August '06 - Shanghai

My first business trip: Shanghai. Hope there won't be too many business trips in the near future as you can't believe how tiring it can be. Although the meeting was only for 1 day, my midnight flight to Shanghai almost killed me.

Upon arriving, I went straight to the hotel for a shower and then to the office for a meeting that ended at 6.30pm. I knew I was facing a lot of stress even before flying and my Bunny had a good dose of my ranting before I went to the airport. I was almost breaking down into tears during the dinner with the GMs and MD, and I guess the more alcohol I consumed (slowly of course), the more relaxed I became. Guess the initial shock from the Japanese corporate culture was too much to bear.

We headed towards a bar that night that featured girls dancing and performing on a double storey stage. Hmm, I must say Shanghainese girls are rather pretty. Hehe. We found the nightlife in Shanghai to be more entertaining than Singapore's, in a different way. Too bad I don't have pictures to show.

Very nice of Daren to give me the next day off so that I can catch up on some sleep. Otherwise, I guess I will be stumbling my way to the office and onto the plane back home. The weather in Shanghai is unbearable and definitely way hotter than how it is in Singapore. I think heat is ok, but the pollution there made it worse.

A typical Shanghai cab - the notice states that, "Any psychos or drunkards should be accompanied by another passenger.." I found that to be very amusing. Haha.

Daren said I took this just in case I got kidnapped. Lol. That wasn't my intention.

Phew. Thank god the hotel was decent.

And here are some random pics:

...and a panoramic view from the office.

As you can tell, it's really hazy there. Plus the windows were dirty. Tsk, what a waste we didn't have much time to explore the place more. Perhaps next time...but for now, I'm glad I'm back in sunny Singapore.