Shanghai 2015! (Part I)

This year my family once again made our annual trips to Shanghai to visit our long-distance relatives! The thing about such trips is that I always go with a feeling of excitement, but halfway through, I would be pining for Singapore because I would miss everything here so much.

Changi Airport's Christmas decoration! It is a real pity that it doesn't snow in Singapore because I for one sure can think of half a million things to do with some fluffy white snow, hehe.

2014 Changi Airport Christmas decoration

A majestic looking (although also rather fake looking) castle! I was curious what was inside, but I don't think we are allowed to go in.

I like the flowers!

Large snowflakes as decoration

The AED at the side of the house (along with the Chanel 5 tag) totally murdered the originally sweet and picturesque sight of the hut! I can't remember why Mickey mouse is there though, can anyone?

"Look at my house!" - Mickey

The playground!

Changi Airport's playground for children.

Nope, no children on that night when we were at the airport, which was a temptation for me since I could have the whole playground to myself! But woe betide my grown frame and overly mature face since I have to uphold my "grown up respectability" and sit demurely on the sofa whilst sneaking longing glances at my childhood amusement.

I really do think Singapore has a brilliant airport.

Then...

Litter litter everywhere

I didn't know why, but the sight of the litter and cans and bottle being left on the sofa of the waiting lounge shocked me a little. I am guessing it is mainly because I am so used to the impeccably neat and tidy environment of Singapore that such a sight seems like an oddly insulting smear upon our country's magnificent airport.

Around the lounge, more litter could be spotted, and in one area, it was particularly cluttered. I was slightly irked by the sight: couldn't the litter bugs have the basic decency to clean up their own mess after themselves? Just because there is a highly efficient cleaning crew in Changi doesn't mean that we can pollute the environment!

On the airplane (we rode with China Eastern Airlines), we were pleasantly surprised to find that that particular plane has been upgraded to have a small screen at the back of each seat. Cue movie time!
I woke up in the middle of the night around 1-2am to watch Maleficient. Hehe and I didn't think of watching that on my own! I saw this other dude that was watching it in the seat before mine and it looked interesting, so I kinda copied him.

Maleficient is a brilliant movie, and Angelina Jolie did a fantastic job portraying the lead character. The joy, heartache and betrayal were all beautifully captured. The only gripe I had with the movie was that Sleeping Beauty (Aurora?)'s character was mildly bland, which is like okay, acceptable, since this movie isn't really about her (that much) anyway.

One of the places in Shanghai which we went to was Cheng Huang Miao shopping district, and this was how it looked like when we stepped out of the metro station (which is the MRT train station, but they like to call it that so hehe).

Dong Fang Ming Zhu in the distance.

 As seen from the photo, that day was kinda hazy and it wasn't possible to take an ultra clear shot of the skyscrapers. Sighs to air pollution.

I took a picture of a random building which I thought was rather nice looking at that point of time. As for now I just can't seem to see the appeal that I saw then...hmm

Ahh! I love love love these quaint little street side stalls. I love how cluttered and yet organized they are, I love how one can always find unimaginable surprises buried beneath their lackluster surfaces.

Since it was around Christmas period, the stalls were naturally full of X'mas themed items. Look at the golden reindeer and its dainty posture! <3

I bought some really cute and tiny little soft toy bears from the stall below! Can you see all the bears hanging by the sides? The bodies of the bears are actually shaped like bear claws!

That many gloves xD

 And the endless assortment of trinkets for very affordable prices. I love how in China we can always haggle over the price since the price the seller first offers is usually an unreasonably high one haha. Bear that in mind travelers! Remember to cut the price by half!

 Nearby, (please don't ask me the name, I have absolutely no idea), there is this giant outlet mall that sells the widest variety of things I have ever seen. I particularly like the mugs:

Kawaii milk carton mugs with ceramic straws attached!

 The endless rows of mugs.

And here comes the ceramic decorations! They are beyond adorable!

Wind chimes! I think?

Okay these must be fake potted plants! If you want to brighten your room but cannot remember to water your plants, try one of these! They never wilt! But they do gather a lot of dust!

I like the little fences that make up these pots! And the flowers look refreshingly real from here, don't they?

Beneath the flowers, near the mugs are the most adorable clocks! Maybe you might even wake up on time just to admire the clock?

DIY wood crafts. Or are they styrofoam? I can't remember....

Look at them crystals.

Ahh! I like the Energy-battery based waterbottle design! It is so adorable and creative!

The Minions pillow and head-rest.

Yes. They are still water bottles. I am obsessed with how cute they are and I cannot stop posting picture of them.

Okay phew finally, here are handmade notebooks.
Yes, each of them priced at 35 rmb which is roughly S$7.

Mmm, here is the name of the stall! I think I am in love with the antique feeling of the shop, not to mention the slightly musty scent of parchment!

Here is an assortment of very strange accessories. Yep, the colourful long stringy looking thing on the panel near the right of the photo are actually earrings. Sorry, but WHO THE HELL WEARS THEM?

I suppose my look of incredulity must be pretty ill concealed: look at the judging look on the stall owner's face. xD

Here is another stall that allows you to design your own notebook cover as well as postcards I think? I like it, I like it, I LOVE it. Unfortunately the price was a bit out of my budget and I didn't get to try it out.

AHHHHH there we go again! This time it is overly adorable glass bottles. WHY China WHY do you do this to me? You are inducing an obession for bottles in me!

More...

And more...(holy mackerals, is that a minion shaped bottle!?)

Finally, the bleating of the sheep who looks more like a pale lettuce interrupts our never-ending flow of pictures of kawaii bottles.

Soft toys!

DIY felt toys.

HATS.

 Stationery!

More X'mas stuff on sale outside the building.

Mmmm I like the owls! They look so cute and life-looking.

 FANS.

The district is a bit run down, I have a feeling that it is deliberately kept that way to increase the mystique and the ancient vibe.

Alright, that guy photobombed.

Feels like 19th century China. Where chinese operas were still being staged frequently outside.

 My mom bought a pair of sunglasses from here!

 Our lunch that day. Priced way over 100 rmb, don't be fooled by the looks. It tasted horrible. Like beyond horrible. The fried chicken was stale, the fried dumplings were cold and hard and I could barely chew through them. The only thing I liked was the potato wedges thing, but it was extremely oily and had this taste of stale oil. Also, the xiao long bao you see here (steamed buns) were almost cold and tasted horrible. Argh, it was a horribly spent 130 plus dollars.

 Ahh, the items below are tiny versions of the real thing crafted from gold I think?

 Speed sketch: how many can you name?

Here comes the pricey store:

The pikachu below looks like a counterfeit product!

 For people who like "Attack on Titan"!

That's all for today's post! I will update again soon!

Thank you all for reading and please leave a comment to let me know what you think of the goods found in this shopping district! ^_^