Sugah's Trip to China

Opps...Oh My!

Opps...Oh My!


Tip: When you go to get your hair highlighted and the dude doesn't speak English, you're not going to get highlights!!

Friday we met with Maxon (an Indiana firm) and Lilly. They were good meetings, but by the last day we were all tired of meetings :-)

Friday afternoon we had a bit of time between meetings and dinner so I went up to the Salon to see about getting my hair done. The hairdresser didn't understand that I wanted a cut and highlights so he got the security gaurd to translate. I sat down, picked out a light brown color that would look nice with my naturally dark brown hair. I finally found a hair cut I liked in a magazine (my hair was at the middle of my back). I looked up and he's coloring my whole head! Woah, what happened to the highlights?! At this point I decide that I can't do anything about it, if he messes up my hair then I'll get it fixed when I get home.

Long story short. The color turned out nice - thankfully I didn't ask for red or bleach blonde highlights since he colored my whole head! He cut off about 5-6 inches, a little more than I wanted but it looks good. It was the best haircut I've ever had, it took him 45 minutes to cut my hair because he was paying so much attention to detail. 500RMB for a cut and color...not bad.

The back - he got that curl with a round brush and no product! I'm not putting a picture of the front up because I look drunk.


We met for dinner at the Grand Hyatt. It was our last dinner as a group - it was a very nice time. The Hyatt is the tallest building in Shanghai (for now). The view was amazing and the food was fabulous! We had a good time chatting and talking about our adventures. There are a lot of stories to tell between us all.

Grand Hyatt


Lobby Atrium at the Hyatt


We headed back to the hotel for some more karaoke fun. As soon as I walked in my guitar friend took me to the dance floor. We sang "funky music" (there's a video of me on someone's camera) and John sang his usual songs (they do the same songs every night). After some football in the hallway with some Brits we headed to bed.

On Saturday Erin, Sean, Fraizer, Faye and I went to the knock-off market. It was raided a few weeks ago and they've already moved. Unfortunately they didn't tell us the right spot (it was a regular shopping mall). We had our last formal Chinese meal at a hotel and then split up. Erin and I went back to Old Shanghai to shop for traditional chinese gifts (where the Shanghai gardens are). I bought some scarves, chopsticks, and other gifts. The last shop we went into is where I lost my self control. China has these beautiful hand embroidered pictures (silk embroidery). There in the last shop is where I saw it, a 16 X 24 embroidery of Van Gogh's Lilies. I haggled with her, got her down 3,600 RMB from where she started and bought it. I can't wait to get it framed and up in my house.

Erin & I met Dr. Lyles for a drink and said our goodbyes. Then we headed off to the JW Marriott to have a manicure/pedicure at the Mandras spa. It was fantastic. They served us delicious Jasmine tea and had us lie on massage tables. I've never had a pedicure lying down. It was interesting. The pedicure itself wasn't all that great but the ambience was so relaxing.

Pearl Building


Night View

We had a drink at the JW and enjoyed the beautiful view of the night sky. It was a very cloudy night, so anything above 40 floors was a view of all clouds. This bar was just below the clouds. We took a cab back to the Hyatt to meet some people for one last drink together in China. We went to Cloud 9 on the 87th floor. It was what the name described, a view of the clouds. We were surrounded by clouds and couldn't see a thing. We still enjoyed the great (and expensive) cocktails. I almost spent more on three Bellinis than I did on my pedicure! It was a very nice end to a fabulous trip.

I'm in the process of packing, what a challenge. I leave at 1p.m. for the airport and have a direct flight to Chicago. I'll be back in Indy in my own bed by 10 p.m. (I hope I can sleep!).

This has been an amazing experience, a fabulous trip. I hope that I can make it back again in the future to see how China has continued to progress. Thanks to everyone for following along on my journey. The pictures and commentary don't do it justice, but it's a nice reminder! :-)

-Sugah

Good-bye China!

posted by Chrissy @ 4:30 AM