China Journals 7: Shanghai Passing

Saturday; April 29, 2006

• Ultimate combination
• Shop ‘til you drop
• Peking duck at last!
• Slumber party: ghost stories part 2

Wake-up call: 430am. Breakfast: 1pc egg, 2pcs bread, 1 pack milk to go.

Oh my head! 2 hours of sleep for the third consecutive day. This trip is killing me! The only reason why we returned to Shanghai it to retrieve our luggage left at the hotel. We were scheduled to depart at 630, another 2 hour plane ride to Shenzhen.

At Shenzhen we were led by Ting (who surprisingly changed her attire unlike most of the tour guides we had) to a pearl farm. After the pearl farm, we went to a snack factory. This is the reason why China is booming today. They all squeeze-out every money from their tourists! Everywhere we go, everyday, there’s a trip to a government-owned establishment where we were sold local products.

Day 1 = jade, tea

Day 2 = silk, tea, herbal medicine

Day 3 = cloisonné, jade

Day 4 = tomb souvenirs, silk, tea

Day 5 = terracotta warriors, calligraphy

Day 6 = panda stuff

Day 7 = pearls, jewelries, silk, cookies, jade, cloisonné

Each one of the merchants were trained to be very persistent. All of them give prices that are 1000% higher than their last price. They will pull you if you try to leave. Don’t even try to haggle if you wouldn’t by it.

After lunch, we were given 2 hours at the Shenzhen’s shopping square. (yup, more money going out of our pockets) Too bad my remaining 250 Yuan didn’t last as long. I spent most of the time following Lora around and spotting outrageously-dressed chicks. It was almost like Japan there (at least how I pictured Japan would be).

We had dinner shortly after gathering. It was just a 5 minute walk from the shopping center, then it was back to the hotel for us. ‘Twas the last night we’ll spend outside the Philippines. Our group decided to have a slumber party. We went outside to buy some food and booze. Almost got lost on the way back to the hotel, we passed backstreets and small alleys and saw interesting stuff. We passed-by a store that sold different kinds of creepy crawlies; slugs, fungi, worms, leeches, name it. If it’s crawling, they have it! Back in the hotel, we chose Jam’s place to be the venue of the slumber party. We took the bed cushion from my room and laid it on the floor. All 8 of us sat on the two beds on the floor playing different card games. This time loser get to drink the 3 mystery liquors:

1. Green Rice Wine = 58% alcohol = di lang pampamilya, pang-isports pa!
2. Wine in clay jar = 46% alcohol = amoy laquer, lasang laquer
3. Wine in bottle with two guys laughing = 38% alcohol = so strong, mababaliw ka

We mixed them with Sprite and Coke. We started with the most potent booze. Liquor number 1 and Sprite was the bestseller. Liquor number 2 and Coke was scary (it smelled funny). Only the boys (and JAM) got to drink it. I enjoyed every drop of it! We were too light-headed to even start with Liquor number 3.

Ahh, the games. Lucky 9. Dane proved that he sucked at this game by almost monopolizing the first pitcher of liquor. Francis and Mark didn’t want Dane to hog the booze so they deliberately had their hands lose. For the ladies, Jam. PERIOD! It was very fun. I would love to share every detail of the night here but unfortunately, I had too much to drink. HIC! As we all lie on the same bed, we played another game. It was a DUGTUNGAN game. Each one gives a word and the person to his/her right gives another word to make a story. It was sooooo hilarious! (HELP ME WITH THIS GUYS. ANO YUNG NAGAWA NATING STORY? YUNG BUO!)

The night wouldn’t be complete without the ghost stories. Each one shared his/her personal spooky experiences. Really creepy! It took us hellofalotoftime before we shook-off the fear. Zzz… Zzz…