Post by Zavier Siow

Thoughts on my OELP trip and Shanghai First of all I would like to thank the National Youth Council for subsidizing this trip, Nanyang Polytechnic for allowing me to go on the trip, and lastly, Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College for planning the itineraries for us to enjoy. This trip has really shown me that China is really beautiful and their technology is really advanced. before the trip I was upset at the great china wall for not allowing certain websites and apps to be open because of the country regimes, but it allowed me to go explore and sightsee china which certainly broadened my view and makes me wonder what the rest of the world looks like. As a Singaporean who barely travels outside it's a new start to see the world and it truly is a wonderful place. Even despite the wars and battles we fight, we come to a consensus that we should protect this planet. During my free time, I use a taxi service Called DiDi(滴滴）which is actually quite simple to use like most taxi services app. what was surprising to me was that the drivers can see the best route and also see where traffic is heavy on the path and accurately indicate how long it will take. However, the same cannot be said for meituan(美团）if you don't know meituan is a takeaway app but it was so difficult to use part of it is because it is only in Chinese but also it constantly shows an error message everytime I want to order something to my hotel. Another thing I'd notice is that they have bicycles everywhere. In Singapore, I struggle to find a bicycle from Anywheel or Helloride when I need/want one. In china they have them scattered everywhere. the food in China is really nice except for Pizza hut's steak I do not recommend. their hand pulled noodles are really great but watch out for how long each strand is and I also expected chop sticks but they have chop sticks in every store and not a single fork or spoon in sight. they at most give the soup spoon for soup dishes. I stayed at PuLi hotel(璞莉酒店) the TV not working and also the toilet was automatic no button to flush however, cannot throw toilet paper into the toilet bowl otherwise it might clog the toilet. overall 8/10 I would visit again