We Will Rock You!

Last night, I went to watch the QUEEN musical at Esplanade theatre in Singapore. Did I enjoy it?
Well, by the end of the night:-

• my throat was sore from screaming
• my voice was gone
• my lips were stretched from wolf-whistling
  
• my hands were stinging from all the clapping
  
• my thighs were raw from being slapped to the "toom-toom-chak" rhythm of We Will Rock You
• my feet were numb from all the stomping
• my heart belonged to the male lead singer (it always does for at least 3 months after every musical)
  

So, did I enjoy myself?

I b***** well did...
Thanks Suet Poh & Alex!

Shikumen

When I arrive in a new city, I always try to take in as many tourist sights as possible within the first 2 months. It helps me to form a first impression of my surroundings before the novelty wears off. Here's a lovely little spot called the Shikumen (stone gate), packed with stone tenement houses that are distinctively Shanghai. It sits in the middle of an expat cafe haven called Xintiandi (new heaven & earth).

Aunty Jo-Jo visits the narrow streets & household of the Shikumen Open House

The Shikumen Open House is a fascinating exhibition that represents a Shanghai household in the 1920's. The downstairs rooms comprise the entrance hall, lounge, kitchen and guest ensuite bedroom (i.e. ornately carved chamberpot). There are 3 connecting bedrooms on the second floor for the parents and kids. I was especially interested in a short documentary that described a typical day in the life of the inhabitants: grandma, grandpa, father, mother & children.

The Tingzijian - a small room facing the north

Ever the romantic, this room really captured my imagination. It's called the Tingzijian, which is a small room at the turn of the staircase between the 1st and 2nd floors. It was usually rented out for extra income and quickly became the abode for itinerant scholars & artists in the 1920s - 1930s. Many famous authors from the era included Lu Xun, Cai Yun Pei and Guo Muo Luo and their works became known as Tingzijian Literature.

Sounds a lot like Montmarte in Paris doesn't it?

Xiao Chi

So, how long can I go without writing about food? Not very long...after all, it's one of the best parts about travelling ;-)

I've been hearing about Shanghai snacks (xiao chi) for a long time. Dragon-I in KL is where I usually get my fix. Yesterday, I got to try the real thing for the first time.

After four hours of walking around the French Concession, I was more than a little peckish. So, I wandered into a little shop and pointed to some pictures on the wall. Here's what arrived at the table:

• Dou Jiang (Soya milk) - 3 yuan
• Xiao Long Bao (Steamed dumplings) - 6 yuan
• Sheng Jian (Fried dumplings) - 8 yuan

It was yummy and so cheap! Better than anything I'd ever eaten outside Shanghai. I think I'm gonna like it here.

Spring blossoms

It's springtime in China and there are flowers everywhere...so please pardon the enthusiasm as I splash photos of spring blossoms across these pages.

City of Contrasts

Today, I spent the afternoon exploring the Luwan District, better known among us Anglophiles as the French Concession district of Shanghai. My guidebook describes it as "Shanghai - sunny side up, at its coolest, hippest and most elegant. That proved to be true as long as I kept to the walking tour map on pg 84. As always, I took some little detours (i.e. shortcuts) because I wasn't interested in doing the full 7 kms, and found some interesting contrasts.

The "Paris of the East" is a well-deserved title for this part of town. These villas along Sinan Road, complete with immaculate gardens, would fit right into any Parisian suburb. I enjoyed the stroll through the elegant, tree-lined streets complete with cafes and chic boutiques. Even Fuxing Park was like scene from "Springtime in Paris" although you'll have to imagine away the huge statue of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels! After visiting Sun Yat Sen's mansion, I took one of my detours and stumbled upon the other face of Shanghai.

This little side street is also within the French Concession, only 2 streets east of the elegant villas but what a world of difference. It was gritty, smelly and alive with people selling flowers, fruits,vegetables stalls, fish & meat. There was even a tub filled with fat green frogs! It was located right next to the fish stall so I suppose it ended up on someone's dinner table tonight...gulp..

I find it fascinating that these two worlds are just a stone's throw away from each other. People from opposite ends of the economic scale were living side-by-side. It's an environment that would lead to the build-up of disparagement, resentment and despair that finally spilled over into years of political turmoil.

