21. Shopping

Shanghai is a place of prevalent shoppers because there are just shops everywhere for them. I'm not a great shopper, an in and outer, no messing abouter, but there are a few things which I've been scouting around for and I just so happened to come across them all today.

Maps

I love maps. They hold information. They're great to look at. They can inspire you to visit loads of different places. They help you when you are lost. They are customizable to you. So many reasons.

Maps can be found in tourist information shops and book shops. No surprise there. However, I find in Shanghai that these types of shops are hard to find. China, I think, has a very limited history of book writing. In fact most the books you will find from Chinese authors will be self help books or a politicians autobiography.

I'd been looking for a decent map of Shanghai, China and the world for a while. Even taking day trips to book shops I'd located on smartshanghai.com but when I arrived at the station. I got lost finding the place. A bit ironic I hear you say.

Thankfully after today my dark days are now over, I completely randomly ran into this shop and I can now see the light.

Face Cream

Before I'd found the book shop, I had left early from my flat to go to my Kindergarten lessons. They were in Zhongtan Park. This area is best known for the great park, which I'm looking to visit soon, and this great shopping mall that looks like a big ship with the hotel as the mast.

There is one industry in China which must be doing so well, and that is face cream. Probably due to the bad skin of many Chinese people. There's just too much fried food. And people will pay a premium for decent face cream. There is rows and rows of cream in the supermarket. Despite this, I've found that the Chinese equivalent of moisturizer is scarce.

But today was my today. Adidas moisturizer. Check.

And a little later on in the same shop, Chinese style Christmas cards to be sent home. Check.

..........

So to the kindergarten. I had two lessons. The second one though was cancelled. This has never happened before. Thus, the kindergarten staff told me I could leave and go shopping. They were impressed to know I'd been already.

Lillian Cake Shop

My lesson at the next school went really well. To be honest, its one of my favourite classes. Its a senior school and the kids are really interesting to talk to. There is also a really nice Chinese English-teacher. She teaches the lesson before me so I sat in her lesson at the back. It was my first lesson I'd sat in given by a local teacher.

It actually really helped, as the last two months I'd kind of forgotten what it was to be a student. So I tailored the lesson drastically to fit the mood.

I love finishing on a Monday and Tuesday at this senior school, firstly because the lesson is a lot more chilled out to the ones that come before it in both days, (on Tuesday I have 6 separate lessons at two different schools to middle school kids).

There is a shop, Lillian Cake Shop, which I've found and have become a regular, mainly because I always order the same combo - a 4yuan egg tart and a 7.5 yuan pizza. Both are ridiculously good. Here is a review I found of their egg tarts.....

......'we probably have the best egg tarts in town.” With a motto like that, who can resist? As you take your first bite, the soft, sweet, flaky pastry crumbles in your mouth and your teeth sink into a thick layer of an incredible filling that bares a slight resemblance to crême brûlée.....


One of the reasons I love Shanghai are the shops.

And I haven't even got onto the fake markets yet. Another time.