with him – especially given he is not some teenage rock star, but a true business legend and pioneer in the IT world.

After John left we did have a fantastic dinner at Mr & Mrs Bund with about 20 people from all parts of the world (http://www.mmbund.com/) (my fav restaurant in Shanghai to date) followed by drinks at a great new rooftop bar called The Apartment (http://www.smartshanghai.com/radar/the_apartment.html). It is in the French Concession off Fuxing Lu – there are a few bars all in a row. It was great and the drinks were good, I guess the only ‘problem’ is that it was full of expats like me – not so many local people. Nevertheless, a nice place to wind down with a few people from all over the world.

Things have calmed down a little since mid June and I even had time to go to order some handmade shoes. Only AUD150 each….. when you are copying AUD1500 Louboutins that is an absolute bargain!! Can’t say that shopping here interests me very much, but having things made which you know will be unique is kind of nice; hence my ordering a few more new suits (we wear a suit here every day – very different to last year where I spent the entire year at the beach or in comfy clothes!).

I’ve stopped going to Din Tai Fung for dumplings (www.dintaifung.com.tw/en) they really are the best) because it got to the point where they knew my name!!! Even the local salad joint knows me – I go there and I don’t even speak, the lady just repeats my order to me :) - yes, I am but a creature of habit.

Last Friday night I flew to Hong Kong to spend the weekend with Virginia. I stayed at my old stomping ground, the Grand Hyatt – it was so nice to be in a hotel with room service after so long in an apartment, I must admit. Spent all day Saturday shopping with the lovely VB followed by Sunday of more shopping and cleaning out her shoes in readiness for her move home in August; was always going to happen VB, you move home and I am o/s!!! It poured rain the entire 48 hours I was there, thankfully I had the shops to keep me busy and now have 2 new stunning pairs of Muimui’s to show for my little adventure (that would be very, very nice, very, very high heels for the uninitiated :).

Last night I enjoyed dinner at Laris with the gorgeous Mr Lucas. Laris is in 3 on the Bund – a building full of lots of lovely bars and restaurants (http://www.threeonthebund.com/#). The smog wasn’t too bad last night so the view down the Bund was stunning – getting a taxi afterwards was one mean feat, quite odd for a Tuesday night, but then again, this is a city with millions of millions of people, Expo is crazily busy and it is World Cup time.

Tonight I start my Chinese lessons with a colleague – so far I know very little; hello, thank you, turn left, turn right, yes, receipt…. I did teach myself to count to 100 the other night which was a start. Hopefully after 50 lessons I will at least know some conversational Mandarin – at the moment I am still pointing a lot!

Haven’t had so much time lately to walk the streets so planning to do so on Saturday and Sunday – will load some photos next week as I haven’t taken any for weeks and weeks. Juz arrives on Sunday night and is staying for 11 days which will be great. Am planning to head to Tokyo for 4 days mid July so Brad and Ant – will await all of your recommendations!!

So, that’s it for me for now. Missing home, missing the sun, missing everyone but of course, life is about experiences so no complaints.

The photos you see are some of the fun folks I am lucky enough to work with and some I am lucky enough to work with AND get out and about with.

xxx
PS – I am still yet to look around Expo…. Will get to it….

Back in Shanghai

My first blog piece - it is a complete ramble but I hope you will enjoy. It isn't that I wouldn't like to email everyone individually, I just simple do not have enough hours in my day so I hope you will forgive me and accept this as a substitute - and hopefully it will help you all to remember me as I will be home eventually!!

I have been here on and off, mostly on, since March. Shanghai is a vibrant, energised city - it is just the smog that is a killer. Thankfully though, Summer is here and it is at least much warmer and not as hazy as it was for the first 3 months.

There is the old and the new sides of Shanghai, like most big cities, but here the differences are so noticeable. The old houses still exist with many thousands of people living in little laneway dwellings where they reside with up to 4 generations.

Some 19 million people live in Shanghai - and many of them are not from the affluent side of society. And I think that is what is most striking - they go about their daily lives and they are happy as they know no differently. The mad traffic is forgotten as you wander the laneways watching people go by on a 3 wheel bike carrying more than we would ever dream of loading into a 2 tonne truck. Whilst most westerners are not 'brave' enough to try the street food, you cannot escape from the smells and sounds all around as the stall holders make a living 7 days a week serving up authentic dishes for only a few cents.

