beijing is way cleaner than shanghai

at least from what i've seen so far.

the streets leading to my apartment complex, otherwise known as 'the palace', are filled with little eateries, convenience stores and fruit gardens that produce as much junk as they do the enticing smell of fresh bread and spicy soup.

and i still find myself instinctively walking away a little faster whenever i hear someone perform a gurgling/cackling throaty noise that will inevitably lead to a blot of spit on the ground.

cosmopolitan as it is, the glam clan is mostly only seen in the endless shopping complexes that line the city streets and colour the night sky on Nanjing Road.

the Bund is currently home to a long stretch of construction site, probably in preparation for the World Expo 2010. ah, but still no obstacle for the scores of locals who fill the entire viewing platform adjacent to the Huangpu River.

the skies are foggy, and while the weather is not as humid as it was in summer two months ago, is already slowly picking up winter's cold wind.

everywhere i hear the somewhat slurry-sounding shanghainese dialect, on the streets, at work, in restaurants, at supermarkets, on the metro..

speaking of which, the metro is another battlefield of pushing and jostling bodies with complete disregard for the ethics of ‘先下后上’ blared on the loudspeakers.

yes im here in shanghai. another nomad move, although not as painful as expected. thank you for making the transition all that much easier.

now im really on my own. again.