I’m sick of this SMS thing! I received many of them, from donate money for a good cause, or call the bank at a number they provided to confirm that you have spend XXX amount of money a few days ago, or call a number if you are interested in getting a loan at low interest rates, to miscellaneous lucky draw… whatever!! Another SMS scam that I received this afternoon… The scams tries to get you to respone to their message. Once you call back, they will try to work their charm to convince you to part with your money!

Translation:
“I am leaving today. I thought about it for a long time but still could not find the courge to call you. Call this number 125905869 and press 1 to listen to the song I have dedicated to you. There is a message for you at the end of the song. Do not call this number to find me as I borrow this phone from someone else.”

Popularity: unranked [?]

I often go shopping for groceries at the nearby local Tesco and Carrefour outlets and I hate playing bumper car game with the locals. Occasionally when I intend to buy more or bigger stuff, I would like to use the shopping cart. Otherwise, I usually use the shopping basket provided. While you can easily find shopping baskets at the entrances, the same thing cannot be said about the carts. Don’t get me wrong. It is not that the shopping outlets do not have carts. In fact, there are LOTS of carts. If you are fortunate enough to find one, it is a nightmare navigating it through the masses of carts inside. While at the cashier, many of the carts have only a few items in it. Why do you need such a big cart while you only have 3 items to buy? Some of the Chinese mainland put their shopping baskets into their carts!?!? Grocery in the basket, basket in the carts. So clever! No wonder I can’t find any carts when I need them.

Back to navigating your carts in the supermarket; it is worse than driving around in Shanghai. It is really a result of some bad habits and “Who cares” attitude that the locals have. I absolutely hate it when some of them leave their carts in the middle of the pathway. One minute, they are pushing and pulling their carts. The next minute, they spot something interesting, leave their carts behind, and simply walk off to take a look. They can left their carts at the head of the pathway while they are looking at stuff at the end of the pathway. Amazing…

The other annoying thing is that they like to pull their carts along, instead of steer their carts. When you pull your cart along with one hand, it tends to move away from you. Not only does it block the whole pathway, the cart also hit other people, which can be very painful. The cart handles are designed so that you PUSH, not PULL!! When you push, you have a clear sight of where your trolley is moving. When the Chinese mainland pull their carts, it is like the blind leading the blind.

Very often, some will push their carts and unknowingly, hit someone or something in front of them. It seems like they do not realize they are pushing something physical in front of them.

Popularity: 37% [?]

In China, everyone knows most couples have only one kid. This is the result of the Chinese government’s successful one-child policy, creating what many call “little emperors”. The child becomes the central focus of his parents and grandparents. They are given lots of love and attention to the point where sometimes, they become spoilt. I’m having my lunch with a few local friends today, I gain a deeper insight on how Chinese parents spoil their kids.

Interestingly, several of them point out that they will do everything in their power to let their daughters live a life beyond their means. Simply put, their daughters are the “princess” of the households. They get all the best and do not really need to help out with the chores. Even after their daugthers have started working, their parents continue to give them money every month to finance their buying sprees. One young colleague of mine was given a few hundred thousand yuan to buy an apartment in order to stay nearer to her working place. The other was given 10k cash to buy a LV handbag. Her salary is only 2k a month. Another was given a car so that she does not need to take the metro to work, although metro in Shanghai is super convenient. It’s also common to have your subordinates wear and drive better than you. I don’t know you, but at least it happens to me, my hubby and some of my expat friends.

The rational behind this is that, parents hope their daughters will grow up spoilt and look for a rich spouse that can continue to provide her with this lifestyle they have grown accustomed to. In this way, they hope their daughters will not suffer, at least in the material aspect.

“Give your daughter more money to spend on branded cloths, handbags, accesories etc… she will look more “high-class”! This way, they can get a rich spouse.”

I simply shook my head with a speachless smile. Chinese mainland like to emphasize the word “high-class”.

They are too spoilt, but some insist that they are not spoilt at all. What do you think?

Popularity: 30% [?]

It is quite common to use baby strollers. After all, it is very convenient to use and bring your babies around. But seeing the way some parents or grandparents use the baby strollers over here in Shanghai is pretty shocking.

While waiting at the roadside for the traffic lights, I noticed an elderly couple, pushing a baby stroller, approach the traffic lights at the cross junction. They probably wanted to cross the road like me. They stopped briefly at the roadside as the lights were still red. But then the couple started to push the stroller onto the road while they waited on the pave way for the lights to turn green. The little baby was still sleeping in the stroller and the traffic was heavy!! If they had any common sense or regard for the baby’s safety, they should have waited with the baby stroller on the pave way.

I have seen this a few times in Shanghai and it’s quite nerve-wrecking. Can’t help but think it’s an accident waiting to happen.

