I met up with my cousin who opened a hair salon in Shanghai over the weekend. Other than eat, I think the thing that I did the most while I am in Shanghai is probably to shop and also to beautify myself.
She brought me shopping at this wholesale center where they sell a lot of shoes and I got off with 2 pairs of boots which I may not even get a chance to wear in Singapore. :P Shopping in Shanghai or maybe in China is a totally difference experience when compared to Singapore. In Shanghai, you have to bargin hard in order to get the best price of the things that you wantto buy. For example, initially I was quoted 178RMB for one of the pair of boots that I bought. My cousin managed to help me bargin with the shop owner and we walked off with the boots for only 80 RMB! That's more than half the original price quoted. According to my cousin, that's because business there is so competitive that the shop owner will rather earn less from you than lose the business to the other shops. I won't wonder why she say that business is very competitive there because the wholeplace are selling shoes and shoes and shoes! Later in the day, I bought another 2 bags in a shopping center where we had our dinner. I might have bought clothes too if they are not selling autumn wear in Shanghai now. So sad... :(
For the beautifying part, I permed my eyelashes, rebond-ed my hair again and did a pedicure too. All at no cost, thanks to my cousin. :P She helped me permed my eyelashes while the hairstylists in her salon helped me rebond my hair and refused to charge me at all. She said I look like Betty Boop now because of how curly my eyelashes are now. In the end, all I can do is to buy her dinner and buy snacks for her hairstylists as a sign of gratitude. She even paid for my pedicure. It has been quite sometime since I last did a pedicure because it is so expensive to do it in Singapore. It costs like only S$14 for a pedicure in Shanghai while it will cost at least double the price for the same thing in Singapore. Ok lah... The place to do the pedicure is not as nice as what we are used to in Singapore but the same things still get done. I am pretty ok with that. :P
I will be travelling to Beijing alone tomorrow morning. It is sort of a last minute decision to go up to Beijing. After all I had not planned to go at all. If not for the fact that I had more or less done all that I can do already in Shanghai over the last few days, I may not even travel out of Shanghai. This time it is really a trip on my own. I will not be meeting anyone there and I will be all alone there. I have not plan to do anything yet but I hope I will have the time to go up to the Great Wall of China. What's being in Beijing without going up to Great Wall of China right? 不到长城非好汉! Haha...
I will be making a trip up to Shenyang after Beijing. A short trip also because I have a friend who is staying there. But I may not be meeting my friend also. No plans yet. It all depends on whether my friend is available to meet me or not. If not, I am sure I will be fine alone too.
I am sort of looking forward to making a trip alone. It will definitely be a different experience as I cannot depend on anyone. Like the past few days I have been depending on my cousin to bring me around, help me bargin and etc. This time round, I have to find my way around myself. I have to be independent and carry out things myself with no help from anyone else. I will survive! But first thing first, I think it is time for me to get a watch. I forgot to bring mine alone and I keep losing track of time because I don't check on my hp often as nobody will call. Time to get a watch! :P
