Céline Dion - Taking Chances Live in Shanghai

Day 2 in Shanghai started relatively late. We slept in because we had no plans for the day except to get to the Shanghai Stadium on time.

We woke up early for breakfast and then went back to bed shortly after. Too lazy, I guess.

Then, we decided to hunt for the famous Shanghai "Xiao Long Bao", which, to me, translates to "Little Dragon Bao". We had earlier asked some of the staff serving breakfast on where to find this elusive yet famous bao. They came to a conclusion that we had to go to a famous temple nearby to sample the bao. We weren't really keen on that.

So, we decided to try our luck by venturing out and asking the local taxi guy who was waiting at the hotel porch. He told us that the bao at the temple is not all that great. If we wanted something authentic, we would have to travel over one hour away. He said he could take us there and back for a fee. We haggled for a lower fee and clinched the deal. So, off we went to this 'shop' to sample the "Xiao Long Bao". Yum!

The entrance

'Xiao Long Bao' - the one on the right is with the normal meat filling, the one on the left is with meat & prawn filling

Close-up look

A burst of soup in each bite

After the 'Xiao Long Bao' adventure, we headed back to the heart of town, to the Shanghai Stadium to get ready for the concert.

Oh hey! Ikea!

The place was still rather empty when we got to the stadium. Some of the workers were already setting up posts at the different entrances, especially for special ticket pick-up counters.

Approaching the stadium!

The stadium itself...

We were pretty early, like a couple of hours early, maybe. So, we waited and waited. Then, the crowds slowly grew bit-by-bit. There were peddlers selling everything from glowsticks to binoculars to resized posters to CDs and much more. I settled for a pair of cheap binoculars. Again, I haggled like nobody's business. Got it for a steal... Or maybe they ended up "stealing" from me for a pair of binoculars that is not your really good, top class one. Either way, I still thought it was a great bargain!

The gates finally opened and we rushed in, well, actually, we didn't. We just walked to our designated stadium gate and saw them opening up a mini stall for merchandise. I got myself the tourbook for slightly cheaper than the regular US price. This did not involve any haggling, the price was already set relatively lower, RMB200. (Retail US price was around USD20 - 25). We were on the second floor (or was it third?), on the right side of the stadium. We were FAR away. (Far is an understatement here!)

Up and up we went!

See? Far, eh?

We chatted up with a couple of Malaysians (imagine that!) working in Shanghai. They were very nice. Then, the show started. Oh, forgot to mention the weather: FREEZING! Well, it wasn't very cold, but the strong winds didn't help us much since it was still spring time there. I could barely feel my fingers, but I held on to my camera, taking pictures and videos as the concert went along.

The screen was a big help...

She drove all night, all right... Yeah!

So far away...

Au revoir, ma cherie! Till we meet again in Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie!

The concert went on for about an hour and 15 minutes, and then, it was all over. Sigh... If it wasn't for the cold weather, I thought we were just getting started! After leaving the stadium, we tried out some meat-on-a-stick food by a roadside peddler. Interesting was the word. Mom and I ventured out to catch a taxi and we did not get one until about an hour later. Talk about a LONG day. We got back to the hotel around 11+pm, exhausted but a little bit happy, at least, for me.

And so, that was Day 2 in Shanghai.