Life is All About Randomness! Amen!
If it's not my internship, I wouldn't have met JuJu & Tony. If it's not JuJu & Tony, I won't have met BT. If it's not BT, I wouldn't have met DY!! If it's not DY, I wouldn't have met DC!!! If it's not DC, I wouldn't have met CLin! If it's not CLin, I wouldn't have experience Shanghai like I should.
It was back in 2007, I was on a Biz Trip to Taipei. Alone, sitting in front of my computer. Then I decided to chat up DC, a girl that I have only met once but never chatted with before. She then referred me to her friend's friend in Taipei. We met for dinner then went to Barcode. There, I met CLin =) CLin is one of the most presentable Mary Janes that I have ever met: beautiful, sweet, fun, out going, & caring. I'd go visit her everytime I go to Taipei/Shanghai, and she'd come visit me in HK. Then she moved to Shanghai. DC & I went visit her and her brother back in Feb. They hosted a house party while we were there, and we met most of their friends at the house party.
Fast forward to June 2009. I took a weekend off to visit the Lins while I was there for biz. It's fate that Sam & Jess were also there in SH the very same weekend. We all met up at Bling. Stupid me lost my purse on the very first night in Shanghai!! Alone with my Miu Miu wallet, my 2G iPhone, my China Visa, my HKID, driver license, all cash, credit cards, & a few sentimental items =( I didn't even have cab money. Not that I have anywhere to go since I can't even check into the hotel without any forms of ID & no credit card nor cash.
I'm so glad that the Lins were there to take care of me! So thankful that Sam & Jess borrowed enough RMB for me before they went home. I stay at the Lins for 5days and 6 nights. We took cooking class, made spagetti cabonara and fried prawns. Got "stuck" at a wine bar with 15 others 'coz of pouring rain, kept drinking South African wine all afternoon. All of them are from the States, Aussie, or S.A. and all working in Shanghai. Great conversations, good laugh. We then went to a Moroccan restaurant for dinner & SHISHA. Rest. Muse. Went to 2 police stations on Sunday to file my lost purse. It took the 1st cop half an hour before figuring out that this case doesn't belong to his district and he gave us a ride to other police station. It was fun to ride in the china cop car, driving on the wrong side of the road and running all the red lights. The experience at the 2nd police station was quite interesting too! I was sitting right next to a JAIL CELL, and 2 cops were picking a fight right next to us. Then saw a play "Vagina Monologues" in Mandarin with the gang. It was very well translated. Dinner at Blue Frog's and continue the interesting topics after watching V Logue. Monday night dinner at Taikong Road, then when to Boxing Cat Brewery. I ordered a shot instead of a drink by accident. um... yes, it was only Monday night. Came Tuesday, we met up the gang at Cotton's after my company dinner. Glasses of Merlot after glasses. Wednesday night, Kaluska night! Where you can get 4 drinks for only 50RMB! KTV, then back to Kaluska. Wish all these doesn't have to end. Life with CLin lasted til Thursday morning, when I had to take off for Hangzhou for Biz.
Can believe I left Shanghai taking a lot more with me compare to things that I've lost. What I lost was totally replacable. Friendships and a hell of a good time in Shanghai, PRICELESS!
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Lesson Learned:
I do believe that my lost purse experience will benefit others in need. First thing to do, cut all your credit cards. Phone a friend near you. Then use your friend's phone to phone home. ^_^v
If you're absolutely alone, you can do the following:
For Hong Kong residence who are travelling outside Hong Kong and need emergency assistance may contact the local Chinese embassy/Consulate General or call the Hong Kong Immigration Department's 24-hour Hotline (852) 1868 for help.
If you lose your Wui Heung Jing (China Visa) like me, you can go to the local Immigration office. Have a photocopy of your HKID, or photocopy Wui Heung Jing ready, and go apply for a temperary visa so that you can leave China. It took me 3 days to get the temp visa from the Shanghai Immigration office. It only costs 20RMB. I had Yung to DHL my HK SAR passport to my Shanghai office before I took off for Hangzhou. With my HK SAR passpost, I got back in HK without any problem at the custom counter. It was probably faster than using e-Channel!
Replacing all your IDs could be a pain in the butt. Please go to the government website to make appointment before you go. It might speed up the wait time a bit. Thank you to one telemarketer, I bought a "wallet insurance" from CPP from a telemarketer once! It's gonna expired in July and I wasn't gonna renew it. Thank god that I lost my wallet in June so the insurance still covers! CPP provides a hotline for you, just call them, and they will cancel all creditcards/ATM cards on file for you once you lose your wallet. The insurance policy covers all fees needed to replace the IDs. Yes, that includes my soon-to-expire HK 10-yr driver license which cost $9xx! The policy also ensure you a new wallet, up to $900HKD =)
Last but not least, keep all your valuable in sight!
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