First time yoga class and a birthday celebration

On Tuesday evening I went to Yoga 109 and did a beginners class in Yoga. I wasn't sure what to expect as previously in this school I did classes in pilates and in Yin yoga.

I heard of people doing Bikram yoga which is done in a very hot room but I think the same can be achieved in Shanghai in the summer! The humidity made it intense and I found it hard to keep up. I enjoyed the meditation part but many poses were too difficult for me and I haven't done any exercise in months so I'm definately feeling the pain!

Afterwards I tried to get a taxi but it proved difficult in this area so I walked for a bit to the main road and managed to flag one down. In the dark I didn't realise it was a dark blue one and a friend of mine a few days ago warned me about them. I figured nothing can go wrong but he suddenly turned off the main road and went around the block that I got a bit concerned. Then he was asking where to drop me but I told him this wasn't my road. He got quite angry and aggressive and pulled over and tried to get me to leave his taxi! I stood my ground though and told him which road and he started moaning in Mandarin at me and realised I was a foreigner.

Wednesday

After my class I met a new friend for coffee near Xujiahui church. It definately looks a bit unusual and doesn't feel like being in China.

Afterwards I headed to Yili Lu to my friend's apartment. It isn't very far from Xujiahui but taking the Metro is a major pain and I had to change 3 times! It took me over 1 hour to get to his place and even when I arrived it turns out there are two buildings with the same number (how confusing!).

So we waited for everyone to turn up and we ate pizza and pasta and another friend made a cake. Later we went to KTV where my friends sang some L'arc en Ciel for me. We paid 70RMB each (7 of us) for a 2 hour session. It was really good to see my old school friends here even though we aren't all going back in September its nice to know they are still in Shanghai.

Pancakes and KTV with the Meet Up crowd

It started off another rainy day with a thunderstorm which woke me up around 9am and left me in bed for an hour contemplating if I should still go to the Meet Up or not. By 10.30am it had stopped thundering but it was still raining and I thought to myself I'm sure people of Shanghai can't stop their lives because of heavy rain and that I should try my very best so I headed out.

I underestimated the rain from the 13th floor it didn't look that heavy but when I got to the front door it was pouring and pouring. I put up my umbrella and took a brave step outside. It isn't cold and still a bit humid and as I got to the main road I saw a taxi. I thought someone had just got inside as I saw it leave the kerb but I waved anyway and to my surprise it came for me!

I went to Julu Lu to Mr Pancake House and there I met some people from the Meet Up website. At first there were only 4 of us but soon we had about 12. I had breakfast pancakes which cost 42RMB and is very filling.

Afterwards a few of us went to Party World as Lucy, the organiser of the event, had booked a karaoke room for a few hours.

KTV here seems quite relaxed and they didn't seem to mind us bringing in outside food and drinks. I'm not too sure the price of the room per hour though as I didn't pay but Lucy assured me it wasn't much. So we had English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese songs which was interesting and all very good fun. People came and left throughout but I stayed until the end.

Around 5pm I got a taxi with a friend and went to Berlinda's place and watched a movie there with Jorge. Another friend, Sho, came and joined us and we headed to Koala Bar nearby for dinner and drinks. I see this bar on HuaiHai Xi Lu as it is near the university and the sign says its a coffee bar but it is more of a drinks bar and has a pool table in the back. The atmosphere was nice, we sat outside to eat and the waiter could speak and understand English which is a bonus.

Burgers cost around 50RMB and breezers around 40RMB which is a little steep I think.

I'm hoping tomorrow's weather is ok and that the predicted typhoon has moved away so that I can do some exploring with my friends.