Ok, to clear the air technically I've been to China before *ehem* Hongkong *ehem* but not in mainland China.
I wasn't expecting that I'll be able to go to Shanghai, China at all!
2026 Nicole here writing about the misadventures of 2025, let me narrate about what happened exactly a year ago. As I have written in this blog a couple of moons ago, I also went to Thailand for work. Then a couple of hours after, I was transported to China... also, for work 💥 Did I complain? NOT AT ALL!
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| I even received Roses from Ken upon arriving... only to leave again in a few hours for China. |
Looking back, it was such a crazy week last year! I've had 2 back-to-back work trips, one in Bangkok, Thailand for a brand summit, and one in Shanghai, China for a TikTok Study Tour. I remember I arrived in Manila, Philippines from Bangkok, Thailand at around 1 am on March 31, then I have to fly out from Manila, Philippines to Shanghai, China at 8:30 am on the same day. 🛬
A few days before my trips, I have already packed 2 luggage, 1 for Thailand and 1 for China, considering that I won't have any more time to pack when I arrive from Thailand- and this is a good decision from my end because when I got home from the airport, I was exhausted! I no longer have any energy nor bandwidth to clear my luggage of all the things I've bought from Thailand nor even decide how many underwear I should bring! When I got home, I quickly took a shower, set my alarm at 4:30 a.m., charged my devices, and go to sleep. Ken even joked that it was the best 6 hours because we only had 6 hours to spend together before I have to fly again. I guess this is how celebs feel when they barely have time to spend with their loved ones because of their jet-setting lifestyle LOL😅 wow amfeeling!
Despite being exhausted, I was able to arrive at the airport in time, early enough to buy myself coffee before boarding. The flight from Manila to Shanghai is roughly around 3 hours only, so it's perfect for a short nap-which is also perfect for me because the in-flight entertainment in my seat doesn't work 😕 I swear, Philippine Airlines need to replace or fix some of their airplanes!
We arrived in Shanghai, China and was immediately greeted by the 10 degree Celsius weather! It was a stark difference from the hot and humid weather of Bangkok, but I gladly embraced this because like Elsa, "The cold never bothered me anyway!"
We stayed at the Pullman hotel, and our room is huge! We have 2 single beds (that are quite high lol), massive windows covered by heavy curtains, and a 75 inch TV that only has channels showing movies in Mandarin. Since this was a company trip, I have no idea how much it costed, but I estimate around 8k pesos. I mean, for the big space, the huge tub and yummy breakfast, not bad! But for some reason, I preferred our hotel in Bangkok, Avani Sukhumvit more.
First impression of Shanghai- It reminded me of Seoul, Korea with a lot of European-inspired architecture scattered everywhere. But unlike in Seoul, Shanghai surprised me with a lot of tech-related details, like they'll just look at you blankly if you pay with cash, hence it's a must that you have Alipay or at least a GCash app installed in your phone.
Also, regarding the VPN situation, prior to flying to China I subscribed to a VPN service for a month to ensure I'll still be able to connect to Facebook and other apps aside from WeChat lol. But apparently this is not necessary if you avail of roaming data via Globe- I only found out about this when Ken went to Guangzhou in October 🤷 Oh well, at least I was able to use the VPN to access certain shows in Netflix US for a month hahaha!
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| Walking around the Bund! |
One thing I also noticed are the number of freelance photographers, they are scattered around the area offering to take professional-level photos for like 10 edited photos (on the spot!) for 10 Chinese Yuan! I saw in TikTok how the outputs are usually high quality, but I passed from getting one since I'm not really feeling too confident this day hahaha!
Eventually, we wound up at Nanjin Road and end up eating massive Xiao Long Baos as big as our faces! The one I ordered was made from Crab Roe, and it was delicious! At first, I was confused why I was given 2 straws, apparently it wasn't only for the can of coke I ordered hahaha!
Since we are at the mecha of Pop Mart and other toy collectible brands, I couldn't pass the chance to buy something! I did not buy a Labubu, but instead I got a Disney blind box plushie instead- which I end up gifting to my sister. Since it's still the first day, I only bought one to test the waters and pacing my spending LOL
We also visited Yu Garden which is a hotspot for having photoshoots. I saw a couple of girls wearing traditional Chinese costumes having their pictorials in different parts of this establishment, and hey, I can't blame them! This place is so beautiful! I am not sure if it's as striking in the morning, considering the lights do help set the tone of the place. Oh well, I guess the only way to find out is to go back to Shanghai someday 😉
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| My midnight snack while watching Jack Whitehall's TV Show Travels with My Father |
After a full year, I feel more determined to go back to Shanghai, and hopefully with Ken. I was actually surprised how Shanghai was very different from what I envisioned it, mainly like Hong Kong, but nope, it was so much better!
One of the things in my wish list now is to watch an F1 race in Shanghai... then go buy the Song bag in Songmont, and take a bunch of photos at the Yu Garden! There are more things I would love to do in Shanghai, and even in other cities in China, but this point, all I can say is "hopefully someday" 😊
Love Always,
Nicole
