Day Trip to Pudong

Today my flat mate Algis and I decided to take the subway and visit Pudong. Like the rest of Shanghai there was dozens of people cleaning the subways constantly, I even saw 3 men abseiling down a building scrubbing it! I was very impressed that the subway went straight across the river, and only took 20 minutes from where we live in Dapuqiao.

We took metro line 9 to Century Avenue and then metro line 2 to Lujiazui. I was amazed inside the tube by 3D adverts of catwalk shows! It looked so real! Once we were in Lujiazui, we came across the famous skyline, with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jinmao Tower, the Jin Mao Observatory and the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC). Algis and I were planning on going to the observatory at the top of the SWFC, (the tallest observation deck in the world!!) however due to bad weather we were advised to wait until a clearer day.  You can see by my photos how foggy it was.

Due to this, we got a Starbucks and decided to go on the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. None of us knew what to expect with this tunnel as it was a tunnel across Huangpu River; I thought there may have been fish to see.  However, it was in fact a horizontal elevator with a light show.

On the first side of the river is Pudong, which is the financial district and has ultra modern architecture, but on the other side of the river is ‘The Bund’. Here you can (if the weather permits) get a full scale view of the amazing city scape in Pudong.

However, in the Bund, it is almost the opposite. The architecture is very old and to be honest, British looking. Later, whilst on the Bund riverside, we were sat in a traditional Chinese teashop having some green tea and the lady serving us told us that the architecture on this side of the river dated back to British/French colonial days of the 19th Century. This explained the very Westernized feel.

Whilst we were on this side of the Huangpu River, we decided to visit the Yuyuan Gardens (aka Yu Gardens).  This is a beautiful garden that is state protected, unfortunately we arrived a little too late to enter the private middle part of the gardens, but we were still lucky enough to see the beautiful traditional architecture, that the rest of Shanghai (both old and new) is not so characteristic of. We also got to see the fish in the Koi pond.

Next to the Gardens, there is a bazaar with what must be hundreds of shops selling everything! Whilst we were in the bazaar, we decided to eat at a 100-year-old restaurant inside there, which was renowned for its traditional Chinese dumplings and buns but also did a selection of dim sum. The food was amazing and came with a view across the bazaar. Although ordering the food was a little bit of a challenge, as even in very touristic areas, hardly anyone speaks any English, but it was definitely worth it! Just to top off how good the food was, it came to 140 renminbi, so 70 each - £7.

As we were back on our side of the river, we decided to get a taxi home. I absolutely loved my first proper day as a tourist in Shanghai. Work tomorrow!!

xxxx

My Apartment

Here are some photos of my apartment!

This is my bedroom

This is my view and my en-suite

 This is my drying rack - theres usually an ironing board here too!

This is the living room and the balcony!

This is the kitchen

xxx

Arrival in Shanghai...

When I was 17 and travelled alone to India, the second I got off the plane, the hot thick air hit me and it is something that I have always remembered because it was such a different consistency and scent and just so different in that it was almost overwhelming, and I definitely knew I was somewhere new and exciting. Due to this, I’ve been really curious whether China would have this immediate and striking lasting effect on me.

When I first got to Shanghai and I was going through the airport, the first two things I noticed was how clean it was and that there were lots of people cleaning everywhere and that there was lots of official looking people stood around. When I had collected my luggage and went through to arrivals, amongst all the taxi people trying to get your attention, was a tiny Chinese man with a sign nearly bigger than him saying 'MELISSA WESTON' so I went over and he took my trolley with all my bags and moved so quickly I thought he was running away with my bags! Trying to keep up and make some conversation, I feebly said 'Nee How' and asked if he had had to wait a long time, but he just showed me some ID and we went to the car park. We got into a little taxi bus kind of car and started to speed through Shanghai, I think it made him feel a bit awkward every time I tried to make conversation because he didn’t speak a word of English so I stopped! My first impressions of Shanghai whilst driving through it was how European it was, I was quite shocked by this as I didn’t really know what to expect but apart from the Chinese symbols everywhere, it was just a big city. I was so tired as we were driving through after my flights that I was nodding off but I was immediately woken up by car horns everywhere, cars cutting each other up and ignoring zebra crossings. It was unusual as well that the traffic lights had timers on them, which I thought was quite efficient until I realized that the red light wasn’t necessarily as compulsory a 'stop and go system' as it was in the UK.

I was quite shocked when we suddenly mounted the pavement outside a big Ritz type looking hotel and my programme coordinator Sunny ran over to the car and said hello! Her and two others, a girl and boy called Sophie and Sonic all got my bags and helped me into the hotel. Everyone is really eager to help you here. Sunny checked me in and told me I had an apartment in the hotel, which I would share with a boy who was also from Europe.

Sophie and I had a good chat whilst Sunny checked me in. Her English is really good, she is pretty and from Beijing, she has an American accent because she did an exchange programme where she worked for Disney world for 6 months. Sonic is from Shanghai and attends university here, he said that I have to come and see it with them.

Then we all went to see my apartment; I’m on the fourth column of the hotel on the sixth floor. I was very impressed as it is massive! There is a big living room with a sofa and chair and coffee table with a big TV and a balcony overlooking China, next to the lounge is a dining table and then the kitchen with pots and pans, fridge, washing machine etc. It’s all really clean and modern too. The apartment has two bedrooms on either side, one for me and one for my flat mate. Mine has an en suite with a bath! Ideal!

