Monday, February 16, 2009
i've been pressed to blog about shanghai. and so i shall. i shall just write abit on it, since it's practically hard for me to gather all my thoughts and experiences for those 10 days and collectively record them down in one post.
the first thing i've gotta say is that, shanghai is not the china that most people might imagine it to be; dirty and crowded and backward like the china in most people's minds. especially singaporeans. singaporeans seem to have a much lower opinion about china (and also india) than people in other countries, even than those from the very much developed western countries. this just goes to show how pathetically narrow-sighted and ignorant (and maybe self-centered and obnoxious) they are. shanghai is as developed as it can be, and it's night scenery is absolutely gorgeous. the shopkeepers and taxi drivers are also much more friendly and have better service attitude than those in singapore; at least they look like they enjoy presenting the customers with their services, unlike some terrible shopkeepers who thoroughly look as if they wished you weren't in their shop. they seem almost exhilarated to help (even if they are actually not, but at least try not to show it, and make sure they do a good job to keep the customer happy), and would not give you a look that strongly suggest that you are giving them alot of trouble. and the thing i detest most of some shopkeepers in singapore is that whenever you go into their shop, they will quickly move to your side and stick to you as you walk around their shop, as if there is a high possibility that you might suddenly grab something and run out of the shop. they don't even come with a nice smile and a friendly "may i help you?"; it's just simply ridiculous!.
the airport in shanghai is also as good as changi airport in terms of their facilities, and even much bigger, although it's efficiency is to be improved. the people walking in the streets of shanghai don clothes that is as fashionable as those walking in the streets of tokyo, and there is simply no comparison to the boring tank tops that are seen all around singapore. those people know how to dress well, know how to eat well, and definitely know how to live a good life. doesn't this makes living in singapore sound oh-so-miserable?
well i guess the thing that is very much undesirable in china is it's education system. there is nothing wrong with it's education system basically, just that china is so heavily populated that the competition for university entrance is enough to kill a student (and the parents). but this kind of situation that they grow up in actually enables them to become a more mature person, knowing that it is essential to struggle for a future that they want, instead of taking everything for granted.
another thing that thoroughly irritates me is the advertisements that you see on chinese television. advertising must be so cheap in china that they have the luxury to play each sub-standardly made advertisement at least 5 times consecutively during each advertisement break. it is especially annoying to watch one advertisement that only consists of one line, and listen to that line being repeated over and over again. furthermore, it doesn't help at all that the person saying the line is doing it with a particularly annoying voice.
to be continued.. with pictures hopefully, if i ever photoshop them.
Nini @ 5:12 PM