An Illuminated Weekend in Shanghai

On Friday night, June 12, Absolute Internship hosted a KTV Karaoke night at Haoledi KTV in Metro City. Kareoke is very popular in China. Each group has their own private karaoke room which allowed us to sing (or just yell the lyrics) together. Getting home from Fusion night club was a fun adventure. The taxi driver told us that Yan’an Road was only two blocks. This was an accurate statement; however, Yan’an Road is one of the main roads that goes through Shanghai. I ended up walking close to 20 miles before finally getting a taxi. I’m glad we did because the taxi driver drove us another 7 miles to the apartment complex.

I was too exhausted from the work week on Saturday to do much. I met with a few other interns to go get KFC for lunch. It’s nice to have a refreshing day after the work week though. By Saturday night, I was motivated and determined to get out of the apartment and be a tourist. James and I went to eat at a traditional Chinese restaurant near The Bund. I was excited to eat fried chicken (no breading – just fried in oil). After dinner, James and I went to The Bund to take pictures of the scenic skyline lit up at night. Shanghai’s skyline becomes illuminated at sundown and stays lit until 11:00 pm. At 11:00 pm (literally on the dot), the lights turn off to conserve electricity and energy. The Bund is so pretty at night. It literally makes you fall in love with the city even more. There were quite a few river boats that were lit up, which made perfect pictures.

Suits are very cheap in Shanghai, so on Sunday, I went to the Fenshine Fashion Plaza (also known as the Fake Market) to buy suits with Carolina and Ellie (they just wanted to shop at the Fake Market). Suit shopping was an interesting experience because I didn’t really know what to buy. I knew I wanted a black suit with a pinstripe, a charcoal suit, and a blue sports coat. I didn’t know what design I wanted for the gray suit so I think I drove the tailor insane because I was too indecisive. I flipped through so many fabric books and pulled material off the walls (yes, I made a mess, and yes the tailor had to clean up after me). It is hard to describe the suits I bought, so I will have to post pictures when I pick up the suits next Monday. I paid 600 RMB ($100 USD) per suit and 350 RMB ($57 USD) for a sports coat. I got to pick out the style of the jackets, number and type of buttons on the jacket, collar, etc. The suits will also be tailor made specifically for me. I also bought silk ties in the Fashion Market for a great deal.

I got to practice my awesome bargaining skills at the Fake Market too. A shop owner wanted 750 RMB ($120 USD) for black leather shoes. I negotiated the price all the way down to 300 RMB ($48 USD). The lady was probably barley breaking even on the shoes. I only got her down to 300 RMB because I had to be rude when she kept asking what my lowest price and I would reply 400 RMB. She finally agreed to 350 RMB, so I countered at 300 RMB. In case you’re wondering, I didn’t buy the shoes because they didn’t fit. So I did all that bargaining work for nothing! I got another opportunity to bargain on souvenirs though. I got a painted plate of Shanghai for 75 RMB ($12 USD) to 20 RMB ($3 USD) and a Chinese painting as well (I don’t remember how much I paid for it). At this point, Ellie and I were low on money. We could have spent more hours in the Fake Market but we were both hungry – we had to leave money for lunch.

Carolina met up with other friends and Ellie and I went to a Hot Pot restaurant in People’s Square for a late lunch. Hot Pot is very similar to a Mongolian grill at Genghis’s Grill in Texas. Even though I could only eat the pork and rice noodles, the employees were one of the most helpful people. They either told me what I could eat or what they weren’t 100% sure about. I even got too much food to where I couldn’t finish all of my lunch. Hot Pot is similar to a stew since it has a sauce base with meat and noodles.

After lunch, we went to The Bund for a quick photo shoot (I am doing promotional material on my internship for the College of Business at Iowa State University. Check out my testimonial and picture on the homepage of www.business.iastate.edu).

Absolute Internship hosted a traditional Chinese dinner Sunday night at South Beauty Restaurant in the Hong Kong Plaza. After dinner, James, Ellie, and I went to the 93rd floor bar of the Park Hyatt Hotel which is on top of the World Financial Center (the building is also known as the Bottle Opener). The views were absolutely spectacular. We enjoyed drinks, chatting, and the views. The Shanghai skyline at night is breathtaking. The cost of the drinks were well worth it for the views. I highly recommend the 93rd floor bar. Because AJ recommended it to us, we ordered his favorite drink: granadilla. It was a great evening with great views!