I have just started the international portion of the Global Readiness tour for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and the first stop – Shanghai. This is my second visit to Shanghai and I chose to arrive slightly early and got two days in town. I really like Shanghai, just walking around and soaking in the energetic vibe. It has some really nice areas and neighborhoods and is highly walk-able. My last trip was in 2004 and back then the street hawkers were trying to sell watches (any name brand you liked); now they have moved ahead with the times, and they have laminated cards with pictures of bags, suitcases, scarves etc.

The most amusing thing for me was how the second phrase after “You want to buy a watch?” was “You want iPhone?” and they are selling these so-called iPhone’s for 500 RMB (which is slightly less than 100 USD); however if you are an engadget reader you would know that this is the Meizu M80 which is a spitting image of the iPhone 4G. I asked if they had a Windows Phone 7, sadly they hadn’t heard of it yet but I am hoping same time next year our dear MS phone is being offered by these street hawkers.

I had a really nice dinner with my team-mates at a restaurant in Xin Tian Di: http://bit.ly/9YVKKS

My one and only acquisition from Shanghai – A pen laser with 2Km range.