After signing some forms and going through various maps of Shanghai, Sonic had to leave. I was given a welcome pack with all the information I would need inside, my international sim card and also a box of noodles, a Snickers bar and a bottle of water. Me, Sunny and Sophie had a good chat, they wanted to show me around, they told me to get through my jet lag by staying awake (definitely easier said than done) so we walked into town (which is literally 5 minutes walk) and Sunny showed me where the subway was, then she left. Me and Sophie went to a kind of fast food Chinese/Japanese restaurant, I didn’t have a clue what to order as everything was in Chinese, so Sophie ordered a bowl of rice with a fish on top and some Chinese lettuce. This came with a McDonalds looking cup of coke and a bowl of what appeared to be a small bowl of eggy custard with vegetables in it called ‘Gaa’ I think. The fish and rice dish had a very sweet sauce on it, which was quite nice, I didn’t know what fish it was but it still had its skin on. Bahhh. I tried the eggy custard thing but it was gross. Sophie laughed and said shed never tried it.

Then we went into town a bit further and went into a boutique style labyrinth of shops, through a winding array of little streets, it reminded me of the bazaars in Turkey. Sophie agreed it was very European. I nearly got talked into buying the most amazing silk and cashmere scarf I have ever seen but it was far too many renminbi for me to mention, I’m so glad I didn’t as well, the next shop had them for a fraction of the price! I was so tired so I had to cut shopping short; Sophie took me to one last place, which was Tesco to get some food. I was shocked to see a big fish tank full of so many different fish and eels swimming around, awaiting their fate. Sophie convinced one of the shop assistants to let me try a fruit that Iv never seen before, she didn’t know what its English name was, but it was as big as a bamboo stick, you bite a piece off, chew it until you have drained it of sugary water and then spit it out. It was nice and only 11 renminbi for a 2-meter high stick. (About £1) but it was too big and heavy to carry.

Afterwards Sophie walked me home and said she would txt me later, annoyingly though my new sim card says it needs an unlock code, so I hope she doesn’t think I’m ignoring her. When I got in I unpacked, sorted my Internet out (my VPN works! woohoo) and went to bed! xxx

From Russia with Love xx

Just got to Moscow and my flight here was great, I had a whole row to myself so could relax which was ideal. None of the staff on Aeroflot could speak English, which really surprised me and everyone keeps thinking I am Russian, must be my blonde hair. We went through a storm on the plane and there was lots of turbulence, lots of people were getting a bit panicky, but I fell asleep! (Probably because I had so much room!) 

I was amazed as we came into Russia at how much vast white space there was; there is so many trees and snow in Moscow! Forests after more forests with massive gaps filled with snow. It was lovely as we came in because little snow flakes formed on my window, but the second I got off the plane it was so cold! I think I am definitely going to have to buy a stereotype big Russian fur hat, and possibly a Russian doll set!

I was shocked again in Moscow Sheremetyevo airport that people were allowed to smoke. On my London – Moscow flight, there were ashtrays in the toilets but it was a non-smoking flight of course.

My flight to Shanghai will take precisely 8 hours and get into Pudong around 9.30 am local time, which I think is around 2am GMT. My flight is currently flying at an altitude of 36586 feet and ground speed of 536 mph! I’ve just had a nice dinner, prawn salad to start, fish and rice with a huge cake with chocolate bits on! I have also just watched ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ on the on board entertainment system (which I thought looked a bit retro upon first inspection, but surprisingly has a USB port!) I thought it would be an apt film, as I will be working in the financial district in Shanghai.

Placement at Parliament

My name is Melissa and I am 21, I have just finished university at Oxford Brookes, where I studied Business and English Language and Linguistics. I am waiting on my results (due back March 7th 2011) I am about to embark on a series of placements and additional courses, which I plan on blogging about to keep my friends and family up to date.

My first blog post is going to be about my placement at the House of Commons in Westminster, London. It was an extremely stimulating placement in an MP’s office. My placement began with a thorough ID check and the printing up of my government identification badges, which was all very exciting. I soon began work in the office and met the other staff, who were very helpful and welcoming. The office had an amazing view of Big Ben, overlooking the atrium of Portcullis house. I was eased into my placement quite gently, by replying to various invitations, including one from Manchester United! I quickly realised, however, that a parliamentary office can be a very stressful and extremely busy working environment and that it is quite a challenge keeping up pace.


During my time at parliament, I was lucky enough to be able to witness the student protests regarding the increase in tuition fees and cutting of EMA allowance. During a student lobby in Westminster Hall, I was amazed to see the contrasting opinions of the students and politicians. It was very unusual to be both part of the ‘us and them’ categories.

There was also a fun promotional event whilst I was in the office, in which a British shoe company wanted to do a promotional piece for their website in which they interview various personalities who are passionate about what they do, and interview them ‘in their shoes’…literally. This included a photo shoot and enabled me to ghost write an article based on the event. It was a good challenge to be able to adapt from the seriousness of working in parliament to writing a tongue in cheek article about the MP I was working for also being a male model!

Before my placement at parliament, I didn’t realise that constituents of the MP’s designated area can ask their MP for help, with just about anything and everything, from their knitting club being cancelled to their divorces. I was so touched at the care and attention, as well as the time and effort that are put into answering all of these letters and genuinely trying to help each of these people. On behalf of the office I was working in, I myself wrote to the Ministry of Justice regarding of one of the constituents. I really enjoyed this ‘helping the people’ aspect of working in a parliamentary office.

Following my placement, I can see that working in a parliamentary office can be a very demanding environment and I feel my experience here definitely assisted with my ability to prioritize and remain calm in high-pressure situations. Unfortunately I had to cut my placement at parliament short by a week because my finals were postponed to after Christmas due to the bad weather in Oxford and I felt I needed to focus on revision for my exams. Hopefully this will pay off. I will let everyone know the results on 7^th February 2011 whilst I am in China! (FINGERS CROSSED!)

Melissa x