Shanghai-Jiangnan Tour: Part 10 (Finale + Bonus!)

10. It's Me-me Time!
You must have noticed I haven't put up any pix featuring me. It's all my ma's fault lar. Taught her so many times still dunno how to snap properly. Guess she's shutterphobic. But here are some shots of cute me, taken by moi. Please enjoy.

p/s: I'm not narcissistic mind you.






6 cities in 8 days. Tired leh!


My fave orh pee sai shot...kekeke

And as fate would decide, I met Linlin in Wuxi! We didn't even plan to meet!



I'm Staying Away from Guided Tours
Guided tour with big groups is not for me lar. Makes me feel like headless chicken following the crowd. The food sux. Everyday is the same as yesterday - lotsa meat soaked in oil, eggs cooked in same boring way, vegies stir-fried in a sea of salt and soup so bland you thought it's water. I came back with a sore, thick tongue. Not only that, I'm also porkphobic now. The pig must have fed on stinky food there - the meat simply causes nausea. Yeeks....!

Then, as part of tour agency's SOP, they brought us to so many tourist retail outlets that are total waste of time. Worse still, tour guide coerced us into taking an optional tour which costs S$100 and it consists only of a cultural Chinese dance performance, 1 free ride to a shopping belt in Nanjing and 1 dinner. Why call it optional when she made it soooo compulsory?

BUT...I simply refused to take it up and got the guide absolutely pissed. 5 other aunties followed suit after seeing how insistent I was. You should have seen how her smiley face turned all black INSTANTLY. Classic.

By the way, be careful of fake RMB notes. Quite a bit are floating in the market. I got 1 fake RMB$50 (S$10) from change. The big shops are usually quite ok cos they check notes they receive and pay out. Beware when in small shops that look like they would make人肉包 (human flesh bun) out of you.

Hair-Raising Massage
Got a free massage as part of my package. But it's all a scam to get our foot in the door to spend more lar. Anyway, my masseur is this 22-year-old boy from Shanxi. He must have found me irresistible - just couldn't stop talking to me.

As he applied finger pressure on my very well-endowed feet, he started harping on how fair and smooth my skin is. My hair stood immediately. He had to end the massage with a flirty wink. I nearly flipped.

淫贼!!!

BONUS!
I'm sorry if my pictures bore you lar. Here are few parting shots and I be off to zzzz....can't believe this travelog took me whole day :S


Some pagoda in Suzhou. Can't remember name liao lar.


Some plant in some garden. Let's just call it big lalang.


More greens. Good for your eyes ah!


Dusk at Wuxi's TV City. Didn't realise it's a wee bit romantic until I look at my photos today.


Sofitel Hyland Hotel smacked right in the middle of Nanjing Lu. Next time I wanna stay here, not at the lok kok Shangfu Holiday Hotel.

FINALLY, my prized harvest in Shanghai! Not including another 10+ tees I got for bro, ma and friends. Books and CDs/VCDs/DVDs are cheap in Shanghai Shucheng 上海书城 at Fu Zhou Lu, near Nanjing Lu. And I like shops such as Uniqlo and Huso with sections selling tees designed by design students from other parts of the world, and Meter Bonwe - the Chinese's version of Fox / Topshop and the like.



I need another holiday already.