Shanghai Surprise!

I'm now in Beijing and have done nothing but rest this whole day after an exhausting five days in Shanghai.

DiscoverPh.Com participated in World Travel Fair 2007 and we had a blast touring the world in four days, what with tourism authorities from all over the globe besting one another in cultural presentations, artistic backdrops, and interesting giveaways in order to attract the Shanghai outbound tourist market.


We were there with Philippine Airlines and despite our miniscule budget compared to the other countries, visitors still flocked to our booth.

Our Chinese host explained that it doesn't matter how colorful the other brochures are, what matters is the beauty of the Philippines. Some visitors could not help commenting on the beauty of the Filipina, as well.

Oh, guilty on both counts, aren't we?


Photos top to bottom:

1. I saw an Egyptian passing by and asked to have my picture with me. It was like Disneyland, people gamely posed with strangers from different countries. Some people also found my height, skin and eyes exotic (read: strange) and had their picture taken with me.
2. We tried an authentic Chinese restaurant, one where we could not understand anything, and managed to order noodles. They were freshly cooked, right before our eyes. We thought their teapot was unclean, until we realized it contained soy sauce, hence the blackened spout.
3. We saw this villa everyday on our way to and from the Shanghai Exhibition Center and decided to stop to take a picture.
4. Last photo - we went to church last Sunday at the Xujiahui Catholic Cathedral a.k.a. Cathedral of St. Ignatio. It was first built in the 22nd year of Qing Emperor Guanxu, in 1896.

It's difficult to manage blogger in Chinese so I'll post a full travel blog next time.