Baby Moon to China

Shanghai – Nanjing – Chengdu

Yes, you’re not dreaming. Raine Chong has willingly travelled to China for a Holiday despite a history of avoiding PRCs in Singapore 😂😂. But to be fair I wouldn’t have talked myself to coming if my brother and Mimie wasn’t living in China and telling me so many good things about the country!

First Stop, Shanghai

Shanghai was seriously beautiful. It is even better than I thought! The last time I was here was 15 years ago when I was a mere 14 year old teenager. I hated it of course because I didn’t get to see many things, and mainly stayed in the city. Basically I thought it was a shithole. But this time I stayed with my brother in the new suburbs of Shanghai located in Pudong, and I got to say it looked so European 🤩😍

I remember in University students and professionals were teaming up to produce a masterplan for new developments in China. I cannot believe such a success it is. The picture above is taken at the CBD area where my brother worked, which is at Xin Tian Di. The were not congested, and people were walking and cycling everywhere. It was magical. This is actually the benchmark I think Singapore should aim towards – to remove people from cars so we can build nicer public spaces!

The citylife of Shanghai was so vibrant as well. Everyone is out and about, rather than rushing to get to our destination which was what I was expecting to see! I mean that was what it was like in Singapore. But people could be found in the streets dancing and singing, kids running about, and the young out getting a beer. It was so pleasant.

My brother always said the Shanghai Disneyland was really underated, and recommended we went to check it out. So we did! And oh my god it was good. The only problem was that everything was in mandarin, and I couldn’t sing along 😭😭. But if not, the theme park was superb!

For the rest of the time in Shanghai, there was alot of sightseeing to do. Rather than hear me go on about it, just enjoy the pictures!

Though while travelling, I could totally feel Krispy Kreme getting bigger. I did not need maternity pants when I reached china, and by the day 3 I had to pull out my maternity pants! Looks like Krispy Creme is enjoying the travels!

The last stop in Shanghai was THE BIGGEST MUTHA FUCKIN STARBUCKS IN THE WORLD

Thanks to my siblings I had so much to do in Shanghai!

Nanjing – to see Michael & Mimie!

It has been too long! Mimie was one of my bridesmaid for my wedding, and yes that was the last time I saw her! It’s been 2 whole years!

Looking at hers and Michael’s (her Beau) life in Nanjing was so refreshing coming from a Singaporean’s perspective. Owners of CrossFit gyms, and some side business in on Amazon. Despite the lack of stability she talks about, somehow it sounds so appealing comparing to my life in the corporate world.

Nanjing was so beautiful! So much nature parks around the city!

Aside from sight seeing, we took this opportunity to work out in Michael’s Gym!

Chengdu, fulfilling our Sichuan Cravings!

When we got to Chengdu, I knew it meant there was no one else but me to communicate for directions and for ordering food, but me. My first thought, was that this, was going to be a disaster.

If many of you know Stuart and I, you know we LOOOOOOOVE our Spicy Sichuan fix!! So our first stop was a famous hotpot highly recommended by a popular china YouTube star, Food Ranger!

We basically used Google translate to take a picture of the menu to manage to order our dishes. So yes, it took us almost an hour to order our food. So kids, please learn your Mandarin, not because it’s a beautiful language but because it will soon become essential!

Chengdu wasn’t a very nice looking city so I didn’t bother taking many city shots. But the food tho…

There was this famous teahouse that was recommended too, so Stuart and I managed to stop by for tea.

In Chengdu we really took I easy since it was last stop of our trip. We stayed in a monestry which made it even more peaceful (although I am convinced it’s being run by gangsters).

Last of all, we musn’t forget the PANDASSSSSSSS!!!

THEY WERE SO CUTEEEEEEEEEEE. Nice to see the origin of China’s diplomatic tool 😂😂.

All in all, China is really an eye opener. I felt like a mountain turtle while I was there because everywhere, including the street stall and even beggers, use cashless payment to make purchases! I rmb walking pass a bigger and he was asking us to make a donation to him via his WeChat account 😂😂. Makes me thinking that Singapore has got alot of catching up to do to become a smart city.

But even my brother has made me understand the ruthlessness of Chinese people and why they are generally so rude – a trait singaporeans detests and get annoyed by. In china they basically follow the Iron rice bowl theory, which means every man for his own, because if you fall, that is your own loss. It’s about grabbing every opportunity you can get to make sure you get the best you deserve – which includes mrt seats 😂😂. And yes, I have learned the technique to push people around on trains and people will never get pissed about it 😂😂.

But China has the benefit of having population. People willing to do labour for a extremely small fee in the city, because these cheap labour come from the villages. Something that Singapore doesn’t have this the rising cost of living. There are so many things we could lose out on because of our size, and why a lax immigration policy is important. That’s something many Singaporeans need to remember, because one wrong move could cause our sampan to capsize.