Friday, December 31, 2010

Christmas In Shanghai,Boxing Day In Melbourne

You know what Christmas and Boxing Day means to me?Discounts and knocked down prices all over the place!!The only thing you're supposed to do is shop til you drop on your knees in exhaustion =P

Last week has been pretty hectic to me.I've been juggling flights and dates with Mr Fiance in between classes.I had no idea how I did it,but I managed to get through it with grace.

A day before Christmas,we departed frm KL to Shanghai with super heavy load of passengers on board.When we reached Shanghai at noon,the outside temperature was already less than 10degrees Celsius so imagine the temperature there at night.But we still proceed with our plan to shop by exploring a new shopping place at a subway station.It was a place where you could get branded stuffs at bargain prices,but I doubt the authenticity of the stuffs.As you all might knew,I never supported piracy and imitations so I ended up not buying that much of stuffs.Just some souvenirs for me to bring back home.My colleagues went crazy bargaining for all sorts of items frm bags to clothes and gadgets.

Hate to say this,but I find it amusing to watch buyers get scolded or called out with names by the seller whenever the seller feels that prices offered by potential buyers are ridiculously low.And note this,I only find it funny if it happens in China.Well,most Chinese sellers can't converse well in English so when tourists bargain for better prices,they will either use calculators or sign language to counter the offers.Some will shout out "You're crazy,you're crazy!This price,no business for me!!".Bargaining with non-English speaking Chinese sellers is the best part of the shopping experience =D

Snapping a moment in between bargains.

I hopped to the Down Under frm the Orient just before Boxing Day.Well,the thing I hate bout this country is the fact that their shops are closed down from business as early as 6pm,except on a Boxing Day.When I reached there,I dozed out til 4pm at noon and it also meant that I didn't have much time left to shop before the shops around town were closed.There were a few shops that extended their business hours due to Boxing Day,so I managed to grab a few favourite stuffs that I normally get for myself in Australia.

Nothing specifically interesting happened while I was in Melbourne but not far frm our hotel,Melbourne's Aquarium was having hammer head sharks in their tanks for a limited time.I'd really love to see those and also some cute penguins in their tuxedos at the aquarium but our stay there wasn't tht long and sufficient enough to explore more of Melbourne.But the nxt time I drop by,I'd definitely visit the aquarium although it'll cost me AUD64 for the entrance fee.

I hope it is not too late to wish you folks a Merry Christmas and keep enjoying your holidays while you're in the festive mood=)