Hi readers, did you know studies shown retail therapy may not be the best medicine when you are depressed? It was said that for millions of people, binge shopping is no longer an emotional cure-all-thingy. If anything, it may make you feel worse. And those who said they had been depressed were twice as likely to say that they had bought something later and regretted it. But again…what the heck, right?! You like something, you buy. If you can’t decide between 2 items, just buy both…don’t matter whether you use it or not. My gf taught me that. So “poison”!

Yah…that’s has been happening to me for years. I love shopping. I won’t lie and I’m not going to. Apparently, my gf claimed that I have more shoes and t-shirts than her. Again…what the heck!

So we decided to fly to one of the shopping havens of the world – Shanghai! Because we have an ex-colleague who worked there and we got a room at her place to stay for free. So all we have to do is shop till we drop.

Shanghai is a real shopping haven I must say. Although some stuff could be a little pricey compared to KL, but we went during the sale season so it was all gooooood! I bought some cash along and as usual one credit card in case of emergency. But I never forget to bring along my Tune Money card also (which I think it’s a prepaid or debit…something like that lah) just in case of impulse buys. You never know, right?

I remembered we were walking down Huaihai road and I noticed this shop that sells renowned street wear labels from 2 streets away. (I don’t normally take notice of how big the diamond is on a ring, but if there’s a shop that is distance away, I’m able to tell you whether that shop sells good stuff.) I walked in tried a few clothes and before I know it, there were 3 t-shirts on the counter. It was on discount and so I decided to buy it.

Since I don’t wanna use my cash or credit card, I decided to use my Tune Money card. At that same time, I had doubts whether the card can be used overseas; although they claimed that their card is accepted anywhere Visa is. And so…I decided to pull it out and give it a shot. To my surprise…it went through smoothly! I was amazed! Wah, like that I can swipe like crazy man! Of course have to control abit right. Cause a prepaid / debit card only allow you to spend what you have; not like credit card you swipe like nobody business! And if I use my credit card all the time plus the interest, not only me, even my guinea pig’s eyes will look like this when he sees the bill end of the month.

Well, looking at current economic situation, I guess we can still indulge ourselves a little retail therapy or perhaps a little impulse buy, but we have to watch our limit too. Prepaid card is the way to go. If this works for me, I’m sure it works for you too.

And I would also like to thank AirAsia for saving my money on flight tickets to Shanghai (so I can spend the rest shopping) and to Tune Money’s team with this brilliant prepaid card of theirs. I wonder if they are coming up something with AirAsia since they are “related”. *hhmm*

Next stop…London baby!!!

上海博物馆。 Shanghai is huge but easy to commute between one place to another place. I stayed around Cao Bao Lu Zhan (漕宝路) - Shanghai Metro. When I got there , the weather was a bit cold but sunny. From my accommodation, it would take 7 Stations to People Square Station(人民广场). I took line number 1 which is RED. To use the Metro, you need to understand/read some Chinese scripts. You can only get a ticket from vending machines so bring some small change with you. Vending machines take coins and notes mostly 5 and 10 RMB. The charge is between 3-4 RMB. It really depends on how far you would travel. I used to pay 6 RMB and it was all my mistake. Moreover, there are many exits. This will make you really confused. So, be prepared then.

The museum is free for entry and there are many things to be seen. On entering the museum, everyone needs to get checked by the security clearance on the ground floor. This is no pain and it is real quick. Please remember this, you all can only enter from the back of the building where the restaurant is. I do not know why. If you want to know, please ask them then. What you might see there are Calligraphy, Sculpture, Bronze, Ceramics, Furniture, Paintings, Coins and etc. You would love them then. This would take you a couple hours to allow yourself to see all.

Pictures for you to get some idea of what might be there :

An iron water buffalo

My former lecturer(Adriano from Milan) and me(Nittee from Chonburi, Thailand) in front of Shanghai museum

if you like masks...

Shanghai Metro Map

Find our more by visiting the Shanghai Museum website for more information on the exhibitions and also check out the Shanghai Metro People's Square Station website for the frequencies of the transits.

So! could this be one of your ideal destinations?