All About S & B

Now I know how Nathaniel Archibald feels.

Though I've griped about his moody indecisiveness, I now know how hard it is to choose between two lovers. Especially when they are as different as night and day. Or Serena and Blair.

Or Shanghai or Beijing. Now that's my question.

Wanderlust calls, my feet are itching to move again and the latest travel promotions have gotten me dreaming about my next destination. Seems like ages since I've been out and about in a distant foreign land! Wouldn't want to go too far though since I'm saving for next year - but I wouldn't want to take a short meaningless hop next door as well.

So China seems to be my best bet - and I've narrowed it down to either Shanghai or Beijing.


Time to go a-rambling.
The grande old dame Beijing's a simple enough choice. After all, Charming Calvin's still in the northern capital - certainly a draw factor! Saves a bundle on accomodation that's for sure.

Gotta admit I'm also dying to have another bite of Peking Duck - with possibly another bid to get a cheaper tibetan stool at the Panjiayuan market :) But I've done most of the sights in Beijing, been to all the places I wanna go - and hell, it's only been a year since my last visit!

Far too early for a return visit, right? Especially when I haven't even covered half the places on my blue list.

Hence Shanghai - that modern miss eager to embrace the bourgeois world of commerce and materialism. Been there a couple of years before but it was such a crazy madcap rush with the tour guides that I hardly had any time to appreciate the place. All I recall are shopping temples, shiny towers and chilly boat rides. Still so many places to see, so many things to buy - though honestly I barely even had the time to haggle for prices the last time!

Paul : Ooh, that lamp looks nice.
Shopkeeper : A thousand yuan.
Paul : Two hundred yuan. Take it or leave it.
Shopkeeper : So much ah. How to survive like that, sir? I have children to feed. But today special price for you. Five hundred yuan.
Paul : Two hundred.
Shopkeeper : Aiya! You're killing me here.
Paul : Oh shit. The bus is leaving. Here take your money, you bloodsucker and hand me that lamp.

Half the fun of bargaining is lost, I swear.

And I never had the time to even enjoy their trademark xiaolong pao there! Apart from tossing a few warm ones into a doggie bag before hotfooting back to the tour bus. Somehow it doesn't taste as good when you're struggling to swallow it while being jolted in a speeding bus ( with passengers chattering at the top of their lungs ) down a busy expressway.

Promised myself the next time I'm in Shanghai that I'd take it real slow. More lazy hours at the teahouses rather than being shoved en masse from one temple to another. More hours at the museums rather than squabbling over knockoff designer handbags and cheap tees. More detailed guidebooks rather than guided tours with loud retired holidaymakers.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, even found this wonderful quaint hotel similar to the establishment we stayed in back in Tianjin. Coincidentally even shared the same name, Ascot House Hotel. Sure the building's a tad rundown and the service reputedly sucks but can anything compete with that old-world atmosphere!