Surviving Shanghai: Day 2

We lost another opportunity of going out in the morning because I had to take my final exam online in one of my subjects in my masters. So we left the hotel at lunch time and headed to Yu Garden and City God Temple. We got off at Yuyuan Garden station, crossed the street and walked our way to the temple.

 be careful while crossing the street 'coz they rarely obey traffic rules there

While walking to the temple, there were a lot of shops. That's Yuyuan Market, a place that looks like Divisoria. Anyway, we entered the temple and we were surprised that about 3/4 of the whole place were transformed into a shopping haven. Some parts of the temple were also converted into restaurants. But still, they were able to preserve the Chinese heritage the temple has.

 map

 super cute pandas!!!

We found a tip on GuidePal Shanghai, another useful application I downloaded from the Apple App Store, that the "xiaolongbao" or soup dumpling in Nan Xiang Restaurant is a must-try. So we tried it! There was a very long outside the restaurant for "take out" orders and it's a whole lot cheaper there too. But since we wanted to avoid the queue, we'd rather be seated and pay more, so we went up the 3rd floor of the 3-storey restaurant. The xiaolongbao is quite expensive at 36 RMB and it's good for 1 person only. I suggest, just be patient with the queue if you wanna get it for a cheaper price. Trust me, it's super worth it! It's very tasty! We also ordered another set of dumplings and a shanghai roll. The dumplings were also good, but we were surprised because the shanghai roll came in just one small piece and rolled like a crepe. It's delicious but not enough.

long queue outside

 dumplings

 THE "xiaolongbao"

 tea that doesn't taste good

 THE "spring roll"

 i want this! haha

There's a part of the temple that's more exclusive. There's an entrance fee of 40 RMB because it's peak season. I think it's cheaper at off season. Actually, besides the Chinese history reflected on the structure of the temple, there's nothing else to see there. By saying that, I meant that there's nothing spectacular and if I had to compare it with those I saw in Beijing a year ago, it's too far from how awesome the stuff in Beijing were.

 tickets at 40 RMB because it's peak season

 used an effect from my Camera 360 app

 the stage

saw this cute display on our way out

Then we proceeded to the Fashion Center where we saw a lot of international brands. But across that were stores that were like a bazaar or Divisoria. We were not able to shop because we had to catch a show after.

they have these yummy doughnuts too!

From Yuyuan Garden station, we took the metro train to Shanghai Circus World station. It's so funny 'cause we walked the wrong way when after all, we just had to cross the street to see the Shanghai Circus World. A week before leaving for Shanghai, I booked a 2 tickets of 90 RMB each (cheapest) through the ERA: Intersection of Time website. It was just a reservation as we had to pick up the tickets when we get to the venue. However, when we got there, I was informed that my reservation was for Friday night and not Saturday night! Gosh, how did I overlook that?!? Unfortunately, the seats worth 90 RMB were already fullybooked so we got those worth 190 RMB instead. But trust me, it's super worth it! ERA was the best thing I've ever seen! There were lots of heart-stopping stunts! To give you an idea of what I was talking about...imagine this: Eight motorcycles in maximum speed were all inside a globe at the same time! That's a superb finale! Anyway, I won't spoil it much anymore, you gotta see it for yourselves! 

 after buying tickets

By the way, before we watched the show, we had dinner at Saizeriya, a restaurant I got to know when I was in Japan. They served good food. It's located at the mall on the block next to the Shanghai Circus World.

 affordable and yummy!

 tiramisu! yum!

 chicken

hamburger

 during intermission. that's a timer.

 8 motorcycles inside that globe! anyway, here's the cast!:)

best thing I've ever seen, so far.

Check out http://www.era-shanghai.com/era/en/ for details. Here are some photos I've grabbed from the website, featuring the highlights of the show:

Highlight 1: Mirror Mirage

Highlight 2: Magic Water

Highlight 3: Floating Gondola

Highlight 4: Music of ERA

Highlight 5: Jar Juggling

Highlight 6: Wheel of Life

 Highlight 7: Forever

Highlight 8: Space Motorcycles

Anyway, after the show, we headed to Century Avenue while figuring out where to go for a Saturday night. Incidentally, we detected a free/open wifi outside O'yamee right outside the Century Avenue station. We stayed outside the place for almost an hour trying to browse our iPhone travel apps on suggestions of places to go. Guidepal Shanghai is nice because on wifi or 3G, it can show a live map wherein it shows you the nearby spots, as you move your phone around. It has this censor that detects your location. Super cool! Plus you can also checkout www.smartshanghai.com on the internet because it contains the daily events in Shanghai. That night we read about lots of events happening in multiple places but we're not dressed and we just wanted to have a steady night.

Guidepal screen cap

Then we decided to go to The Alchemist. According to the app, it's a bar that serves unusual cocktails that will get you amazed as they prepare them in front of you. Since we got curious, we chose that place. It's at Fuxing Lu, the heart of nightlife in Shanghai 'coz it's where you'll find series of different bars. Anyway, The Alchemist is located at Sinan Mansions, it's like a mivi village of nice houses that has a commercial area at the entrance. There were a few people that night at The Alchemist but most of them were expats. The English-speaking Chinese bartender was so entertaining because he kept talking to the customers and he really speaks with American accent! His favorite word: f*ckin haha! Anyway, their cocktails were good though a bit pricey. We also ordered the Eggwich -- 4pcs butter-toasted bread with poached egg on top -- and it's super addicting! After more than an hour there, we headed back to the hotel.

 cocktails :)

 we're seated by the bar

 eggwich! super love!!!!

 salad

 seems like a very nice place to live in

So that's our 2nd day in Shanghai! Next post is about our 3rd and last day in Shanghai...