Country girls from Wuxi head to the city .....

Chloe and I - finally catching up in China.

It was with much excitement that the girls from Wuxi (and Changsha) headed to Shanghai on Saturday afternoon for a weekend of shopping, eating and drinking. First stop was to drop our bags off at Ashley's place where we met Ash's new housemate in a fairly awkward situation. So, it was quickly out of there to find the fabric markets and order some new clothes ready to be picked up tomorrow. The fabric market in Shanghai is so amazing, so many beautiful fabrics and different styles of coats, shirts, dresses etc.

Shanghai street food ...... yum!

Fur anyone?

Next stop was a drink at Barbarossa, a beautiful bar right in the middle of the People's Square. It would be a great place for afternoon drinks in the sun, not so for evening drinks in the rain! Then it was on to Simply Thai for a delicious meal of different Thai foods accompanied by mocktails (we were starting the night in a sensible manner!).

Stunning Barbarossa bar in the middle of the People's Square.

Inside at Barbarossa.

The night had begun perfectly, so it was only right that something went wrong next! We got to Ash' place to beautify ourselves before hitting the town, to find that the toilet was blocked. Chloe, being the glamourous London TV producer she is, decided to star in her own film while we were in hysterics as she attempted to unblock the toilet. After several attempts, we decided that staying in a 2 bedroom apartment with 5 people and no toilet, was not a good option. So, we headed out in the rain again to find the nearest (nice) hostel. We were in luck, finding ourselves in a family suite at a very lovely hostel - all for about $60 a night (for all of us!).

Handyman Chloe trying to unblock Ashley's toilet.

The curly hair and the stylist.

Here, we quickly got ready and made ourselves look stunning before heading out in the rain again. Justyna played stylist for the night and I headed out with a head full of curls - a first for me and my dead straight hair! As we left, we ran into a couple of guys we knew from Wuxi, and we all banded together to find the exclusive Mint Club.

The girls.

We were pouting 10 years ago at 18.......still pouting at (nearly!) 28!

How we managed to get into the Mint Club, I'm not quite sure. We were greeted at the door by the bouncer asking, 'Are you a member or a shareholder?' 'Ahhhhhh, neither?' we replied. But somehow, we ended up in the elevator to the 24th floor, handing over our (very wet!) coats and walking down the hall lined with fish tanks filled with small sharks into the bar.

Everyone wanted to pout!

Even the boys!

We quickly discovered that it was to continue being a sensible night once we took a look at the price of the drinks - $55 for a glass of bubbles, $180 for a cocktail, $10 for a bottle of water. We splurged and had a drink each - a champagne cocktail (half a glass of bubbles with a splash of something peach flavoured) for $30 each. However, it was well worth it, just for the thrill of being in a western style club with a great DJ, terrific views over the Bund and fantastic people watching inside the club - there were some very glamorous people there! It was lucky that we had dressed up and (kind of!) looked like we fitted in.

Savouring the $30 half glass of bubbles!

We danced the night away before heading back to our family suite and having a luxurious sleep in on Sunday morning. It was great to wake up feeling refreshed rather than hungover (yes, mum, I know I can have a good time without drinking!) and we ventured off to Element Fresh for healthy smoothies, pancakes and eggs and bacon for breakfast - ahh, the joys of sitting in a civilised cafe for breakfast!

What a poser! Glamorous Chloe.

Look! Can you see the shark?!

Chloe and I then went in search of western groceries at City Supermarket where I was able to stock up on lots of wheat free products and Australian red wine. We met the others at the fake market soon after. I have never really been interested in the fake products, I'm not a terribly glamorous type and always prefer quality rather than name brands. However, I was amazed at the quality of some of the products we saw (but ask me again in 6 months how my purchases are going!). It was fairly frustrating process batting off persistent sellers as we wandered through - 'bu yao' (no want) definitely came in handy. Chloe was hilarious as she bargained and tried to escape the persistent sellers - she has a very posh English accent and is just so polite. If the queens of bargaining, Kiki and Justy had not have been there, Chloe surely would have been ripped off! Despite me saying 'I don't need anything', I still managed to walk away with a beautiful 'Chloe' leather bag ($50), a pair of Puma street shoes ($30) and a pair of Ugg boots ($30).

Tired but not hungover! At the hostel on Sunday morning.

The girls in black - matching coats! Lucky we will soon be living in three different countries!

From the fake market, we headed back to the fabric market to pick up our orders from yesterday and we were all very impressed with the quality and service. My winter wardrobe is now complete and I'll be back in a few months for a new summer wardrobe. It was so sad to farewell Chloe, hopefully I will see her again soon - it's my turn to visit her next time, so a trip to Europe is definitely on the cards for next year, as is thinking about the next teaching position in Europe (Amsterdam International School here I come?!). Chloe and I both agreed that you definitely know you have a good friendship when so much time can go past and you can just pick up the conversation and the laughs right where you left off. We decided that we'll be 70 years old, sitting on a beach somewhere still talking about love and life - bring it on I say!

Chloe bargaining at the fake markets - she was a terrible bargainer! Way too polite!