Popularity: 24% [?]

While shopping at Carrefour the other day, I came across a unusual scene. As usual there were lots of people pushing here and there to buy fruits and vegetables. Recently, Carrefour started selling lycee, probably because it is the lycee season now. Lycee happened to be one of my favourite fruits. I am just about to start choosing when I noticed many of the customers actually peeling the lycee on the spot and eating. I thought it should be alright as they are trying the fruits to see if they are sweet before buying.

Skins and seeds all over the place.

But I am shell-shocked when I saw what happened next. After eating, they placed the seed and whatever was left in their hands and left them in the pile of lycee that I’m choosing from!! One of the customer was even worse. She SPIT THE SEED BACK into the basket of lycee!! Needless to say, I did not buy any lycee yesterday. Don’t understand what’s the mainlanders logic?

No~~ It’s not garbage! It’s lycee for sale!

Popularity: 100% [?]

Photo of the Day

The Chinese parents left their baby with an oversized luggage in the middle of nowhere at Pudong International Airport.

Zoom in.

Popularity: 17% [?]

– QUOTED –

BEIJING (Reuters) – Some Chinese tourists have been warned that while spitting, slurping food and jumping queues may merely disgust people at home, they are sometimes not tolerated abroad, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

The increasing number of Chinese tourists travelling abroad may be a huge new source of income to destination countries, but that won’t prevent complaints against individuals from reflecting badly on all of China, Xinhua said.

“The media in Singapore reports that hotel staff are upset with Chinese tourists spitting in their rooms and smoking in bed,” it said.

“…Singapore airline companies also criticised Chinese tourists for talking loudly and being very rude. Even Hong Kong newspapers have pointed out that some mainlanders lack manners and social graces.”

Beijing residents said last year spitting in public was what they could not stand most about living in the Chinese capital, followed close behind by dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.

Beijing has launched a campaign to make its citizens more “civil” in the run-up to hosting the 2008 Olympics. Games organisers have repeatedly said the city needs to teach its people to stand in line, stop spitting and littering and generally be better mannered.

Past efforts to stamp out the spitting habit, like a 2003 campaign to help curb the spread of SARS, have not been very effective, partly because many people believe clearing the lungs and firing away is good for your health.

– –

Popularity: 14% [?]

Had my lunch at a Vietnamese Restaurant yesterday above XuJiaHui subway. The food sucks! The curry that I’ve order are not fresh at all and ‘taste’ overnight! We ordered some Vietnamese grill chicken wings but ends up fried chicken wings. After I went home, I fall sick. I consider how bad it was based on how many washroom trips I make, and a slight fever as well. My friend had the same problem as me, kind of food poisoning. I will NEVER … and EVER… dine in that restaurant again!

Shanghai is dirty. I can’t imagine how dirty the restaurants kitchen are in this entire city. Since the mainland Chinese here love to split, especially when they are sick or have lots of phlegm. In addition, for some reason they don’t seem to think that having a cold counts as being sick. Therefore they take no precautions to protect others when they have a cold. People tend to sneeze… and sneeze, and sneeze… inside subways! These scenario have all been very annoying and certainly raised my frustration levels at times…. People eat from the same plate as others with their diseased chopsticks, shack hands, etc….All of this happens with no increase in their hygiene habits, such as hand washing. SO, you will never know what happen in the KITCHEN !

Popularity: 12% [?]

I mentioned in my old blog how some shop assistants have trouble even with basic arithmetic, the most extreme case being a CRC supermarket in Shanghai where the total was RMB95, I gave her a 100 note and she took a calculator out to determine how much change to give me back. Well, it happened again last week. I was at a cafe and we ordered a couple of drinks. The total was 3.30 and we gave a 10 note. The guy looked dazed and confused and eventually got the calculator out before hesitantly handing over some change, still unsure if it was correct. Today, I shopped at a hypermarket for my grocerries. The total was 196.40. I gave her 200.50. She look very confuse and stunned for a while, gave me back my 50 cents, and a 3.6 change!

Popularity: 12% [?]

In Carefour Hypermarket.

The first time I saw someone wearing striped cotton pyjamas in a crowded street in the middle of the afternoon, it is hard not to do a double-take especially when that person is walking a dog, playing chess at the park or pedalling a bicycle. As you sitting in a bustling restaurant where every 20 person wandering by in their pyjamas, you will realise that stepping out in their comfies is one of the most enviably relaxed customs of this modern city.

Heck! That’s a 360 yuan pyjamas! This is my colleague response when you ask them about wearing pyjamas outdoor. The summer weather in Shanghai might explain it, but also the non-judgement attitude of Chinese people towards other people’s accoutrement. Sounds interesting to me…

At the bank.

Popularity: 10% [?]