I've moved from Fraser Apartments to Ascott Apartments - a really nice 1 bedroom apartment with a snazzy kitchen (unlikely to get used but at least it is there...), a lovely rain head shower and 2 great flat screen teles (shame the channels offered are rubbish but at least there is a DVD player too). The complex only opened on 1 May so it is nice and new; it has a simple but nice gym and is on a main road, HauiHai Lu, an easy walk to the super market, Xintiandi and lots of restaurants and shops.

Since I have been here I have not had a lot of time to do much sight seeing as we were simply too busy getting the Pavilion ready for opening. Since opening (1 May) we have been busy with some top level executive visits but after 19 June that all dies down and am determined to get some semblance of a life back and get out and about and explore some more.

I have of course managed to go to the fabric market and have some clothes made. I had 2 suits made, one with a jacket, pants and a skirt and the other just pants and a jacket - grand sum of AUD190. Cufflinks ranged from AUD4.50 to AUD12... I've been to the Three Leaves building where there are 5 floors of eye glass vendors - with all the work I do in front of a PC my eyes are not what they used to be so after only an hour at the stall we had been recommended to go to I was the proud owner of 4 new pairs of glasses (2 x Gucci and 2 x Prada - you would never know the difference....) for the sum of AUD200 - including eye test, frames and lenses.....

Other than that, a few work tings and bags from Zara and a few little things at the markets.

Eating..... I am such a regular at Din Tai Fung now that I am always sat in the same area with my favourite waiter, Ken. I am still yet to find a dumpling to surpass those of Din Tai Fung. There is a Din Tai Fung in World Square in Sydney so if you are a fan, you should try it out.

There are countless great restaurants in Shanghai and I look forward to trying more and more over the coming months. Mr & Mrs Bund is my favourite - a very eclectic place located right on the bund. The furniture is a tad bizarre in spots but the French Martinis are to die for....

Sichuan Citizen is another delicious place and I had one of my best nights here at a restaurant called Osteria - will definitely be going back when Juz is here for a few weeks in July.

My lovely friend Arna is arriving tonight to come and work with us for 5 months. There are 4 of us in the same apartment block now so will be nice to get out and about a little together.

My plan at this stage is to head to London to attend the lovely Bolton's wedding party in August for a few days - I am only 11 hours away... nothing at all so I figure why not.

And of course in September my gorgeous New York buddies, Gene and Thomas will be here for 2 nights when they cruise in - cannot wait to see them and show them around a little.

Then I have the lovely Carla's birthday in California in December. Oh, did I mention that my year with alcohol has not materialized... Yes - I failed. I lasted until mid March but since then have had a few cocktails and one night out on the Tequila with the guys who were here building the NZ Pavilion. However, I've had no massive nights out since December and have only had a few cocktails all year so that's gotta count for something...

I am determined to run the Sydney half in September so started back at the gym today after having 4 weeks off. Was simply too tired and busy to drag my butt out of bed at 530am - especially last 2 weeks in Sydney where it rained every day...

As for the Expo site itself, I shamedly admit I have not been anywhere... We are on the Puxi side of the river, the smaller side, and away from all of the Country Pavilions which are of course, the focal point for most visitors. We do have a sly plan though... In a few months our great Marketing Manager, Aki, will have such great relationships with all of the Pavilions she will be able to arrange for us to get into all of them without queuing ;-).

The China Pavilion is of course the most popular, closely followed by Saudi Arabia. The queue to get into the Saudi Pavilion averages 4 hours and about 3km long. it is said to have cost USD160mill to build and features the largest IMAX theatre screen in the world measuring some 1600 sq metres.. It's theme is 'Vitality of Life'

I miss everyone and I do miss Juz and Vegas more than words could tell, but it is a fabulous experience being here and I am part of the biggest show mankind has ever seen - so no complaints.

So, there you have it.. a little bit about Shanghai and the Expo and my life as it stands.

G
xxxx