For one thing, Rey's place is in Pudong - which is a quieter part of the city. Second, there were no more projects or shoots to worry about, ergo no need to check emails or answer calls every so often. Third, there was no on-line journal access in China, so I couldn't indulge my habit of reading the blogspots and multiply sites of my friends. (Although I must admit, I missed them.) Fourth, I arrived in the middle of the week, so the usual tourist traps weren't as busy.
That said, I enjoyed this short break. It was a good time to just recharge my batteries and clear my mind of the usual work clutter. Being able to just laze around and watch movies, meander aimlessly in a strange street, and walk inside a huge but empty mall for 4 whole days was enough to bring back a sense of serenity in my usually chaotic life.
Since I'm here on a leisure trip, I was finally able to explore more of Shanghai. It was fun to find little pockets of quiet sanctuaries amidst the usual tourist places. Like this small corner in the gardens of Yuyuan.
My friend told me that the market in Yuyuan is packed with people during weekends. Visiting it on a Thursday was a good idea since the crowd was thinner. In fact, I was able to get a nice table at a restaurant that usually has a 2 hour waiting time. Watching people while eating dimsum is always fun.
Even the Bund was unusually silent that afternoon. I'm so used to seeing this area teeming with people - a mix of locals on their way to and from work, plus the obligatory tour groups with their matching caps and funny pins.
Of course, the easiest place to find quiet time is in a temple. This one is right beside a huge but empty shopping complex. I think it's quite sad how a lot of the malls I visited in Shanghai is bereft of people.
When Friday and Saturday arrived, so did the multitude of people. The quiet Shanghai I was enjoying the past days gave way to scenes of chaos that can equal - or even surpass - the ones here in HKG. And that was my cue to leave.
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