But the Chinese are pragmatic and always on the lookout for opportunities. Just take this scene from Huaihai Park for example: "Where 3 or 4 Chinese men gather, you are guaranteed to find a mini casino!" :-)

Shanghai Surprise

What are the chances of having this conversation the moment one arrives in Shanghai?

My mobile phone rings...

Joanna: Hello, Joanna Yeoh speaking.
Caller: Hello Johanna - this is Martin Riemen calling
J : Guten Dag Herr Riemen, vie geit ehs eehen?
M: I'm very well. In fact, I'm in Shanghai negotiating an M&A. Are you in Singapore?
J: You're kidding...what a lovely surprise! I'm relocating to Shanghai and just arrived at the airport.
M: That's good. Shall we have dinner?
J: Of course. When are you leaving for home?
M: Friday afternoon sometime.
J: I'm on my way to Suzhou for a couple of days. Since Friday is a public holiday, I can leave Suzhou on Thursday afternoon, reach Shanghai by 6pm and meet you at your hotel?
M: That's a good plan. So, I'll book a nice restaurant.
J: Excellent, Martin. I look forward to seeing you.

Now, what's so amazing about this conversation?
1) Martin lives in Belgium, I live in Singapore
2) Martin has never been to China before
3) I'm just relocating to Shanghai

And we land in Shanghai on the same day...WOW!

So who's Martin? He was one of my best mates during my MBA days in England. The fact that he was a good-looking German hunk was a nice bonus at the time. We spent a lot of time studying and doing projects together during the week, and partying & touring England on weekends.

Martin is now married to Claudia (his girlfriend at the time) and they have 3 beautiful children. They live in a suburb in Brussels and I stayed with them last year when I was on assignment in Europe. But that's a story for another blog entry.

Martin and I finally met on Thursday night and we went to a very nice restaurant called LYNN which Martin describes as "Chinese food, Western service". We had fun catching up over old times, current times and future plans. The fact that he's an M&A expert comes as no surprise to me. He was the only one who seemed to understand our Investment Valuation lectures back then. We even did a project together to value the purchase of London Electricity Company. By some miracle, I scored an A and he scored a B+! We still laugh about that today.

All in all, my stint in Shanghai has gotten off to a great start.

In Hot Soup

(L-R) Mandy, Lu Min, Joanna, Huang Ying & Mary enjoying a hotpot dinner @ Jing Ji Lake

I had a lovely dinner with the Suzhou L&D team this week.

We went to a Chinese hotpot restaurant called "789" by Jing Ji Lake - the latest attraction in Suzhou. What's interesting is that every diner can choose his individual pot of soup (I chose the spiciest one on the menu) and we shared the rest of the food. There's also a sauce bar with a mind-boggling array of dipping sauces to choose from.

More importantly, it gave the team a chance to bond. Of course, the local team knows each other pretty well but I've only spent 3 days with them in the 7 months that I've been in this job. It's unfortunate but most of our dealings have been via teleconferences and it's not the ideal way to build teamwork. What amazes me about this team is how eager they are to learn! They soak up everything that comes their way and work hard to make it their own. It's the same for the rest of the Suzhou staff. Every time I walk past the library, it's packed to the brim - a very different picture from the ghostly empty libraries at most other places.

After dinner, we all went for a walk around the lake and were treated to a surprise - FIREWORKS!

The team started teasing me about how it was a special "Welcome to Joanna!" and I modestly told them that I had actually paid for display ;-)

A Secret Place

Last Wednesday, I took 15 minutes to feed my soul.

The lure of the cherry blossoms in a park across from the Renaissance Suzhou was too much to resist. So after a 2-hour teleconference with the US, I put on a light jacket and went for a walk.

I'm glad I did.

In a quiet spot behind some bamboo groves, I stopped to admire the beautiful blossoms, enjoy the tranquility of the park and the rustling of the breeze. I waited for my soul to catch up with me.

This oasis is situated right in the heart of the busy, bustling & polluted Suzhou Industrial Park, and I would have missed it had I not taken 15 minutes from a busy day to stop and smell the cherry blossoms.